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| No. 80 | 
Feb 26, 2009, 03:21 AM
 Re: How My Instructor Affected My Life
I just wanted to add; I had a 3rd semester clinical instructor for the ADN program that literally had me shaking in my boots. She would ask me drug interactions, side affects, half-lifes.blah blah blah...and if you didn't respond with in 15 seconds she would say "BUZZ....your time is up....go look that up and don't comE
 | | Advertisement Sponsored Links | | | | No. 81 |
Feb 26, 2009, 03:23 AM
Re: How My Instructor Affected My Life
I just wanted to add; I had a 3rd semester clinical instructor for the ADN program that literally had me shaking in my boots. She would ask me drug interactions, side affects, half-lifes.blah blah blah...and if you didn't respond with in 15 seconds she would say "BUZZ....your time is up....go look that up and don't come back to me until you know the answer......." that was exactly what I would do, and when I approached her I was prepared to recite what she was looking for just like a text book stated. I went through one week in particular where I felt I was doomed to fail the course. As ironic as it seems, she gave me a perfect evaluation and low and behold, several months later, I am now a RN.
| | No. 82 |
Feb 26, 2009, 12:46 PM
Re: How My Instructor Affected My Life
This reminds me of my second semester clinical instructor. On the first day we could start IVs in clinical I started 3 out of 4 IVs I attempted. When I told her I started 3/4 IVs, she said, "That's all? I wouldn't be too pleased" with a curling snarly tone. Somehow out of this, she ended up assigning me a five page paper for no legitimate reason (really). I remember the RNs standing around looking at her like she was loony.
Then she would do her usual drill sargent thing in front of a patient. She actually said to me, "Answer quickly or you fail." My patient said to her, "Well I think you're bullying your student." I remember this patient said after she walked out of the room, "Multi, you can come back tomorrow, but only if your instructor does NOT come back."
LOL, what do you say to a patient who says that? And how do you tell your clinical instructor you need a new patient assignment because the patient said he doesn't want to see the clinical instructor again, LOL! I just smiled and decided the issue wouldn't come up again the next day. And it didn't.
What an adventure nursing school is. The good clinical instructors are to be cherished.
| | No. 83 |
Feb 26, 2009, 01:00 PM
Re: How My Instructor Affected My Life
After reflecting back on my days in school, I can honestly say that the nastiest and most demanding instructors did prepare me for my future - I just did not realize it at the time.
I guess nothing surprises me anymore. It has, however, become evident to me why people leave nursing in hospital settings especially if they are a new nurse, why 'old' 'experienced' nurses have no patience for mistakes, and why a new person could be identified as a 'problem' even if it is a case of misinterpreted nerves!
People can do and say whatever they want, judge who or whatever they want and still look in the mirror not caring who they destroy or how they misinterpret things that could cause their fellow 'co-worker' issues. I think it would be great if people learned how to 'clarify' information rather than attack each other; however, if this behavior is demonstrated in nursing schools, it surely MUST be accepted as the 'norm'.
I wish nursing schools would provide a communication piece to their curriculum and help students understand the thought process of nurses that work in hospitals. Perception is 90% of everything. People do not always say things the way they mean; however, people do always hear things the way they want to hear them!
Good luck to all current students. Keep us posted!
| | No. 84 |
Feb 26, 2009, 05:48 PM
Updated
Feb 26, 2009 at 05:50 PM by lepew
Re: How My Instructor Affected My Life
Again, as an instructor, I am sorry for all the bad ones. There are some good ones out there. Where I teach, we are evaluated each semester by our students. There have been instructors who were urged to quit because of continuously bad evals. I don't believe bullying is the way to teach. I ask my students questions at clinical, but give them time to respond and try to encourage them as most people can't remember things when put on the spot. I can't expect them to know every answer, as I don't know every answer (that is where the trusty PDA comes is really handy!). Terrorizing students is not teaching. That said, there are some students who are not prepared. Some expect you to open their heads and poor the knowledge in for them. I will go out of my way to help a student as long as the student is trying. Why help someone who doesn't put forth any effort? My students and I have a great time at clinicals and in class. We all learn and help each other. Just thought you should know that there really are some caring instructors out there....
| | No. 85 |
Feb 26, 2009, 06:15 PM
Re: How My Instructor Affected My Life
I agree with you. I do believe that instructors are available for a purpose, regardless of which type of teaching strategy they use. I trust that they have the experience and knowledge required to guide students in becoming successful as future RN's.
| | No. 86 |
Feb 26, 2009, 07:56 PM
Re: How My Instructor Affected My Life
Bless you! Your students are so forturnate to have someone as caring and opened minded as yourself.
