Abusive and Cruel Clinical Instructors: Why??

I only have 7 months until I graduate with my ASN. Out of 5 clinical instructors I have only had a problem with one. She would embaress me in front of patients and family members on a regular basis and insult my intelligence in front of them. I would avoid doing new procedures because I didn't want her to come obeserve/embaress me. Many of the students had similar experiences. I began screaming about patients and the instructer in my sleep, having night terrors every night. She has threatened to fail me for not critically thinking, which is why I have never stood up to her. If she asks you a question, it doesn't matter if you answer it correctly, and even point it out in the textbook, her answer is the "right" answer. She gets her kicks from holding student's futures in her hands. I am very stressed and at a loss as for what to do about my situation. I cannot learn in that environment. HELP

During my first attempt at nursing school I had an instuctor tell me i needed to drop out b/c I had a problem with 2 girls I went to high school w/ who were also in my nursing program. I thought it was very wrong that she would tell me to drop out over high school drama that did NOT enter school or clinical, it was outside drama she overheard on lunch break.

Perhaps Nursing Schools should run background checks on their instructors. Just happened to be cruising through our Board of Nursing Website (as recommended by our Nursing Department to know more about our nurse practice act), and low and behold I found something that explains a WHOLE lot. What you said about mental instability makes good sense.

A group of my fellow students (I have been SOO lucky) had a clinical instructor who was very hard on them. They provided information on the evals and some spoke to the head of dept or dean. Guess what? The instructor was much more understanding and supportive in the future. I don't think she was "bad" before just EXTREMELY tough and very rigid about some petty rules. I think the guidance from admin reminded her it was her job to build us up not shoot us down. So use the avenues you have to express problems (politely!) and it can help others. We had a theory class that was impossible, next semester changes had been made. Input matters.

I totally agree with you. I had a clinical instructor that treated me horribly. Nothing I did was ever right to her. She didn't give the other students in the class a hard time (at first). I had to talk with our class leader about the situation. I almost dropped the class because of that clinical instructor. After that everyone got treated badly equally because she got ****** off because I spoke up about it. I sincerely hope one day all clinical instructors/nurses who treat nursing students and techs/cnas badly get their just deserts.

She threatened to quit the first week if anyone went to the dept head again, and informed us we'd be left without a clinical site and we'd all have to repeat. I've never worked well under threats, and it just makes me more and more nervous. I didn't realize why this one girl was so upset about having this person for a CI, I do now. I hope I never have another adjunct.

I suffered from nursing instructor abuse myself where i was eventually kicked out of nursing school; i refused to kiss the #$%@% of my instructors and they trump up charges or mistakes against me; i try to forgive them on the advice of my pastor but, being human, the events (eventually the bitter feelings) come back and also the hatred;

what did you find?

As a nursing instructor, I can say that I find students have the best retention and success when I ask a LOT from them, but am open about all my expectations up front. I expect the best from all of my students, and will push them to excel. However, this does NOT mean being rude, abusive, unfair, or harsh. The students respond best when they know I will never let them off easy, but that they will never be abused. They feel safe to learn and grow, knowing I am not trying to fail them, but also that I am not just "letting them loose" unsupervised with no expectations or rules.

You can "make" someone bend to your will by being nasty, but that type of "learning" only extends to the end of the class in most cases. My goal is to get students to a point where they recognize all that they are capable of. Many have had people tell them they aren't smart enough or capable enough their entire lives. When they realize how much potential they have, I don't need to motivate them anymore! They want to be their best for the personal satisfaction of doing so, and my goal is to give them the tools and knowledge to succeed.