How My Instructor Affected My Life

I have got to say this. It was my LPN instructors who were great and actually treated us all like somebody and worked with those who were not so good to get them to passing, But I had the most trouble with the Head of the Nusing Program! She didn 't like and made sure I failed. She even erased some of my answers on a pharm math test! I wrote her up to the Dean of Students too, 3 pages. She was a true witch and queen bee too! I still remember the day she called me back into a room after a study class. She said, "I don't trust you." I said, "What do you mean you don't trust me?" She said, "I don't trust you giving out meds" I said, "Well then you need to go speak to my clinical instuctor, because I just had my exit interview and she said if I did anything right, it was giving out meds!"
But I couldn't prove she erased my answers. Her last words to me, "we all can't be astronauts!"
I am thinking lady.......

Reading your article made me shake as I remembered MY first go through LPN school in 1990! I really wanted to ask if your instructors name was Ruby! I had an instructor that was at least that disrepectful and to this day if I were to see her in the street, I may not have the self control not to run her over. My "Ruby" even had an intern pinned to a door when he didn't D/C a medication that she wanted D/C'ed! He looked at me the whole time with the saddest look on his face and I could just tell that he wanted me to pull this pit bull instructor off of his butt. I couldn't, I was just enjoying the 3 minutes of peace that her harrassing of someone other than myself gave me.
Congrats on getting through!

My Senior year, first semester, I had a clinical instructor tell me that I should not be a nurse. That she/he would not want/let me take care of his mother. Strangely, one of my other instructors that same semester was telling me how great a nurse I was. I almost did not pass that semester because of the first instructor and I'll never forget how mean she/he was to me on that last day of class. Today I am orientating on a med surg unit and I believe I am a way better nurse than that clinical instructor. And like you, my patients could not believe how mean my instructor was to me. I definitely complained about him to my school.

Take care.

Wow, what a story, it really sounds like this was an incompetent instructor to you, the patient and to nursing in general. What courage you had to withstand this treatment, good for you and good luck in your future nursing! ps have you seen this instructor again? maybe she not teaching anymore, that would be a blessing, you were extraordinary to hold up to this treatment, not many would have perservered, take care

Isn't it interesting how these type of instructores always seem to pick the younger students for their victims. Afraid that a person with more life experience would realize - hey, I'm paying your salary, and, if I'm a failure it's because you've failed as an instructor. May many young students receive hope and strenght from this story and may many patients have the good fortune to be under raekaylvn's care.

I am terrified to get an instructor like this. I am happy that you found something positive out of it. However, I still would not want someone like that teaching me. Was she nasty in order to get people to learn and be terrified of her? I wonder... Or, maybe that wasnt her intentions and she just hated her job. Either way, there are definately more appropriate, caring techniques to get students to learn the material. I Hope!

Thanks for writing this!

Actually my nightmare instructor seemed to pick on the older students, myself included, so it cuts both ways, I think because she was young herself she saw the older students as a threat or maybe she just doesn't like older students, who knows

Wow this reminds me of my instructor Miss ****** but she was only strict in clinical setting, otherwise, she was a very good but a bit sarcastic friend of mine. I deeply agree with you... CLINICAL INSTRUCTORS OF THAT TYPE SHOULDN'T LET YOU DOWN, INSTEAD, FIND THE WILL TO PURSUE AND PROVE HIM/HER WRONG. Thankz!

Languishing through your story was like reading "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" except you gave it a decent ending.

I, too, had a nightmare for an Instructor. I had discovered a breaast lump that my PCP was not able to aspirate. It also showed up on the mammogram. When he told me I needed to get it biopsied ASAP, I told my med/surg II instructor. This was right after winter break. She informed me that I could not have a biopsy done until we had a day off from class. It would be an unexcused absence and could flunk me. I did not want that to happen, so I scheduled the biopsy on my birthday (the next day off from classes and clinicals) in February. Luckily, it was benign. However, because of the location on my breast, I dehisced 2 days after the stiches were removed. I had to pack the wound and dress it TID. On my next clinic day, I told my instructor about the open wound. She assigned me a pt with a trach that was coughing up copious amounts of pseudomonous positive secretions. This is before gowns, gloves, masks, and such. She told me I had to take care of the patient and do his trach care. If the wound is covered up, you don't have a problem. Talk about insensitive! I remember that to this day, and that was 27 years ago. I pray that I never get so calloused by my practice, that I lose compassion for students, and patients alike. Out of all my nursing school experiences this stands out as being the worst person an instructor can be. This school also made up a lecture, none of us was able to prepare for. The teacher listed, came to the front of the class, the other instructors stood at the back of the class, and the lead instructor told us the college was closing the nursing program because there wasn't enough money being made, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah. When students stood up to leave, the instructors would not let them leave the room. One student said we should all get together, hire a lawyer, and sue the schoold, because we had worked so hard, and would not be able to graduate. At this point the instructor admitted it was a hoax, and said, 'We just wanted you to see how it feels when a patient and family hear catastrophic news'. A very caring nursing school, huh. Luckily, I graduated, but I have never ever forgotten the non-compassionate care/lack of interest from a Catholic College. I do not recommend that college to anyone, and do not support it either. They also said that anyone who graduated from there, if they had children who wanted to attend, there would be a price break. When my daughter applied (against my wishes), they refused to even give her a price break. She went elsewhere for her nursing education. Thank goodness. She learned a lot and is very involved in the hospital she works in.