"Oh no! Not another survey!" While some of our students may think it, we know the only way to improve is to seek the feedback and opinions of the people who know our program best – the students who are in it – and to utilize their advice and comments. Throughout the course of our 16-month accelerated nursing program, we request that our students complete surveys about the online portion of their courses, as well as clinical instructor faculty evaluations for every single class.
Although it can seem tedious and feel like a waste of time, rest assured that we carefully compile and review the results of surveys and use them to make any modifications necessary each semester. We value our students and the input they provide. In fact, we've used the feedback from surveys to create a clinical instructor training curriculum to help our clinical instructors be best prepared to guide students and meet their needs in the clinical setting, guide didactic faculty in how they present the course material and offer advice regarding exam questions, restructure exam policies and computer lab procedures and create more workable space at our ABSN site to accommodate skills labs while also providing study and lounge spaces for our growing cohort sizes.
Also, after graduation, we seek the input from our respected alumni. Not only do we ask them to share their experiences during Open Houses, but we also host focused review sessions in which we ask for their honest feedback about the program they just completed. We also track their progress as they sit for their Boards and secure employment.
So rather than have a stagnant program that treats students like numbers and does not make any adjustments or accommodations, we pride ourselves on having our students and alumni involved in our continued growth as we strive to do our best. So, always keep in mind that it's not just another survey.