clinical prof, too strict

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Do nursing schools allow students to get a different clinical professor, if the student doesn't get along with their instructor?

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Specializes in Professional Development Specialist.

Um, no. In nursing you will have to put up with all types of personalities. The strict ones are the least of your worries. Find out what is expected of you, and meet those expectations. That is the best advice I can give you for clinicals. Easy going instructors find out quickly that some students will continue to push the limits and that makes teaching very hard. A strict instructor means they care about what you learn, and there's a good chance you can learn a LOT from them if you try. My best clinical instructor sent 4 of the 6 students home the second day of clinicals. I was shaking in my boots the whole day waiting for me to do something wrong and be sent home too. But I wasn't and that instructor was one of my best!

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Specializes in Hospice, ONC, Tele, Med Surg, Endo/Output.
Do nursing schools allow students to get a different clinical professor, if the student doesn't get along with their instructor?

Hah! This is just the beginning of a "fabulous" career choice.

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Nope. :)

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she can want to be a nurse, and not get along with her instructor. That could just be a difference in personalities. Don't shatter her dreams. I have a tough professor---she sent a gal home today because she didn't have her name badge with her! You just have to toughen up. Try to get along w/the teacher, even if you have some differences between the two of you. Good luck!

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Being sent home because of no name badge seems perfectly reasonable to me.

But back to the OP, do your best, I wouldn't ask to be switched that seems like it will cause you more problems in the long run. Like others said you've got to learn to work with difficult people.

I have a tough professor---she sent a gal home today because she didn't have her name badge with her! You just have to toughen up. Try to get along w/the teacher, even if you have some differences between the two of you. Good luck!
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If your "strict" instructor is giving your group a hard time, let him/her have it when you evaluations at the end of the semester. My clinical instructor had us do glucose readings on patients, when it was clearly stated in out syllabus what tests/procedures we would perform on patients, and glucose readings wasn't one of them. So, I complained to the program director, and the instructor was torn a new one. Hey, things weren't that great between her and I, but during the last day of clinicals, she announced she "found a new job" it was code for "the nursing program asked me not to come back next semester." Ahhhh, karma.

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"Sweat today so you don't bleed tomorrow."

Looking back at my instructors I can honestly say that I learned the most and retained the most from my strict instructors.

One instructor would upset me so much I would literally throw up before and after clinicals. I thought I hated him until I started working. The pressure he put under only strengthened me and prepared me for the pressures of the floor.

Your "strict" instructor will not compare to what you will face on the floor from managers, Docs, NPs, family, charges, coworkers.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Nursing Education.

I taught first year students for an RN program for 3 years. What an experience. I went into it thinking I was not going to be one of "those nursing instructors". I changed my tune after the first two quarters. As an instructor, you do have to establish that you are the"alpha dog"! I couldn't believe some of the behaviors from some of my students. I never thought I would send a student home, but seriously, some things just have to be taken care of. Yes, I have sent students home for no name badge, no care plan, improper dress, etc.

The way I came to see it is this..... you are going to literally be performing life and death care some days. If you cant be bothered to come to class prepared- I know, I know, you have a job, kids, boyfriend, husband, yada, yada, yada- then how can I trust you to give potentially lethal medications, decent bedside care, pay attention to your assessments, etc?

Seriously- put the damn cell phone away! Do you really have to be told you can't text in preconference? Yes, I sent someone home for that also.

I am teaching EKG interpretation this quarter, and one of the girls in my class was one of my nursing students last year. She was kind of teasing me about how much nicer I was as an EKG instructor and was telling the rest of the EKG class what a strict nursing instructor I was to her. The rest of the class couldn't believe it because I really run a fun EKG class. She told them all I was "no nonsense" about everything nursing. I considered it a compliment! :D But I think nursing is serious business, and you have the responsibilty of setting the tone about that from the beginning.

There were some students that I just really couldn't stand at all. One girl was going ballistic about one of the other clincal nursing instructors because she called her on some of her poor behavior during lecture. Right in front of me she called her a B**** and so on. She said she just didn't understand why nursing instructors had to be so nasty, etc. When I tried to explain that she wasn't being nasty, just controlling her class, she snapped at me in front of the rest of the class. I was LIVID. I 'excused' her for the day, called my nursing dean, and we had a little meeting at the campus. I just know she is going to be one of those new grads who are impossible to work with!

Anyway, didn't mean to ramble on :lol2:.... just come to class prepared, dress professionally, do your job and the semester/quarter will be over before you know it. Good luck with school!

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

Ha ha nope. Wait until you dont get along with said professor, fail the class then have to take it with her AGAIN. Took the second time of me taking that class to realize it was MY attitude I needed to adjust.

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do nursing schools allow students to get a different clinical professor, if the student doesn't get along with their instructor?

i know some schools allow that.. :)

-sn jorge

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Do nursing schools allow students to get a different clinical professor, if the student doesn't get along with their instructor?

If a student doesn't "get along" with her instructor, said student should put on her big girl panties! (The same goes for guys).

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