Advice on how to cope

[hickchick]

Hi everyone. I was hoping for some feedback and suggestions as to what I should do regarding some issues that are of concern. Here is a few things that I am struggling with.

1. Information being given in the classroom is contradicting to what is being taught at my clinical site.

2. The clinical instructor is doing nothing but stressing everyone out. Students are crying, walking away for self time outs and each of us feels very stupid because of the comments that are being made to us by the clinical instructor.

3. You can not talk to the clinical instructor because she is so condescending and simple not nice.

4. Clinical instructor told one student to get on medication.

Ok so there are a few things I am curious about. How would you handle these things? Neither the classroom instructor or the clinical instructor really teach. It is all about figure it out on your own and when you get it wrong, lets just say that you are told how stupid you are. And finally what clinical instructor talks down to and insults a student nurse in front of a patient? Has anyone else ever dealt with this?

[tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN]

Moved to General Nursing Student forum.

[krisiepoo]

What do you mean that information is being contradicted from classroom to clinical? Classroom is book learning, clinicals are real life. Like they're teaching different lab values? I guess I don't understand.

Clinical instructors can be a whole nother breed unto themselves, unfortunately. My advice (and what I did) was buddy up with my RN that has my patient. Take care of my patient but let them know you're interested in learning/seeing/doing and would appreciate anything they can show them. The RN's at my current site have asked us to ask them questions on what we're currently learning/being tested on so they can help (if they can) and brush up on their info, too. It's a really cool situation. I also (when I had a couple bad clinical instructors) did my charting either in the patients room while I was doing the assessment, or I would find an empty room and chart in there. If you can't be seen (but are getting your work done) you can't be the focus of your instructor. I also found that answering the call lights of other patients not only helped me learn more, but took me out of the wrath of the instructor because I was so busy.

Unfortunately the situation you're describing is all too familiar with too many people. My best advice is to grow thicker skin because it will help you when the doctor speaks to you like that... or the charge nurse... or the patients family... Think of it as a learning experience unto itself

[minniebrown]

Usually for the tests, study what you have been told in class. Things change and evidence based practice may show that something is more effective, but it may take some time before it is being integrated into nursing practice or phased out. So your clinical instructor could have taught you something that was the "old" way of doing things, but you are being tested on what you learned in class.

For a difficult clinical instructor, I would suggest a positive and open attitude. Do your part to prepare for clinical. Complete all of your assignments. Think before you ask a question. You may already know the answer or the answer can be discovered in a text, or look it up on a smart phone. You need to be confident and fake it if you have to. Focus on why you are at clinical and not your clinical instructors attitude or delivery. Don't get caught up in the drama and be professional. You can only change yourself, so learn to let go of things that you cannot change.

[danceyrun]

Nursing school teaches what you need to know to pass NCLEX and the tests reflect what would happen in a perfect, NCLEX world. Our instructors tell us what we see and learn in clinical should not be taken into consideration when answering test questions (short of lab values, medication side effects, etc).

[motay68]

As a first semester nursing student I can honestly say there are a lot of differences between the clinicals and the classroom. When we ask our instructors about the way certain things are actually practiced and the way we are being taught they say (every single one of them) that their job is to show us how to be a nurse and prepare us for NCLEX. They key in on the fact that nursing has never been, isn't, and never will be a black and white profession. It will be our job when we become RN's to act in the best interest of our patients.

As for the instructor we do have a particular one that gives every student nightmares. Condescending and mean are probably the nicer of the names she has been called. However, I will say in her defense her students are probably some of the most advanced in our class. Even though they have not enjoyed their experience with her, they all say they feel like they learned the most. Also, they have banded together and are a huge source of support for each other.

I ended up with her on my first lab final and it was rough. She made me feel like I was pretending to be a student nurse and like I wasn't prepared at all..... BUT I haven't forgot a single thing I learned from her when she explained everything I did wrong. Would I go out of my way to do my next clinical with her? Not for a guarantee that I would pass NCLEX on my first try (Well that might be slightly dramatic ) but I can't discount that I learned from her in 10 minutes what I spent an entire semester trying to remember.