Caring Lessons will become a reality soon! One more page-the back cover–to proof and it’s off to the publisher.

Today I was shredding stuff (still working on those boxes) and old evaluations were among the pile. Evals, we called them, that we as faculty got from students (almost every 7 weeks of the nearly 20 years of my teaching life), peers, and administrators. As I shredded, I glanced at a few: one student wrote I was “incredibly funny.” Another, on the same lecture, said I should have had a “handout” and my “visual aid was to [sic] small to see.”

I remember the positive evals were rewarding and pleasant to read. The “needs improvement” type of evals were often painful and used to send me soul-searching. What did I have to change?

It’s interesting to look back, even as I shred. To see how evals and feedback in all my experiences shaped who I became in my career.

And I’ve always believed that everything is a learning experience. See how in this week’s two excerpts listed under PAGES: from “Chapter 9 – Breaking the Mold” – about my first non-hospital job, and from “Chapter 10 – Bluffing It” – about my first teaching position.

As you read them, I’m sure you’ll understand why the fun of nursing continues to invade my mind!