Group working

[labrador]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....feeling a bit stressed. We're having to do some group work at uni and I'm in a group of five of whom I find two difficult to relate to. One is just really short tempered and, to my mind, confrontational and wants everything her way, and the other I think doesn't do her share. We ended up having an argument....and I HATE arguments but at the same time I hate people being bitchy and unpleasant and for my own sense of self-worth just have to let them know I'm not happy with the way they're behaving towards me. But I still hate doing it. Why can't everyone be nice?!!!!! At home now and I'm not going to step outside into the big bad world until tomorrow!

[susan]

Thats not good. I hate when things are like that too. Hopefully your group work doesn't last too long.

[GoldenGirl]

Sorry to hear how stressed you are with this. I hope things have improved slightly. I understand your frustration. I hated group work at university and remember being stuck in the most awful group for a presentation on health in the media - they were the laziest bunch of so-and-sos, and I was up all night the night before putting it all together as no-one else could be bothered and then they complained the next morning because it wasn't all neatly typed out for them!! The people who were supposed to be giving the presentation then refused to do it and I ended up having to step into the breach myself - between the stress, the exhaustion, and the anxiety of having to stand up in front of everyone to give a presentation I ended up fainting in a heap on the floor mid-way through!!

After that experience I decided not to go on to do my honours year, as at the time it constitued a group project and I just didn't want the stress of it all.

[Ponyo]

The group work aspect of Uni is one of the main reasons why I don't want to attend Uni. The whole idea scares me. I did some group work in college but it was fairly laid back. The fact you have people that are unable to work with in your group and are difficult towards you must make this even more difficult. The short tempered woman sounds completely selfish for the fact she expects everything her own way...As for the other one not pulling her weight thats just sheer laziness. I think you are doing right in letting them know how you feel as they are being unreasonable. If you don't speak out they will just walk over you. I know thats not easy as I myself doubt I could confront them if I was in your situation. How are things now labrador and did you manage to talk to them?

Your experience sounded awful goldengirl. Totally selfish and shame on them for leaving you to do all the work and to moan about it not being typed out neatly, ungrateful sods. Seems a shame that due to that you never went for your honours year. But I can understand how it put you off.

I mean the whole point of group work is to work together and to compromise. I think lecturers should keep more tabs on groups and allocate certain jobs that each person has to agree on to do... Those that don't contribute should get a fail.

[labrador]

Hey peeps...well the group work is over. On Wednesday we had to get back into our groups and evaluate how we worked as a group....and they were amazingly positive about it all saying we had all worked well together and everyone had done their share. I don't think I can have been in the same group as them!!! I was really pissed off as, like you GG, I ended up doing the vast majority of the work and they didn't even acknowledge that. Sad to say, I couldn't face a stressful confrontation of any sort so I just kept quiet. How can they appear to so genuinely see it differently from me? Do they have rose coloured glasses on when they look at their own contributions to the work of the group?? Thank God its all over now and we have broken up for Christmas. Fingers crossed I don't have to work with them next year.
One more moan and one 'yippee'......
I was doing a shift in the hospital today and passing on some info to a consultant and talking about what MEWS score a patient had got. This is a kind of early warning scoring system that looks at a patient's temp, resps, blood pressure etc etc. Anyway, I thought all the medics knew what a MEWS score was as its widely used throughout the hospital...but this consultant I was transferring the patient to apparently didn't and was really shirty with me when I tried to explain what the MEWS score was. OK, I find it a little odd that he, as a consultant, doesn't know what this fundamental piece of patient information is, but I could live with that if he had simply asked me nicely to explain instead of snapping at me. Some consultants have such an attitude!!!!
Better news...I've passed all my exams (including those 3 awful oral exams) so no resits for me!!! Yippee!

[GoldenGirl]

Congratulations on passing your exams!! You can sit back and relax now and try and enjoy your holidays.

Sounds like you've been having a really shitty time with your placement lately. I find it really strange too that the consultant didn't know what MEWS meant if it is something that is common practice! It's horrible that he snapped at you, but try and look on it the other way and feel pleased with yourself for knowing something he didn't!!

[labrador]

Thank you GG. It has been a lovely feeling this weekend to know I don't have any exams looming over me and that I can really feel Christmas is a holiday. Not been much of a holiday so far though as I'm trying to give the house a good tidy and clean before we leave for Christmas so that its nice for when we come back. Bit worried about the pipes already as they seem to have frozen over in the downstairs sink. Put out some apples for the birds and some nuts..hope they survive the winter..