Hit Right smack in the face with the "Nursing is a CALLING not a job" crap today

chrisciwi · Jul 2, 2009

Go to your board of nursing dean or someone in that area, explain what happened, and tell them exactly what she said. If she does fail you, you have a back up, and the board can reverse your grade through a grade audit. You were NOT a student when that occured, you were a CNA, you are not held accountable for that in any way, shape or form. Thats why you need to go to administration ASAP

CrufflerJJ, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Jul 2, 2009

Originally Posted by CrufflerJJ

Sounds like your instructor is both an idiot
and
a lousy instructor.

As usual, Angie hits the nail right on the head!

Mike
Carolina Nights

Ummm...Angie??

Angie's not here, man.

CRNAbound-klown · Jul 14, 2009

I think everyone might have overlooked the part where the OP said he was working as a CNA at the time, doing things like trashing out. He was NOT in school, nor acting as a nursing student.
One of the last people who coded at my work said to me, "man, I don't feel well" and died.
If I ran the slew of labs, ekgs, phone calls, called a code, etc... on everyone who said that they didnt feel well then I'd never get to do anything else.
To the OP, the only thing you did wrong was share the story with your A-Hole instrustor. From now on, I'd just stay mum, and do what you gotta do to get out of school.
And I'm sure you'll make a fine nurse.

+123456

CRNAbound-klown · Jul 14, 2009

Hello all,
I had the same patient on friday (neck pain pt) I go in to check her vitals, she complains of a back ache, I check her vitals, yep she has BP of 145/112 and HR of 148. I call the nurse, nurse calls Doctor, puts her on cardizem drip, all is good in the world for now.
I took my cardiac test on tues, I made a 93, so that's done.
Thanks for all of the input and support with the neck pain and pain in the neck instructor. I'm sure instructor means well and I need to do better, BTW, I mentioned the butt chewing from my instructor to my charge nurse (20 yr RN) she said that she would not have automatically put a neck pain with MI and that if I should not come running to her saying MI everytime a pt had an ache or pain).
I'm on a 10 holiday school break, go back on July 13 and graduate Aug 13, man oh man, there is no way I'm going to be ready to be a "nurse" by then!!
Take care all
Tony

Good job bro. I just took my CV/BV/Blood test last week and made a 96 also. Keep that head down and keep'a truckin'! There are plenty of people here trekking right along with you, including me. Keep up the good effort and learning from your mistakes.

Ryan

Music in My Heart · Jul 14, 2009

Ummm...Angie??
Angie's not here, man.

Is that you, Angie?

Music in My Heart · Jul 14, 2009

Ummm...yes she could have.
Before ending my engineering career, I had been employed at the same facility for over 20 years, under a series of company owners & CEOs. Some of the CEOs were decent, but one was an arrogant psychotic little gumby with a Napoleon complex.

Yep, it happens everywhere.

I was an engineer, too, and I also worked for more than one arrogant psychotic little gumby with a Napoleon complex.

Music in My Heart · Jul 14, 2009

Go to your board of nursing dean or someone in that area, explain what happened, and tell them exactly what she said. If she does fail you, you have a back up, and the board can reverse your grade through a grade audit. You were NOT a student when that occured, you were a CNA, you are not held accountable for that in any way, shape or form. Thats why you need to go to administration ASAP

I disagree strongly. Don't complain. The most common result of complaining up the ladder is that you get dumped on. If you get wrongly failed, then you complain and file a grievance. Doing so now would just make the target on your back even bigger.

Educators are no different than doctors and cops... they back their own.

Keep your head down and your mouth shut, and do excellent work.

Tony1790, BSN, MSN, NP · Jul 14, 2009

Keep your head down and your mouth shut and do excellent work.[/quote']
Doing it, 5 more weeks and I'm done with school, thanks again for the advice.
Tony

Music in My Heart · Jul 14, 2009

Doing it, 5 more weeks and I'm done with school, thanks again for the advice.
Tony

Smart dude, Tony.

And only 4 weeks for me!!

nursenow · Jul 21, 2009

Fella's
I'm now vice president of the local chapter honor society ( I know, whatever) I'm retired military and 42 yo. I'm less than 2 months from graduating and I get smacked in the face with the "nursing is a calling" BS by my instructor, because I made the mistake of sharing my recent work experience of talking to a lady who was having neck pain while laying in bed and then coding a few minutes later. What my instructor was mad about was that I a) did not instantly recognize a MI, run over and check her vitals as she was having a MI and b) that it was while I was doing my CNA job (trash, etc) right at shift change.
I'm really down in the dumps today, she spent 10 minutes berating me in front of the class for missing this sign, even though the class we were having that day was recognizing s/s of MI as a LPN student, but when I "missed" the MI happening was while I was I was working as a CNA taking the trash out just before shift change. The woman was lucid, her ONLY complaint was a stiff neck, then the code. I totally did not connect a neck pain with MI, even if I was a "nursing student" at the time, I still would not have noticed it, as we are just now doing CV in class. And at the most I would have called for the nurse if I had noticed it, the monitor tech saw it on telemetry and called the code.
What I'm worried about, besides missing the MI, is being flunked out of school, for something that happened at work as a CNA. The instructor said in front of the class, "I don't want you as my nurse" and you will never make it as a nurse. I'm kinda bummed out, I totally wish I had kept my head out of my orifice and went into another field besides this woman dominated one that I'm currently in.
Bummed in TN
p.s. I HATE that saying, "Nursing is a calling, not a job". NO, the Clergy is a calling, Nursing is a job, just like janitor, electrician, cop, military, etc. It really, really helps any job if you enjoy it, but to say it's a calling for everyone that's in it is a bit of a stretch.
This calling phenomena is also a part of the wage issue with women, a calling doesn't have to pay as much as a job, does it??

If my CNA thinks there is a patient with a problem, the last thing I expect him/her to do is start performing an assesment and trying to figure out what is wrong. I expect them to come and tell me so I can do my job. I do expect they can recognize that something is "not right, or different" about Mr. So and So but that is all.(unless it is something like patient needing heimlich...)

As for nursing being a "calling", I got into nursing for the money and am a good nurse. My original and primary motivation has had zilch influence on my ablity to be a good nurse. It is funny how when people that got into nursing as a calling dont get a raise they complain just like everyone else. I recall that most of those people failed out of my program. I suspect because they had unrealistic expectations as to what it requires to become a nurse. It is not about being all touchy-feely I care. You have to be technicaly proficient, be able to learn alot of "book stuff" and even more difficult, apply it in the real, and unglamorus, world. And of course you do need strong people skills or you will have a harder time, but you could still be a nurse without them. Personally, I think there might be some people out there that got into it as a calling but I have never met them in person. I find it difficult to believe that is anyones only motivation.

Finally, as for really bad teachers, they are like any bad person in any field. You just have to learn how to deal with them. a people skill that takes alot of patience and biting your tounge. It is really hard to treat someone you have no repect for with respect.