I ran into a girl and spotted the PCC transit program on her shirt. I asked how she liked the program...same old same old.. She said that they constantly hear they are going to fail...that's not teaching, that's belittling students so they lose what confindence they started out with. Nurses need confindence and encouragement to be good nurses.
These teachers know nothing but how to burst the enthusiasum right out of you. I could tell your so many incidents that happened to me, statements made to me "we all can't be astronauts" huh?  Nursing is hardly that. 
I did have one good nursing instructor who stated "you will catch on, this only the first time".  That is so sensible. 
Wish I could just forget all of this ever happened because its made me such a bitter person inside.  I just felt betrayed by these so-called instructors. This girl I ran into stated they don't teach them how to do anything, but expect them to know everything!
I was taking a second stab at passing pharmacology math and was given a Nursing 4 math test. There were 30 problems on the test, 10 of them were of one particular kind. On the computer this certain problem was only on there once so I figured it must not be important enough so I didn't put any thought into learning it. I told the teacher when she was grading it, she said, "oh I don't have a clue was is on this test, its a Nursing 4 math test I just pulled out of the back of the filing cabinet." So there went one more chance at passing the math.
I don't know why I keep going over this stuff its been over 20 yrs. I keep thinking I should have passed. Amazing at what doubt does to a person's mind.
| | No. 87 |
Feb 27, 2009, 04:50 AM
Re: How My Instructor Affected My Life Originally Posted by PCstudent2009  I knew someone else on here had mentioned journaling and also documenting every little thing :-) These subject threads get so long that sometimes you have to go back and re-read them. I'd actually been considering journaling before this for other reasons, but it's a good thing to do in this case.
To Vito Andolini:
It's not an instructor's responsibility to "weed people out". People like that will weed themselves out eventually. Yes, I know that it happens all the time, but that doesn't mean that it's right. Everyone deserves a fair shake. If they mess up in spite of being given one, then it's totally on them. I was related a story by some younger fellow students of mine who had a particularly difficult instructor for a lecture class (I actually had him for a lab, and he was very rude and disrespectful of me in that lab, but I didn't take the bait). Anyway, this instructor, when called openly on some stuff in this lecture class angrily told everyone in the class to "get out". I cannot personally verify this - it's just what I was told by them later. I did not say this to those students, but if it had been me, I would not have left the classroom. Why? Because I am a working, voting, taxpaying citizen of this state, attending a public education institution. That seat I'm sitting in is *paid for*, and I expect a product (a decent education) to be delivered, as long as I fulfill my part of the contract. Wether or not it's the right time of life for me to be in nursing school or not, is none of the instructor's concern. I am 55 years old and I have a 25 year-old son who's older than most of the students here. I am perfectly capable of deciding when I can or can't go to nursing school, and once I've made the decision, I expect to be treated honorably and fairly.
What I meant by weeding out is this: Student nurses are eventually going to be licensed nurses. They are going to be caring for the helpless public. They need to be capable of safely doing that. If an Instructor passes a student just to keep his or her own life simple or to keep in good standing with school Administrators (who want students to pass, naturally, as it makes the school look good), that Instructor is not doing his or her job. Weeding out does not mean targeting students. I think students need to ask for help when they need it, Instructors need to offer help to students they see struggling. Education is a partnership, both sides have responsibilities to uphold.
Instructors and schools have a responsibility to the public to flunk students who don't make the grade. Furthermore, it is not right to let a student get practically to the end of school or even graduate from school (usually by means of group grades instead of individual student grades) and then that student fails Boards, not having group support while taking the Boards. Better to have a failing student start over early on and do better the 2nd time through. The school and Instructors should be totally supportive to the student who has to be held back or failed. The student should understand exactly what the problems are that caused the failure and should be offered tutoring to help overcome the troubles.
Instructors also have responsibility to help students understand that employers are looking for certain traits in employees. Employers want good attendance, no or rare tardiness, no or very infrequent personal problems that affect work - that includes child care issues, transportation issues, health matters, other emergencies at the house or within the worker's family, and so forth. An employer has a facility to run, a ward to staff, 24/7, and it is not easy. While an employer might be sympathetic to the employee's personal matters, usually they employer must put staffing and patient safety before workers' issues. The student who fails to learn this is going to have a rude awakening on the job. The Instructor needs to teach this to students, I believe.
