[fawnfalls]

please help!! Im in my last semester of an ADN program, I just happen to get the meanest teacher on the face of the planet. She has it out for me, why I don't know. She picks on me for everything! She is always threatening to drop students from the program. She said if you don't know your meds after just looking them up once! she can drop you. I don't know how to handle this person. I get so nervous every time she comes near me. I feel like I am going to make mistakes and get kicked out of the program. I don't know what to do. I am sick to my somache. How do I handle this. She is lead teacher. Ive spoken up to her once, and now Im really on her list. Please any advice on how I can survive this.

[CardioTrans]

Congrats on it being your last semester!

The instructor that you are speaking of reminds me of one that I had way back in the day..........at the time, we were allowed 5 med errors per quarter....tells you how long ago that was as now every college here is on semesters........anywho......... you had to know your drugs before you pulled them......when you got ready to get them, she would stand at the med cart and ask questions about them......... you literally could get 5 med errors off of one drug...... she was that tough...........if you didnt know an answer, she gave us 2 min to go and find the answer.

I too thought that she was very hard on everyone.......after I survived her, I thanked her. She did it to push us to be the best and to make sure that we knew what we were giving and why we were giving it. It also helped when the patients were asking questions about the meds.

The best advice I can give is do your best and be as prepared as you can be for the classroom or clinical setting. Believe it or not, you will meet nurses and doctors once you become a nurse that will make her look like a push over and you will thank her for all that she did.

[Daytonite]

She is intimidating you. These are intimidating/bullying tactics. In most schools only YOU can drop from your classes. And, in most cases there has to be written documentation for the instructors to drop you from a nursing program. If you haven't been formally written up, then I don't think you really have much to worry about. Stay out of her hair as much as you can and don't confront her anymore.

When you did speak to her, did you ask for constructive criticism from her to help you figure out how you could perform better in her eyes? That should have been a goal of your meeting with her no matter how painful it would have been to hear what she had to say.

[WDWpixieRN]

Originally Posted by fawnfalls

She is lead teacher. Ive spoken up to her once, and now Im really on her list. Please any advice on how I can survive this.

Do the best you can to be as prepared as you can. If that means turning off the phone, TV, iPod or whatever for an extra hour the night before clinicals, so be it. I know how hard the meds are to know; it's my biggest fear about nursing school and where I feel most lacking in knowledge.

However, above anything else, do NOT "speak up" to this instructor. That's the stuff that will get you in the most trouble - insubordination, unsafe practice, whatever can be leveled at you. Zip it and get through this as painlessly as you can!!

Best wishes!!

[peaches49]

Originally Posted by fawnfalls

please help!! Im in my last semester of an ADN program, I just happen to get the meanest teacher on the face of the planet. She has it out for me, why I don't know. She picks on me for everything! She is always threatening to drop students from the program. She said if you don't know your meds after just looking them up once! she can drop you. I don't know how to handle this person. I get so nervous every time she comes near me. I feel like I am going to make mistakes and get kicked out of the program. I don't know what to do. I am sick to my somache. How do I handle this. She is lead teacher. Ive spoken up to her once, and now Im really on her list. Please any advice on how I can survive this.

boy do I know what your talking about. I have the same problem with mine right now and it's just me,I am in 2nd semester LVN program. But i'm learning to just listen and promise to do better next time, and even if I say that, I still get threats. You can read about some of this on the other post, I titled it, In The Line of Fire.
Just be on the lookout and get as much info about your patient that you can and I am actually going early to check on my patient ahead, so I will be ready if she comes at me again.
Good luck and keep us posted.