It depends. The most dreaded answer to come out of a professor in front of a group of nursing students. In a program where you fail out if you get a 73 as a final grade, the nursing student can be ruthless. I don’t blame them, and I use to be the same way. Two things are always on the minds of nursing students: one, get through and pass the class, and two, pass the NCLEX.
The student sat through lectures, and the professor gave an example of an event, then stated two different options. Each time this happens, a hand in class goes up fast, with the same question, “Well, which is it?” followed with the answer, “it depends.” Unfortunately, I never have seen it depends as an answer choice to any of my test items. I have to admit that learning as a nurse, going through a review session to become Medical-Surgical certified, the same answers implemented in lectures.
I have never seen it depends as an option in a multiple-choice or selects all that applies even though a group of nurses understands that many variables go into decisions made on the hospital floor. A decisive answer needed for a test answer, and that’s what most students want. But it does indeed depend. Our life expectancy has increased, which means people are living longer with more comorbidity and more medications. These are some of the variables that go into the “it depends,” portions of an answer. So remember many times it does depend.
As a student, how often do you hear “it depends”?