I'm sure you are doing what is best for yourself and wish you well. However, age doesn't necessarily mean wisdom. That is not directed at you. I'm just generally observing that age doesn't necessarily bring wisdom with it. Have you ever watched "Full Metal Jacket"? Check out Gunnery Sgt. Hartmann's welcome address to the recruits when he mentions weeding out. That soliloquy applies to N School, I believe. Why? Safety, as stated above.
Good luck. What type of Nursing do you want to do? How long do you have left in school?
| | No. 88 |
Feb 27, 2009, 05:13 AM
Updated
Feb 28, 2009 at 07:15 PM by sirI
Re: How My Instructor Affected My Life Originally Posted by queen777 I really dispise the term "weeding out the bad students". I agree with some of what you said, but to me this was the "right time" for me to go back to school. Family, husband or not I was so ready to be that nurse I had always wanted to be.
I had little kids and when I taught them something I let them make mistakes, that is what it's all about. So to me, in class, was that place to make mistakes to prevent them later. I agree.
No one is born knowing how to be a nurse. It takes years to "hone that log" Therefore no teacher should expect perfection from any student. If we knew how to be a nurse, there would be no need in attending school for this.
Nursing is a whole different language from any subject I had ever taken school prior to this time. It takes time to learn the language. And as we go from day to day we can't help but improve. But if a teacher beats a person down in the beginning that teacher/boss is broken and doubt sets in on the student.
Admit it, "A TEACHER CAN MAKE YOU OR BREAK YOU". I am 55 yo. I know what I am talking about! I suppose, but only if that teacher has that mindset. Believe it or not, most teachers only want the best for their students. I think. I know I only wanted to teach, never to destroy anyone.
Look, people should go to school whenever they want, no matter what their personal lives are like. It is not up to me and I do not say they are wrong for doing whatever they are doing, whenever they are doing it.
Understand me now. All I meant, and perhaps did not say clearly, is that some students have so many things going on outside of school that it makes it hard for them to focus on school. They have marital or family issues, health, car, or money issues, etc. They should not come to school expecting to not work hard, expecting sympathy, expecting special breaks because of their personal circumstances. That's what I meant. Sorry for being unclear.
Students must come to learn. I think older students especially have a hard time starting over again. I know I would, especially if the teacher were younger than I.
Students should plan on doing the work, following the rules, understanding that the teacher is trying to teach, not bully them or give them a hard time. Yes, some Instructors are mean or unfair. I do not believe I ever was, certainly not intentionally. I did nothing but try to educate my students, with a pure heart. I never browbeat or put down a student. I also did not let them get by with cheating, tardiness, excessive absenteeism, coming unprepared, or thinking they should be treated differently due to CNA or paramedic history, being older, being a single parent, or anything else. Everyone was held to the same standard. Sudden problems, such as a death in the family, were, of course, treated properly. And while it is hard when a child is ill for example, the fact that a child might be ill from time to time is forseeable. Therefore, the students were told, from the start, to have a plan in place to handle this, as their being absent more than once per semester would result in make-up days. Enough absences (more than 1, as stated), for whatever reasons, including deaths in the family, sick kids, their own sickness, crimes against them, etc., would result in failure and their having to repeat the semester.
It was not my rule. It was harsh but it was reality and I did enforce it. I had to or I'd have been falsifying school records and I was not about to do that for anyone. I have a license to protect, a family to support. In this matter, all Instructors were alike and the school required this of us and backed us up whenever a student tried to fight this, which happened every semester, predictably. The school had to follow state and federal laws or risk going out of business. No student is worth that.
I hate to admit it but I am older than you are. And I think I know something of life, also.
I wish you well. I hope you understand.
| | No. 89 |
Feb 27, 2009, 08:24 AM
Re: How My Instructor Affected My Life
I am so sorry that you had to go through that. Some people are still old school, and think that the only way to build someone up is to first tear them down. I had a similar experience, but not in nursing. I was in the military, and my supervisor constantly demanded three times the work from me as he did other clerks, and my work is the only one he checked himself. Yes, he was as evil to me as evil could get, and I struggled to make sure that I was on top of everything. After a transfer to another department, that same supervisor became very friendly with me, and I asked him outright why he was so hard on me. His answer stunned me, and I remember it to this day: " You have more potential to excel than any of the others I've trained, and you have the drive and ambition to back it up. I expected more from you because I knew you were capable of more, and I needed you to know it too."
While his answer didn't make me feel better about the way he had treated me for the year and a half previous, I did have a better understanding of it. Now I can put that lesson to use in nursing school, because instructors DO expect more from us. Just remember that when you don't have faith in yourself, there is always someone else who does! Good luck!
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