I'm in my psych clinical right now. It's been only day 5 and I have a lot more clinicals left. I am a quiet person and I am not not talkative or outgoing like others in my group. I've had 3 clinicals before this, and my clinical instructors have all said I would be an excellent nurse. However, this psych clinical is different. The instructor first lets us do 1 hour of group activity with the patients and then gives us time to speak to different patients. We have about 1.5-2 hours of post conference. She always says she has a lot of experience in psych and is an expert because she went into psych right after graduation which has been about 30 years. However, once you ask her direct questions pertaining to psych, she doesn't know the answer. She goes..hm...let's look it up in the book or she would direct the question to us, asking what we would do. I thought maybe she was tired for that day, but she doesn't know. even in class, other students would ask a question, and she would just direct the question to us or just say some bs.
i am quiet, but i do talk to patients. i may not be very talkative, but when i'm 1:1, i talk and ask questions. in post conference, in front of everyone, she says i'm too quiet and that i will never be a good nurse. i was extremely upset. how would she know when she hasn't even seen me in the med-surg clinicals. this is just psych and maybe some people are not cut out for psych. she says i'm too quiet.
yesterday, i overheard her speaking to another instructor about me. she was talking s*** about me. how do i overcome this when i have so many days left of clinical?
I feel for you I too had a teacher go for me. Just do whatever you can to stay out of her way, and get anyone but her in clinicals in the future. You might want to talk one on one with her, and explain what goes on with you and the patients. Also stop asking questions, she maybe taking it personally.
OMGoodness! Dear OP, I think you know what the instructor wants to see, and as many other have said, "act the part." Now, I would STRONGLY caution you against asking this instructor about you can improve. Don't ask how to improve, tell this instructor YOUR plan for improvement. Crazy or not, the instructor has the legitimate authority to affect your clinical grading. Perhaps you could consider just giving her a few updates over the next few sessions, something like....
"You know, I've done some real self reflection and I recognize that I am a better patient advocate when I am more verbally engaged than I have been. I've figured out a plan of action and would like to get your input on it. Essentially, I've decided that I can become better involved by practicing 1st) paraphrasing a key element of a conversation or group interaction, and then 2nd), expanding on it or asking for clarification. I just practiced this when talking with the charge RN about bipolar manic phases and calming patients down with both pharmacological and non-pharm techniques. I learned a lot and I feel good about developing this plan. I'll keep you updated as I add more "skills" to it. What do you think?"
Notice the careful choice of words. Present tense, observable, self directed, proactive. Those elements paint the picture YOU want the instructor to see. Then make those things happen.
It's kinda a Jedi mind trick, and it worked for me on my OB clinical (which I hated just as much if not more than psych!)
Dry your tears, good luck, make a plan, and work it. You can get through this! --Lobot
It never ceases to amaze me how astute the psych assessment skills of student nurses are. I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear all the diagnoses I've been given in my time.
But enough about that. I think you've received some good advice on what not to do. Internet communication about how shy you are seems counterproductive. If you cannot confront her about your concerns, you are basically validating her evaluation of you.
Somewhere along the line, many students fail to remember what the instructors job is... To give the student honest feedback. We are not always going to tell you what you want to hear. Nursing is not just about who puts in the best foley, or passes meds the fastest. Communication and interaction is becoming more and more of a problem when evaluating students. Society as a whole is losing the concept of human interaction: I see it in almost every store I go to. The only place it still seems to exist is in those professions who rely on tips.
You will likely make an excellent nurse. Maybe not an excellent psych nurse (and maybe you have no desire to pursue that avenue). But every aspect of nursing requires therapeutic communication, so you may just want to take her advice, and use this as an opportunity for self-improvement. And what exactly did she say about you behind your back? That you were shy?
I wouldn't be so certain that the OP WASN'T meant to hear.....
Since I was not there I can assume the instructor was not making derogatory comments in an attempt to communicate with the student in a non-direct manner. As most people do, she was probably venting as much as anything else. Point being she was venting to a colleague, not a student.
OMG, no! I have just been reading through responses when I got to this and can't say enough do NOT do that. Take a look at the rest of the posts here first, give yourself time to reflect on this a bit, and bite yourself in the hand before you think of shooting off an EMAIL to this instructor.
If your instructor hasn't been alerted to this thread on a public web site and identified you already, it is most likely only a matter of time. All the more reason for you to take what you can from the responses and let this matter go.
Caliotter3....I think the probability is really pretty low that the person can be directly linked to a specific student/faculty interaction on this site. This type of scenario is very typical of a NStudent who may already be a little shy coming into the spotlight unexpectedly in a psych rotation due to "lack of communication, being too quiet, not engaging, etc" (which the psych rotation is all about the communication piece anyway!). I agree, however, that the OP should take a break, review the situation with some perspective, and then act or let it go.
Let it go and free your mind. Much worse could and does happen when being a nurse. You can't please everyone and not everyone is going to like you, its just a fact. And, at the same time you must try and be civil with everyone. Don't allow her to have that kind of power over you, its what will eat you up inside.
Caliotter3....I think the probability is really pretty low that the person can be directly linked to a specific student/faculty interaction on this site. This type of scenario is very typical of a NStudent who may already be a little shy coming into the spotlight unexpectedly in a psych rotation due to "lack of communication, being too quiet, not engaging, etc" (which the psych rotation is all about the communication piece anyway!).
Not completely out of the question. I've seen it here, people I know in real life. Sometimes people aren't slick enough to make themselves anonymous enough
True enough, ProfRN! And you're right that it can happen to those who don't focus enough on anonymity. I've seen posters use a first initial and last name that wasn't common at all and identify a city and community college where attending an ADN program. eeek!
And Capricorn has it right. I hope Leogirl8 can make a plan, work it, and let it go. There will be tougher challenges than this on the other side of the NCLEX, that's for sure.
True enough, ProfRN! And you're right that it can happen to those who don't focus enough on anonymity. I've seen posters use a first initial and last name that wasn't common at all and identify a city and community college where attending an ADN program. eeek!
And Capricorn has it right. I hope Leogirl8 can make a plan, work it, and let it go. There will be tougher challenges than this on the other side of the NCLEX, that's for sure.
I've figured out people here (and been figured out as well) without any real names used in the username. Nursing is a small community and a couple of details can really narrow you down. I try to remember to post as though my full name IS splashed across my account.
I make it a point to not say anything that is bad or demeaning, then it does not matter to be anonymous...and so what if her instructor sees it? And knows her? At least she can see how badly she wants to fix this and the way people care about her.
that wasn't common at all and identify a city and community college where attending an ADN program. eeek! 
macgirl
154 Posts
I feel for you I too had a teacher go for me. Just do whatever you can to stay out of her way, and get anyone but her in clinicals in the future. You might want to talk one on one with her, and explain what goes on with you and the patients. Also stop asking questions, she maybe taking it personally.