Abusive and Cruel Clinical Instructors: Why??

Hey Muse!

Thanks so much. I just had to say something because I went through hell last year with clinical instructors who bullied me, screamed and yelled at me in front of fellow students and nurses, and belittled my ideas. The thing is, I did not seek support from fellow students, because I knew that unless they had walked in my shoes, they would not be able to see what was happenning. Even if they did see it, they turned a blind eye because of fear.

It is fear, I believe, that leads fellow nurisng students and nurses to do nothing. They figure, better you than me. This is wrong.

To LVN Trave.s, the problem is just what you stated. Be careful, be afraid, so say nothing and do nothing. That is the wrong attitude in my opinion. We are going to be nurses, we are going to have to get the cajones to talk to doctors, get up before a judge and explain ourselves and our practices, and deal with difficult situations every day. We need to get courage, and we need to get it fast, if we are to be good nurses.

Sometimes, we need to act IN SPITE of fear. We acknowledge the fear that is present, and use it as energy, harness it to stand up for ourselves.

We are going to be advocates, we are going to be saving lives while others cower in the corner. I don't want to be the kind of nurse that is too scared to speak up for myself, or my patients.

If I were a patient, I would want someone with courage taking care of me. And that means saying things that may make you uncomfortable, and may make others uncomfortable. Maybe some folks need to be uncomfortable, maybe then we may be heard and taken seriously as nurses.