Abusive Nursing Instructors-LPN

Nursing Students LPN/LVN Students

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Hi,

I am going out on a limb here as I am not a nurse but I have 2 daughters in LPN school. Their grades are good and they are on their third clinical rotation. One daughter is 24 and the other is 17. My 17 year old was given very high grades for her first two rotations. But then while in a patients room one day the patient asked my daughter how old she was. She told him 17. The nursing instructor who is notorious for making fun of girls, degrading them, insulting them and making them cry asked my daughter how she got in an adult program at 17. She explained she graduated a year early, passed the entrance test and would be 18 by the time she graduated. She just shook her head. My daughter(the 17 yr old) got the same instructor for the 3rd rotation and this time it was a different ball game. She verbally tears her up, told her she should have worked a year before she entered the program. She said she is never prepared enough. This is the same instructor that gave her very high grades on her last rotation. My daughter is not the only one she targets, there is an 18 year old she tears up verbally too. I feel bad as my daughter is getting discouraged. She works hard. My older daughter will get this same instructor next hospital rotation. This instructor seems to target the younger girls. She told one girl that she had no business trying to be a nurse. I checked all of the education credentials of all the instructors and they all have extensive education. But I noticed this particular instructor has her R.N. but not her Bachelors. She is an older instrcuctor. One of the other nursing instructors that has the highest degree in nursing told my 17 yr old that she was going to make a fantastic nurse and she could see her going all the way. But yet you have another instructor that says she should not be there ???? I am really confused by all of this. Its hard for me to give my daughter advice when I have no nursing knowledge. What could I say to her ? She is half way through the program and since this instructor she has come home crying twice. I feel so bad. She did say she makes lots of girls cry. Is this the norm of some kind of teaching method ? I would think it would violate a persons rights to insult them. It really ticks me off that we are paying A LOT of money for her education to have just one instructor tear her to bits. She has her two more weeks and then moves on. The rest of the instructors are decent. She has even worked with the head instructor and been told what a great job she did. Any Help ?????

OP: Your daughters have my sympathy! I am going through an LPN program right now and my entire class is abused on a daily basis. We are being treated like idiot and prisoners. The insults just keep coming and coming and we never know where we stand on anything that we do! Our instructor for fundamentals is also the director of our program and we have no recourse what so ever. Just last week she changed our start time from 9:30am to 9:00am. The thing is she did not tell the entire class just a few people who were responsible for passing the message alone. Well she decided to lock the door and give a quiz at 9:00am sharp and of course half the class was not present. Those who walked in during the next 10 minutes got to take the quiz those who showed up after got a zero. After the quiz she went ballistic about the "lateness" of half the class and when some brave soul tried to speak up and say that they didn't know what that the start time changed she decided to pick them apart.

I was one of the ones in the know but still, it just isn't right. However, my money is already paid and I can't get it back so I have to put up with it.

Tell your daughters to stick it out.....it sucks..trust me I know...but what other options do they have?

BTW, this battle axe went to ns when it was a 24/7 3 year diploma program so she thinks we have it way to easy. :rolleyes:

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Specializes in Case Managemnt, Utilization Review.

I would tell your daughter the same thing I have told my elementary aged son,

In the real world, you will encounter a boss or 2 (hopefully not more) that does not like you or you do not like. You must stick with it, develop togh skin an do your best. This semester is finite. It will end and you will move on. One of the parts of nursing is learning to get along with older adults. Patients that are ratchety, get on your nerves too and you need to learn to develop a tough skin, to a point. Some instructors are that way. Mom, this is the same instructor that gave her good grades the 1st time around. She must realize her potential. She needs to hang in there. Be her shoulder to cry on when the teacher chops her down and build her up. Also, I would consider having her apply for a job at a hospital as an aid or volunteer for a few hours on the weekends. It will boost her confidence and give her a sense of accomplishment. Stay away from nursing homes right now, we are trying to build self confidence and there is eat your young mentality for the nurses aids in long term care homes.

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Unfortunately, nursing instructors are more inclined to bully some students while they leave the others alone. The common denominator is personality type. If your daughter tears up, appears shaky, or doesn't stand up for herself when being bullied by the instructor, she will continue to be targeted for the bullying and verbal abuse. Nursing instructors pick on students that are deemed 'easy targets' because they won't resist the abuse. Your daughter needs to stand up to this person in a tactful manner right now, or it will continue during her nursing career when she deals with older nurses who have biases against young nurses.

Well said..Well said.....you hit the nail on the head. My younger daughter is not assertive, is very sweet tempered, and wouldn't know how to be mean to another person if she tried. She def needs to work on those assertive skills. But that may come with age. My older daughter...WATCH OUT..lol....noone pushes her around..my goodness sometimes she scares me. My older daughter will also eventually have this instructor and my money is on my older daughter..lol.

