Nieves 1

Xiomara Nieves

ENC 1101

Gillespie

21 November 2018

Major Paper 3

Gee defines Discourse as “ways of the world; they are forms of life which integrate

words, acts, values, beliefs attitudes, and social identities as well as gestures, glances, bossy

positions, and clothes,” (Gee 278). The Discourse that I will be analyzing is the nursing student

Discourse whose identity kit (costumes are instructions on how to act) consists of clinicals, lab

coats, and intense studying.

The interview I conducted was with a nursing major named Sami, a UCF nursing major.

Sami’s family has been friends with my family for many, many years. For as long as I have

known Sami, she has always wanted to go into the medical field. You would ask Sami what she

wanted to be when she grew up, and she would say “a doctor”. In our interview, Sami stated that

she initially started with the Biomedical track, an extremely rigorous major that opens many

possibilities for people that want to become doctors, surgeons, etc. A main issue with many

people who want to become doctors or surgeons is the immense amount of work that must be

done after the 4 years of obtaining a bachelor’s degree. It can range from eight to twelve years of

medical school, shadowing, fellowships, interning to then become a licensed doctor. Sami told

me that when she was in one of her classes freshman year that centers around finding out what

kind of doctor biomedical students can become, she became interested in nursing.
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Nursing students have two years of pre-nursing followed by two years of nursing school.

Sami much rather enjoyed this opposed to 8+ years in school. After talking to a nurse in a club

that she was in that centers around people who care to be in the medical field, she told me that

she decided that nursing would be better for the “profession and lifestyle [she] wanted.” Sami

switched her major over to nursing from biomed and couldn’t be happier that she did.

To get into the nursing student community, there are many steps to take before one is

accepted. A common misconception about nursing is that it is much easier than becoming a

doctor. While it does take less time to become a nurse than to become a doctor, Sami tells me

that the level of difficulty can, at times, be the same. Because of the short amount of time,

nursing students must “crunch” with their work and make sure they understand all matters

equally. What I mean by this is there is a short amount of time to grasp all the material. It is their

responsibility to comprehend it all before the TEAS. After completing two years of pre-nursing

requisites such as biology, anatomy, English, math etc., one must take the TEAs test.

The TEAS test or Test of Essential Academic Skills, “is designed specifically to assess a

student's preparedness entering the health science fields.” UCF nursing majors are asked to take

the TEAS test and score at least a 78%. Sami scored above that her first time taking it but

continued to take it until she reached the grade she wanted to (an A) to be considered more in the

UCF nursing program. The TEAS test consists of reading, math, science, and English and

language usage sections. There are 107 questions to complete in 209 minutes. Many nursing

majors spend months practicing for this exam, using textbooks, online resources, and attending
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study sessions. The textbook genre is reoccurring for many nursing students when applying to

nursing school and when completing the nursing major.

Reading Mathematics Science English and Language Usage

Number of
53 36 53 28
Questions

Time Limit
64 min 54 min 63 min 28 min
(Minutes)

Human anatomy &

Key ideas and details Numbers and Conventions of standard
physiology
Specific Craft and structure algebra English
Life and physical
Content Integration of Measurement and Knowledge of language
sciences
Covered knowledge & ideas data Vocabulary acquisition
Scientific reasoning
Pre-Test questions Pre-Test questions Pre-Test questions
Pre-Test questions

So, you take the TEAS and get over a 78%, what’s next? Sami says the application

process to get into UCF’s nursing school was extremely straightforward. She said that one would

just enter their grades, courses, GPA, and their TEAS score. No essays were required. However,

if you are coming straight from UCF’s pre-nursing major, you must be admitted into UCF first,

which requires an essay, SAT/ACT scores, and other documents such as teacher

recommendations. Once you’re in UCF, it is imperative that you withhold a high GPA and try to

maintain an A average. The people who choose if you are accepted into UCF’s nursing school

really care about your grades; they want the best of the best.
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Now that Sami is admitted into UCF’s nursing school, she says that clinicals are the most

important part of her being assessed. She says that one very important reading that they must

conduct is analyzing health records. If you are not familiar with what clinicals are in nursing

school, they are scenarios where you get to train like this is your real job. Oftentimes, simulation

dolls will be used. Lectures are also still

required in nursing school, with textbooks

just like pre-nursing school. Sami says that

it is imperative what the textbooks are read

and understood. You will be asked

questions during the clinicals about Simulation doll being used for clinicals by UCF nursing
students
concepts from the textbook that will be

needed.

Sami told me in the interview that one way she communicates with other nursing majors,

as well as pre-nursing majors too is through a Facebook group called the Association of Pre-

Nursing students at UCF. In this small discourse community, the genre of a Facebook group chat

is used to discuss and aid in the life of a nursing student or pre-nursing student. Nursing students

such as Sami offer advice on what classes to take together, as well as textbooks to use, study

material, and overall life advice for the rigorous lifestyle of a nursing student. Ann Johns would

describe this community as social community as well as an academic community. Ann Johns

states that academic communities are chosen “voluntarily and selected,” (Johns 322). While she

also describes a social community as one that is affiliated with people outside of academics, this
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community is not solely academic. In this community, people come here to make friends and

vent about problems other nursing majors or pre-nursing majors understand.

Sami told me that she also has a few GroupMe group chats: one with all the nursing

school members, one with her specific clinical group, and one with her friends. The nursing

school members GroupMe discusses academics. The clinical group discusses academics as well.

Her friend GroupMe is solely about venting and having fun.

Sami reiterated the fact that reading health records are extremely important. Whether she

is learning about a disease or brushing up on symptoms, it is always important to understand

every specific case.

Sami tells me that the people in charge of the clinicals have the most authority next to the

deans. The deans obviously look over everything in the nursing school, while one professor

oversees overviewing the clinicals completed. She tells me that there are not many problems

with authority. She says that with professors, you must respect them to succeed in the course and

further into the nursing profession. One can become a dean or a professor in the future, so there

isn’t necessarily a problem with not advancing. Everyone in the community is there to become a

nurse, which is something agreed on by everyone.

In this community of practice, textbooks, data sheets, and group chats are most

commonly used as genres. I learned that nursing students are all very close to one another and

are not fearful of reaching out. I thought it was interesting to learn more about the field that I

hope to be accepted into soon. I now know that I am heading into a welcoming discourse

community that has open arms for me and my fellow nursing students.
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Work Cited

Johns, Ann M. “Individual in Community: Discourse Communities and Communities of

Practice.” Writing About Writing, pp. 322

Gee, James Paul. “Individual in Community: Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics.”

Writing About Writing, pp. 278

“ATI TEAS.” ATI Testing | Nursing Education | NCLEX Exam Review | TEAS Testing,
www.atitesting.com/teas/teas-exam.