Demetrius 1
Aine Demetrius
Ms. Martinez
ENC 1101
4/2/2013
The Perfection of Nursing
Background
Nursing is a very promising profession. Nursing provides job opportunity anywhere you go
with a steady pay. It also can be full of excitement and appreciation. Having a nursing degree is
something you have and use your whole life; you will always be able to work as a nurse. Being
such a sought out profession consequently means that nursing school programs are extremely
competitive. I decided to study a Pre-Nursing Association club that UCF has, to learn more
about the pre-nursing community at the school. They meet once a month to discuss important
information about nursing, so when I found out about the meeting I thought it would be a good
idea to attend.
As I walked into the Nike Community Center I decided to have an open mind on what to
expect while attending a Pre-Nursing Association Club meeting. It was a Tuesday afternoon
entering this small room in-between dorm buildings, I see a few tables arranged in a semi-circle
sort of shape. I took a seat in the corner walking past a table with soda and cookies and other
refreshments. Seating was limited so the seats filled up and people filled into the back. The girls
in charge of the club the ones who run the meetings are in the front talking to each other and
laughing while they pre-pare all there paper work. People seem friendly and are talking to each
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other, I listen closely and realize there discussion the latest test they had in chemistry. The
meeting slowly beings as more people stroll into the community center.
The meeting began with Alex Nevarez, the President of the club introducing herself and
reminding everyone to sign in and pay their fees. She seemed excited to introduce a guest
speaker, her friend Briana Palaces who is currently in the UCF nursing school program. Briana
shared her life and daily agenda as a nursing student and I could see many faces light up. I
noticed the 3 boys in the meeting out of a room full of girls. Everyone eagerly asked questions
related to getting into nursing school and all the requirements and standards.
The more senior girls of the club did their best to answer questions that were asked. They
also provided the curious girls with a lot of organized information involving other nursing
schools and pre-reqs and even joked about teachers they all have had. There was an older lady
in the back who was an actual advisor for the nursing school, who clarified and added
information involving the interview process; she stayed after the meeting to answer more
questions from the curious pre-nursing members who are desperate to get in.
Frequently throughout the meeting Alex and the other girls reminded everyone to sign up
for the email list and join the Facebook group because that’s the main source of communication
in this Discourse community. Being such a big school that UCF is it’s the easiest way to keep in
touch and share information. The guest speaker and the advising lady also gave out there email
in case anyone wanted to contact them personally. It was clear that this Discourse community
communicates with each other through email and the internet.
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According to John Swales, a professor at the University of Michigan “A discourse
community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals”(Swales 471). The Nursing Clubs
common goal I observed was informing all its pre-nursing members about nursing school and
helping them do everything they can to get in.University of Central Florida is a large school, so
having a specific discourse community dedicated to pre-nursing students helps unite people
with a similar interest. Another characteristic I noticed about the Pre-Nursing Club was its
membership. It’s clear that members are all freshman and sophomores who are applying to
nursing school, once in a nursing program you leave this Discourse community. This club has a
“reasonable ratio between novices and experts “(Swales, 472).New members are freshman and
the more experience sophomores have more experience, when they leave more freshman join
each year creating a balance in membership.
Throughout the meeting I heard terminology that was unfamiliar to me. It was almost like
a secret code. Some of the older members were talking about the Anatomy course they were in
or had taken and kept mentioning the name Samsam, which I later found out was the nickname
they made for their teacher. A member also asked a question during the meeting and used the
term MCB, which was the abbreviation for Microbiology. But all the members know all these
different abbreviations and terms for their classes and use them regularly in conversation. The
TEAS was brought up numerous times during the meeting which is a standardized test that they
must take in order to get into nursing schools.
James Paul Gee, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, has said” …someone cannot
engage in a Discourse in a less than fully fluent manner”(Gee 487). This means that to feel
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included and be part of this discourse community one needs to be able to communicate
fluently. Both Swales and Gee explain how important a role literacy, and communication is in a
discourse community. I was unfamiliar with the lexis, or special terminology that was used in
the meeting, making me an outsider. The specific lexis is how members engage and connect
properly with other members. The lexis used in the meeting and among members helps
individuals present themselves in a positive light, and as more established members.
Methods
To study the Pre-Nursing association club I went to one of the meetings that lasted an
hour. I sat down in the back and observed everything that went on during the meeting. I joined
there email list and there Facebook group. I asked one of the freshman member, Annie De La
Grana how she felt about nursing and this club. She told me “It is a lot of pressure, but the club
provides a lot of helpful details that I wouldn’t know if I wasn’t a part of it”. I kept her
statements in mind when I was analyzing my data. I then had a short interview with Alex
Nevarez; she has the most authority in that discourse community. I found it difficult to fully
read people because I observed everyone just displayed perfection. So when I had my interview
I focused on why nursing students want to seem perfect with their grades. By using these
methods I could affectly analyze the Discourse community because it gave me a direct insight in
the world of their members. (For full observation notes see Appendix A)
Evidence /Analysis
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“ Out of every 300 students that apply for nursing school, only 100 will get in”, is what I
was told when I interviewed Alex Nevarez. The standards are extremely high, and everyone
feels the pressure. I noticed that no one talks about their failure or faults, the only thing
mentioned in conversation at the meeting were people’s success. This display of perfection is
the standard among this Discourse community. All of the members are striving for the same
goal, and are under the same pressure.
