Abusive and Cruel Clinical Instructors: Why??

[sallber]

Forgive me, but I've noticed on these boards when a student is afraid of a overly harsh clinical instructor, there seems to be a running theme: angry clinical instructors that embarrass students, intimidate them, and make them afraid of them are the clinical instructors you want, because they make you work hard?

Huh?

This is grossly incorrect, in my humble opinion. I had a clinical instructor who picked on only me in a class of eight people. She would actually chart for other students, was kind to them. When it came to me, she embarrassed me in front of patients, their families, and other staff. She talked down to me, she consistently made me feel that I was not going to be a good nurse.

Absolutely EVERYTHING I did was wrong, and nothing I did was right. Even when there were no mistakes on my charting, she made it a point NOT to tell me how well I was doing, yet did it with other students.

It had a horrible effect on me: I lost 25 pounds, I was stressed out beyond belief. I was not sleeping, and it took a toll on other classes I was taking. I am an A student, and I began to get grades that were below that. It was then that I took control of my life.

I realized that when there is a person, instructor, boss, manager, who you can NEVER, EVER PLEASE, despite how hard you work, and how correct your work may be, there may be a personality disorder there, and you may need to simply talk to other faculty who may be able to talk to the instructor. You may just need to realize that IT'S NOT YOU, IT'S THEM. And that's ok. It's ok to realize that you are doing your best, and there are people who you cannot please. But lateral violence, nurses being mean and cruel to each other, and younger nurses accepting this attitude and even praising it is baffling to me.

This harshness and uncaring attitude that some clinical instructors show to students is what fuels lateral violence in the nursing profession, and it makes being a nurse more about personality conflicts than taking care of patients. In nursing school, I have seen more times than I care to remember other nurses who are mean and cruel to new nurses, or me as a nursing student. I don't cower in a corner like many nursing students, I stand up to nurses like that, and demand to be treated with respect.

I can understand that nursing students may be afraid to cross these clinical instructors, but what kind of nurse will you be, and how can you advocate for patients, if you cannot advocate for yourself? You need courage to be a nurse, and it seems that the message on many boards is: "do what you can with mean clinical instructors, be silent, accept the abuse, and move on". This just seems strange to me since as nurses, we need to be strong for our patients.

There is a nursing shortage going on, and we don't need students dropping out of programs because they have clinical instructors stuck in the past who think it's acceptable to embarrass and intimidate students and create a hostile class environment. It's unnecessary, and we as nurses need to acknowledge it.

I think it's high time that abusive instructors and nurses who practice lateral violence to other nurses and CNA's realize just how they are making this nursing shortage worse, by discouraging bright and talented nurses who don't need the cruelty. For those of you who are reading this who practice this behavior and you know who you are: Stop It.

And we wonder why so many nurses leave the profession.

[WHICH]

I am having a similar issue except my instructor has taken it a step further. for my care plan, I was not given access to my information on my client until the day our care plan was due. I had attempted to contact my instructor numerous times before this due date expressing that I did not have the client information in order to complete the care plan. At first she did not even reply to my messages. When I finally got a response from her, I was told that she was too busy at work to help me and to do the best I could. I was at a panic level of anxiety and the toll it took on me was huge. I reached out to my lecture professor for guidance and he could not believe what my CI was putting me through. He was very understanding and apologetic that I had such anxiety about it. When I was finally able to get my client information, I immediately started working on my care plan to finish it. Unfortunately, the client I chose to write this assignment was not the best decision due to a lack of information. This made my task even harder to complete my care plan. Again, I attempted to communicate this with my CI and was told not to worry about due dates and to make sure I did the care plan correctly because that was the most important thing. Being a student forced to trust my professors and CI's, I believed her and attempted worked ferociously to finish it. Three weeks after the initial due date of our care plan, I was called in by my lecture professor to discuss a clinical concern. When I met with my lecture professor, he asked me what was going on with clinical and why I had not turned in my care plan and said it was 3 weeks due. When I heard this, I was flabbergasted and stunned. He stated that my CI reported to him that my assignment was late. I couldn't believe that this was happening and became distraught. My lecture professor told me to email my CI stating that we had a meeting where I learned my care plan was 3 weeks late and for my CI to clarify the due date of the care plan. This gave me a temporary sense of relief but was worried that my CI would set me up (as she has done to myself and one other student all semester). My CI emailed me and the lecture professor back stating that he was right, my care plan to her knowledge was 3 weeks late and that I had to suffer the consequences. This was the ultimate blow for me. I have an A in this class and have received recognition from the school for having a perfect grade in the class. It took me 2 years to get into nursing school and take my education and opportunity in nursing school very seriously. I find myself numb and hopeless about my situation with my CI and don't know if I can pass the clinical now because of this CI lying. I spoke to my advisor about what was happening (because I have kept her up to date on my progress in this clinical because I don't trust my CI) and she couldn't even believe that this was happening. I don't know what to do and feel that this will make me bitter, cynical and lose my passion for nursing. I recognize that I cannot make every person like me and that I will encounter people like this my entire life. I understand that. However, I feel that I cannot take the higher road on this because I am at risk for failing this clinical and class which will push my graduation date back one whole year. I do not have the finances for this to happen and fear that it will result in me leaving nursing school all together. Please, if any of you have any advice or words of encouragement please send it my way. I don't know what to do and feel hopeless.

