Crystal, Sounds like you are balancing a lot at work and at home. Perhaps consolidating your list from both worlds, to see everything in one view, is the best approach.
Dr. Melissa Read
There are many stress throughout the day. Being pulled in every direction is very exhausting. Finding your outlet to take that stress out is ideal. They always say you can find time for exercise in the day you should be able to find a way to de-stress. As an instructor we are always multitasking so we could possibly multitask while we de-stress. Driving and listening to soothing music or happy music. Taking an exercise class to get out stress and keep yourself heathy.
One of the major short-term work stressors is when I have a lab class with over 25 students in it, and the students constantly interrupt me while I am helping someone else. I've learned to adapt by choosing a few of the more experienced students to act as "TAs" and take on some of the individual work, otherwise I won't get to help everyone.
I am finding more and more that students needs dominate my time. It seems that students often lack soft skills, such as organization, time management and other topics dicussed in this course. This leads to poor performance in the classroom. These students tend to dominate my time, often at the detriment to better students. This creates a inequity in the time I spend with students, which is stressful.
As a Program Director :)
Last minute deadlines
Student needs are overwhelming at times as many of our students lack problem solving skills and need extreme guidance regularly.
Instructor needs primarily related to following standards and guidelines.
Student scheduling and schedule changes to fit within budget. (Can you hear me screaming??)
Just to name a few :)
All of the above, and I think the obvious remedy is finding your own time-out that works for you. At first glance these stressors look so major then they get dealt with a bit at a time and the time-out prevents BURN-OUT.
Time management is the hardest one for me personally, I've started developing list and prioritizing them so I can get stuff done without being overwhelmed
I have a long commute each day each way through two major construction zones. It is certainly a potential source of stress. When I started this particular job, I made up my mind I would not focus on this potential stressor but find a way to enjoy it. So I am listening to books on CD, free of charge from my public library. I am enjoying many kinds of music. Sometimes, I use the time just to think about my students individually. I use the time to catch up with my married children with hands-free dialing and my cell phone. I look for new places to eat and shop along the way and I have found some great ones! A long commute CAN be stressful but it does not have to be.
I juggle between two part time jobs. One as an adult educator and the other as a dental hygienist in a busy office. There are days when I want to quit both of these positions because I feel that it is very difficult to give each the focus and time that is needed. But I try to stay focused on the positive aspects of both positions and that usually gets me through the rough times. Besides I work at one job one day and then the other the next day. So if something is really stressing me out at one job I have a break from it!!
I have many causes of stress.
At Work:
-disruptive students
-hostile co-workers
-commute time
-uncertain schedule
Home:
-responsible for dinner every night
-lack of funds
-time management
Looking over many of the items that people are naming I am seeing many of my stressors showing up, as well as those of my employees. We work in an environment where we constantly try to achieve more, often with less resources, and in many cases with less recognition. The truth is that runs from administration to faculty.
A major cause of stress is the shifting of our school from a 10 week to 5 week modules. We are still tasked with delivering the same amount of material and students are expected to meet the same standards.
These stressors find their origin in both organizational factors and student needs.
Some causes of stress are lack of planning, poor sleep and proper nutrition. These areas can all be managed through corrective measures.
a good talk with a good food and good break is a good destressor
Most of my stressors are work related. Often, I feel that the standards established by administration are not instructor or student driven. My goal is to deliver the best classes I can for the purpose of student learning.Sometimes it feels difficult and this is when my stress elevates. When I realize that it is my job to do my best within the established parameters, my stress is reduced. Once my stress is reduced, I can actually think more clearly and do a better job at what I was required to do in the first place. I will also have to admit that adult children at home are sometimes as stressfully challenging as caring for young dependent children. The trick is to identify the stressors and know how to navigate around them or put them behind you. Do not think you can learn to live with them.
I have found that my stressors don't come from my students, but from some of the administrative request that, being the lead instructor of my department, have been put upon me. I have found some of these requests have been repetitive and even contradicting at times. The only way that I have found to deal with them somewhat successfully is through my own time management and my own pride of knowing that I have accomplished the task even if the resulting material is discarded. I basically try to accomplish these goals on my terms and methods.
One of the major sources of stress for me is when a student is not professional in the clinic setting. One of the biggest complaints I receive about the students is their lack of professionalism when it comes to being on time and calling if they are going to be late or not make their rotation. I end up apologizing and strive to maintain a good relationship with the hospitals. This is extremely stressful especially when the student is non-compliant. I group these 'people stresses' together. Besides having cranky hospital administrators from time to time, it is the students' behaviors that I have no control over, but am asked to explain. I end up being a mediator many times between the student and their clinic.
Richard, Wow, that sounds incredibly stressful! It's hard enough to fit everything into 10 weeks, much less 5. It sounds like expectations need to change when it comes to the amount of work you will accomplish during this compressed time.
Dr. Melissa Read
I too have 60+ students at least 2 days per week and clinical the rest of the days. There is no time to grade all papers, must be at my best in clinical and not claim overtime. I stay behind most of the time as I am not willing to work for free all the time. Requesting overtime pay is nearly impossible, and I must go into work on vacation days and holidays sometimes to complete work. There is too much in the day to have to finish. New responsibilities continue to trickle down to instructors.
In my teaching career the biggest stressor I have is lack of communication from and between all the instructors and program director. Being a part-time instructor does not mean I care any less than the full time instructors nor does it mean I work any less (if anything I feel I work longer and harder as my prep time allotted is limited compared to the full timers). When decisions are made I would appreciate timely communication and clarification of said decisions. I have found that I just have to be the "squeaky wheel" and ask for clarification (from multiple parties if necessary) in order to cut down on my frustrations. I also have learned to keep copies of emails in folders or print emails and keep them for future reference.