In my interview Alex Nevarez mentioned “Since nursing has become more popular the
competition to get into a nursing program has increased greatly”. These nursing students from
what I observed want to appear perfect, I overheard Annie De La Grana talking to her friend
about a study guide she had pre pared for a test she had coming up, and how she aced the last
one they had. Annie’s friend did not mention her score on that test which I’m concluding that
she didn’t do well; instead she just said that she would study with Annie this weekend. Alex
Nevarez also brought up how the younger newer members tend to stick together more than
with the older more experienced members. This helped me distinguish the nursing club as a
primary discourse, and the new freshman members as the secondary discourse.
According to Gee, “….primary Discourse is the one we first use to make sense of the world
and interact with others” (Gee 485). The primary Discourse is the nursing club that pre-nursing
students are a part of and meet each other. But Alex Nevarez mentioned that since a lot of the
members are in the same classes they often study together in little groups outside of the club,
becoming a secondary Discourse. She mentioned that members frequently study together and
help each other out. I found it interesting that even in such a competitive field and position
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these students are in, they are willing to help out other members succeed. (For full interview
see Appendix B).
Conclusion
I think it’s important to study Discourse communities because it can open your eyes to
things you never knew. Before I studied this nursing club I honestly didn’t know how selective
nursing schools were. So when I see pre-nursing schools putting such pressure on themselves I
now having an understanding of why they appear so driven. It’s useful to be able to analyze
behavior and language of different communities because it can help you identify with them. I
have learned a lot by studying the nursing club and now am more aware of how perfect they
must be because it’s so selective. I can take what I learned and use it for the rest of my life, to
better connect with people from several different groups or Discourse communities.
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Appendix A- Observation Notes
-
Three girls run the meeting all of them are sophomores who are not yet in the Nursing
program
-
Alex is the main girl and she stands at a podium and speaks and runs the meetings
-
There is limited seating so a lot of people stand in the background
-
There are cookies and soda in the back
-
The majority of people who attended are girls, only 3 boys at the meeting
-
There’s a table in the front where a girl sits collecting money for fee, and shirts
-
Members of the club come with notebooks and pens to write down information they
give us
-
It’s very professional but still feels casual
-
I overheard a girl Annie discussing her grades with another girl
-
They start out the meeting introducing the club and the nursing programs
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-
Had two speakers, one a student who is in her second semester in the nursing program,
and one of the advisors for the college of nursing
-
The nursing student was named Brianna and was super friendly, she shared her
experience about studying to get in and her clinical and her day to day in nursing school
-
The advisor was more stressful and discussed the standards and the interview process in
order to get into the program
-
After the main girl Alex opened the floor up to questions and a lot of people asked
about different pre-requirements and about the different nursing programs UCF offers and all
there concurrent program
-
There’s a lot of nursing school and class jargon used like: TEAS (the standardized test
needed to be taken to get into nursing schools), Clinical
-
Also class names and teachers are discussed like Samsun, nick named Samsam, and
numbers for classes like MCB 2004 instead of Microbiology
-
The meeting is full of information and they do have literature, they have a packet that
shows all the different pre- requisites to attend the concurrent nursing programs offered at
Valencia and Seminole State
-
The nursing student and the three girls in charge also talked about Relay for life and
gave out information for those who wished to participate
-
Some people were talking quietly with their friends and others just were quiet
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-
There’s a list in the front were you can put your email in order to keep updated also
they reminded everyone to join there Facebook
-
Also the nursing student who came last minute was wearing scrubs and just came from
clinical wrote down her information in case we had any more questions about nursing or Relay
for Life because she’s one of the people organizing
-
After the meeting was over some people went up to the advisor or more superior
members of the group to ask individual questions but other than that people casually stroll out
of the Nike Community Center
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Appendix B- Personal interview (3/27/2013)
Me: “Thank you so much for meeting with me, I know you’re very busy”
Alex:” its fine, I just had a test I have to study for after.”
Me: “I’m doing a paper on your nursing club and curious how competitive the nursing
programs”
Alex: “ It really selective, out of 300 people that apply only 100 get in, they don’t accept anyone
with a GPA lower than a 3.8”
Me:” Do the students feel the pressure”
Alex: “Definite a lot of the pressure is put on by them, but since nursing has become more
popular the competition to get into a nursing program has increased greatly”
Me: “Is competition super high among members?”
Alex: “ Yes and no, even though these people are your competition there also your friends and
you want the best for them, the competition is more individual based you try and do your best”
Me: “So when do you apply to the Nursing program”
Alex:” I already have I have an interview coming up but I won’t find out till the end of the
semester”
Me:” Good luck, I’m sure you’ll be fine”
Alex: “Thanks, I hope, I have to go now did I answer all your questions?”
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Me: “Yes Thanks so much for taking your time to do this”
Alex:” No problem, if you have any more questions just email me “
Me:” Thank you Bye”
Alex: “Good luck on your paper”
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Work Cited
Swales,John.”The Concept of Discourse Community.” Genre Analysis: English in Academic and
Research Settings.Boston:Cambridge UP, 1990.21-32.Print
Gee, James P. “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction”. Journal of Education
171.1(1989):5-17.Print.
Nevarez,Alex.Personal Interview.27.Mar.2013