That person wants to break you. Don't allow people to do that to you. Keep your sanity together.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Do your best. You're practicing under that person's license.

No. This is a common misperception that needs to just go away already. The only person who works under a license is the person named on it. A student does not work under the license of the instructor; the student works under an exception granted by the BON. The only liability to a license on the part of the clinical instructor would be if the clinical instructor knowingly assigned a student a patient for which the education thus far has not prepared them.

https://nursing.iowa.gov/faq/do-nursing-students-practice-under-their-clinical-instructors-nursing-license

Additionally, this thread is many many years old and many pages long. You also fail to quote the post to which you are responding, so no one has any point of reference to what you are responding to. AN does not post replies immediately under the post replied to but rather at the end of the thread. Including the original post provides a frame of reference and also gives a link back to that post. The quote button is right next to the reply button.

[WHICH]

Hi, I am so glad I found this post. I am having a major issue with my clinical instructor. I am new to nursing and a month and a half into my program. I have a clinical instructor told me (in front of my whole class) to get my hearing checked and she doesn't know what I am going to do as a nursing student because I couldn't hear the sounds of the blood pressure. I had her scream at me because I was asking questions in lab able clinical when lab is for lab and clinical is for clinical. I dread clinical every week and physically get sick to my stomach when I go because i know it is going to be a hostile environment. There are so many more situations that I don't have time to write them. Listen, I am not looking for Polly Anna, I'm looking for a healthy nursing educator who understands what a nursing student is going through and has some empathy. I can't learn in this environment; it's debiliating. However, I will not let this unhappy woman break me either.

Funny thing is that some of those educators don't cross their mind that they are probably teaching their students like Nightingale who finds a purpose in life other than being mean.

[WHICH]

No. This is a common misperception that needs to just go away already. The only person who works under a license is the person named on it. A student does not work under the license of the instructor; the student works under an exception granted by the BON. The only liability to a license on the part of the clinical instructor would be if the clinical instructor knowingly assigned a student a patient for which the education thus far has not prepared them.

https://nursing.iowa.gov/faq/do-nursing-students-practice-under-their-clinical-instructors-nursing-license

Additionally, this thread is many many years old and many pages long. You also fail to quote the post to which you are responding, so no one has any point of reference to what you are responding to. AN does not post replies immediately under the post replied to but rather at the end of the thread. Including the original post provides a frame of reference and also gives a link back to that post. The quote button is right next to the reply button.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

[TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN]

I swear I didn't go to school to be the emotional toilets of clinical instructors except to those who tell me to study, do my job right and stay out of trouble. Tell me I'm wrong and show me how it's done correctly. If those kinds of instructors cannot pull their heads out of their anal cavity, why do they teach? If they cannot handle their job, there are other non-nursing jobs for them. They don't have to deal with students.

There's an old saying: Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. Plus healthcare is full of egos.

This is sadly not a problem that's going to go away any time soon. Students need to have higher expectations of their teachers, because college isn't cheap. The one thing that needs to constantly be on your mind is that you are paying for this.

When you have a bad clinical instructor, all you can really do is just deal with it. It's at the most only a few years of your life, most likely, it's only a couple weeks or months. Just let them feel important, and just get through your class. It's not worth it letting them stress you.