On another note my daughter came home with her clinical scores today and they were great! I don't get it ??? She tears her up. Her grade for yesterday was the highest they give. I don't know, maybe she is trying to help her. Maybe she is trying to prepare her. Funny thing is, I am beginning to think this nursing instructor might be a great life lesson for her. And it was even mentioned today that my daughter always gets there 30 minutes before she has too just to look over her patients chart and go through procedures. So I guess will see. But her grades are very good. You all have been such a blessing. THANK-YOU!

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You should check with the school's harrassment policy. It clearly sounds like harrassment.

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Not surprises. Many nursing instructors are mean. It doesn't matter what kind of degree they have. I've had masters in nursing prepared instuctor that could grind you up in to mince meat in no time. Daily she had a student crying. However, even though I do not advocate abuse of students, I have found that those instructors actually did me a favor. Because when I got out on my own and was degrated and yelled at in front of other staff as a new grad (and belive me it will happen) , I knew how to handel it better. I was young too. Unfortunaltley, there are many hard lessons to learn in the medical field. Just try to be supportive of your daughter and keep her spirits up. When she is an RN and working with critical pt's and is able to hold her own , she'll be glad she went through those hard times. Souds like one of those instructors that wants to find out what she's made of .

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You stated this nurse doesn't have a bachelor degree and an older nurse. Please understand I do not have a bachelors either and am an older nurse. So this is not to pick on that catagory of nurse. My intuitive feeling on this is that she is low man on the totum pole in the nursing school. Everyone else has high degrees. She has been allowed the "privilege" of being among them but at the same time she is not really one of them. She will have little imput on important issues in the school such as criculum development etc.

THis nurse might not even teach in the classroom. Often these nurses are hired as clinical instructors because you must have an RN instructor for ever so many students in a clinical setting (usually 8 students to 1 instructor or better) But they do not need more class room instructors so any RN can be hired to do this.

She is like the clerk who lays down the rules and refuses to bend because he has limited power so he will use his power feircely. You know the type. "No you can't do that here" while the business manager will make ecception with wisdom.

So what I am saying I think she feels disempowered and will use what ever power she has fearcely. She has no degree these are young girls with everything going form them. She on some level envys them. Lot of missed chances oportunities etc in her life.

They are young and are naieve. She is older and knows more from life. THese two thing are factual. (notice I did not say she is wiser) The yournger they are the more oportunity they have in front of them. The more they remind her of what she is not of what she did not achieve etc.

My mother was in nursing school in the 1930s she told me about an evil old instructor. She was a real witch. Then (I don't recall how she discovered this) she found out about this woman's past. Forgetting the details, she tragically lost a love many years ago as a young woman. THis left her extreemly bitter her entire life.

Once my mother understood this she was able to have some empathy for this nurse.

Your daughers will have even tougher challenges throughout their careers. Consider this a training ground to learn to deal / cope. It will make them stronger.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

homeschool mom. . .i would want to read this instructor the riot act for the way she was treating my daughter including the part about the amount of tuition being expended and all. i'd call the nursing school administration and demand a meeting with them, your daughters and this instructor and let them all have it to make sure you have plenty of witnesses. let them know what a poor excuse of a helpful, caring nursing instructor she is. and, let them all know that if any of them even thinks of retaliating against either of your daughters there will be trouble. you don't have to be a nurse to know when someone isn't being helpful or caring. a bully is a bully, whether in a nursing uniform or other kind of clothing. maybe if more concerned family members confronted this witch, she'd straighten up. when you are paying out money for an education your daughter has the right to be treated respectfully. and, if any of them gave me any grief about my butting in i'd let them know that i was showing my daughter how to be an advocate for the ethical and respectful treatment of others since she is young and has no experience in this.

the problem, however, is that there aren't enough nursing instructors. it's possible that no one is complaining to this instructors supervisors and they may not know she is doing this. then, again, they may be aware of it and letting her behavior slip by. you won't know unless you get involved. remember that only the squeaky wheels get greased.

by the way, ask to see a student bill of rights or go online and search out the ethical standards for lpn and/or nursing behavior with some of the major nursing and nursing education organizations. many schools as well as many of the national professional organizations have them. they usually say something to the effect that members of the profession treat all others with respect, courtesy and dignity. point that out to the instructor and her bosses.

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Angus, you are most likely totally on the mark What a great analysis!

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It's interesting that most of the encouraging "just ignore it" comments seem to come from those who haven't had abusive instructors. Why not start an anonymous petition sent to the administrators? And remember the power of the instructor review which comes each semester. Why should we be subjected to abuse? Because we allow it. Directed communication is very powerful. Why not improve the situation rather than ignore it?

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Daytonite,

Thanks for you post! I didn't read it before posting previously so maybe it popped in there while I was typing. Thanks for giving the great action against problem solution!!! You are wonderful and powerful! Improves my attitude about nurses allowing abuse!

Right on!

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