Clinical frustrations

[lostinthemix]

Hi, I am in between the second and third semesters of the ADN program and just a few clinical days away from getting my GVN and being able to take my LVN boards, but I am having some problems in clinicals and would appreciate any advice/feedback from other nursing students and/or nurses. I am actually on my fourth semester of clinical rotations and based on my performance/feedback from my last clinical instructor, I was feeling pretty competent and confident. Here's the catch......every time that I get used to a clinical instructor and the way that they want things done and know all of their pet peeve's, etc., I adapt and I go on to finish the semester successfully. I am currently working on optional clinical rotations to meet the clinical hour requirements to sit for LVN boards. I came to clinicals the first day confident and ready to go, especially since I was assigned to a unit that I have done many clinical rotations at, know the nurses, etc. But much to my surprise, my clinical instructor has very different priorities, different techniques for procedures, and is frankly just extremely "knit-picky". She thinks that her way of doing things is the only right way and I have no problem with that except for the fact that I was unaware of "her way" until after the fact and her way is not always the way that we were taught previously - at school or at the hospital. I highly respect this instructor, I actually had her for theory my first semester and she is a great nurse, but she is wearing me out!!!! It seems like that if I do 99 things right that she is always around when I goof up on that one thing. I feel like I just stepped back to first semester and I am having my hand held all of the time, like I am totally incompetent. I have had so many patients as well as nurses that I have worked with tell me that I am doing a wonderful job and that I am going to be a great nurse, so it comes as a total shock to me that my instructor finds me to be behind or to have some "deficits" as she puts it. I love people, I am compassionate and I give 110% all of the time and I get chewed on, but the students who seem to do the bare minimum and stand out in the halls and talk most of the time get treated like they are some kind of nursing school prodigies. I am truely at a loss! I guess it hurts me most of all because I work so hard and all of my patients and my preceptors have been more than happy w/me and I feel like I am being punished because I am not out standing in the hallways chatting it up w/the instructors. It's really killing my desire to be a nurse because of all of the favortism and politics of the profession. I just wondered if anyone else had experienced similar circumstances? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

First things first - don't worry about what everyone else is doing or not doing, getting away with or not getting away with, both now and in your future career. Set high standards for yourself and then when others set them for you as well it won't come as a shock. If you are giving 110% all of the time, it may be that because your performance is high this instructor also has higher standards for you. It is understandable that you had a head full of steam and now feel taken down a notch. Use it to become a better nurse.

This is just a few weeks out of what will become the rest of your career. You didn't mention if your grade from this instructor is poor. If so, find out why. If not, then your complaint is basically that this instructor isn't telling you how awesome you are. Getting verbal strokes is all well and good, but it sounds like this instructor sees areas where you can be even better at what you do and areas where there is room for improvement. Getting a head full of yourself at this point would be a mistake. Take a deep breath and push onward. You are almost done. Play the game, do the dance and push through. Torturing yourself with the fact that you aren't feeling like you are the shizz anymore and that others are getting away with things you aren't diverts energy and attention away from what is important. You sound like you are doing well. Keep on keepin' on and you will be done before you know it and out in the big world of nursing, which, from what I hear is where we really start to feel like we aren't all that!

[lostinthemix]

Thanks for the advice and insight! I did not mean to give the impression that I had a big head or that I need to constantly be told that I am great or anything like that. When I said that I felt confident, I just meant that from my previous clinicals/instructors that I felt like I was doing pretty well and was on the right path. I have never had a ego or felt that I was better than anyone, nor do I feel that I should be able to stand around and such because that is not my style anyway. I would much rather be doing extra things for my patients and/or reviewing their charts, labs, etc. than just doing the bare minumum anyway. Nothing makes me feel better than to have a patient tell me that I helped them to feel better by doing something "extra" for them that meant a lot to them. It's just that the way that I was doing certain skills and so forth before and was told I were doinging correctly by previous instructors, I am now getting corrected and told that I have deficits. It's just confusing because I do want to be the best that I can be, but I don't want my instructor to think that I am behind or mediocre just because I was doing things the way that I was taught to do them by other instructors. This particular instructor is a nurse that I have looked up to as my nursing role model since my first semester and I guess it just "stings" a little more coming from her.

I agree with you though and thank you for the advice on getting through the rest of school by just accepting the constructive criticism, doing things the way that this instructor wants them done and basically to "just keep on keeping on" and get through it. I realize that nursing is not full of appreciation and glory and that's okay, I just wish there was a little more consistency amongst our instructors as to how they do or do not want us to do things. I am just going to my next clinical with an open mind, a clean slate, and a positive attitude and hope for the best! Thanks again for your advice and insight, it is greatly appreciated!

[alw09]

Oh Honey you sound like you could be going to school with me, You are not alone. My second semester we didn't have enough instructors and we had (Pedi, L&D, Med-Surg, Postpartum,) rotations so we were with a different instructor every week or everyother week. We could never figure out what they wanted. There is no way around it you just have to tell yourself I took care of my patients, and I did nothing wrong. Let it all roll off your back take their advice and make yourself an even better nurse. We also have issues with one instructor saying one thing and another saying something else. SOOOOOOOO confusing I know. I have made it to my last semester with all this too so I am sure you can get through it as well. All that matters is that you have cared for your patients to the best of your ability, and they feel you really do care. Good Luck!

[lostinthemix]

Thanks so much for sharing your similar experiences with me. I'm sorry that you have had to deal with the same types of things, but at the same time it makes me feel better that I am not the only one that feels this way. It is discouraging, but I draw strength from others who are kind enough to share their situations with me and share their coping methods. Thanks so much, you don't know how much better I feel and how much you've encouraged me! :redbeathe The best of luck to you, you're almost at the finish line!!!

[latebloomer74, LPN]

Did we have the same instructor? lol. I know how you feel. It sucks when certain people have the red carpet rolled out for them, and screw the rest of us. And for people that say don't worry about what other people are doing, well if it's effecting the quality of my education, I think I have the right to be a little ****** off about that!