I am a full time level II (RN) student with 3 classes and 1 clinical left in this program. I believe the nursing program is biased towards men and just not sure what, if anything I should do.
Last semester the males had some unfair biases placed on them in my opinion. One student had a critical incident report written up on him in clinical. He left the clinical site on time, before the instructor could serve him the papers. Then she investigated the incident, and found it to be false. She had told him, that had she found him, she would have suspended him. That night after talking to the witnesses, she found it to be false.
Another incident involves a husband and wife. We had to do Medspub on line. We were graded on participation and not our score. The husband and wife took this program at the same time, side by side, yet the wife received a higher score for doing the same work.
Another male student was singled out on his last clinical week, and was the only student that had to turn in work. He also received a critical incident report for not knowing the mechanism of action for a drug, yet the other 9 people in his clinical group could not answer the question. He was singled out.
Another male student placed a post on our on line page, stating his displeasure with our class. He was venting, as others had posted before him. I replied to his post in agreement. A female also replied to this post. All our post were removed. When I placed another post in this forum asking who violated our student rights and constitutional rights. The instructor removed the forum completely. Later placing it back up, minus our posts. She admitted removing the posts. The next class day I was removed from class by this instructor, and received a verbal reprimand from the instructor. The other male student, was sent to the nursing office. The female was never talked to. In our student handbook it states students have the right to free speech, etc.
The above is just a sample of what is going on. There is a lot more. What do I do if anything. I have been told that 2 former male students from last year have filed a lawsuit.
Since the school does not employ male nursing instructors, I have thought of contacting the president of the college. I am seriously thinking of leaving this program.
I am placing this here first to get your view on this. We as nurses are asked to be patient advocates. But who looks after us? It is my opinion that I need to bring this to the schools attention. If they will not listen, then where do I go?
It is not my intention to defame or slander this school, only to right the wrongs that have been placed on us.
I had one instructor who had it out for me from the beginning. I should have figured it out earlier, she has zero self confidence and low self-esteem, I'm a bull in a china shop. It was a bad personality match.
When I finally got it through my thick skull that I was going to **** away my opportunity to get through school on time because of some petty disagreement or "justice" or whatever, I sucked it up and sat in the back. I ducked my head for the rest of the semester, got through the class, and got on with it.
On graduation day, I was trading high 5's with my microbiology and anatomy instructors in line, and I saw the nursing instructor who had a problem with me. "Oh, are you still here?" she says. No, I'm graduating. Thanks for the B.
Some people have real discrimination issues, like paperwork missing from their folders, false grades, undeserved bad reviews, that kind of thing. I'm going to go way out on a limb and guess that it's possible to end up in the same situation in a work environment. It's probably a good idea to figure out how to use diplomacy to navigate those troubled waters.
I have been a male nurse for 15 years and have not experienced this. Nursing school was hard as most will agree but it was fair. I have been a CNA, LPN, RN, was a House supervisor twice and a Med Surg manager. Back to my first love the ER now. Never any problems with unfair treatment. All the guys I work with would tell you the same. If there is a problem at your school I would report it and keep reporting it. Strengh is in numbers, the more the better. Do not let them run you off, do not quit, Document well, real well, in detail everything that happens. Facts speak. Good luck to all of you.
While I was doing my OB rotation just a couple of weeks ago I was never present for a lady partsl delivery even though I have wanted to be in one so bad. My instructor would assume that the patient would not want a male nurse (nurse, not doctor) present. So I was always either at the nursery or at the C-section, both of which I loved but I would have appreciated just seeing one delivery.
But other than that, my whole experience through nursing school has been pleasant. Im not apt to give advice to people, but stay strong, have some male friends together and you watch for each other's backs; it takes a family to get through nursing school. Good luck!
Wow, So Im not the only one getting this..I'm in my last semester and I don't know if Im gunna make it..Its been hll. I"m a B student in lecture but with my clinical being subjective I may be doomed, even when Im right-Im wrong, this instructor is determined to get me.
I have recently been accepted to two nursing schools in the Atlanta area and I have already started to feel the discrimination! (I haven't even started the programs yet.) What can I do.....I have been seeking this opportunity for quite some time but I definitely do not want to deal with a bunch of crap for the rest of my career. I ultimately want to become a CRNA but if women instructors are going to intentionally grade me lower, what are the chances of me getting into a CRNA program?? I am a gay male so I have been discriminated against for my whole life essentially. Not whining about it but I am thinking that I may have chosen a wrong career to go into now. Any advice??
I had the same experience(not the gay part though..lol./No disrespect:D) before/when I started at this school..I wish I would of listened to my gut and went somewhere else. It's not the career, it's the school.
Specializes in midwifery, ophthalmics, general practice.
Wow, So Im not the only one getting this..I'm in my last semester and I don't know if Im gunna make it..Its been hll. I"m a B student in lecture but with my clinical being subjective I may be doomed, even when Im right-Im wrong, this instructor is determined to get me.
I'm a clinical practice teacher (part of my role for my sins) which means i am involved in training and assessing students. I can make or break a career... however, to fail a student is actually very difficult. I have only failed one student ever (and trust me she was awful) but to fail her, I had to produce documentation and evidence to support the decision to terminate her training. It wasnt just a case of 'oh I dont like you'. I had to prove that to allow her to continue training would put patients at risk. So take heart, if you do the right stuff, its very difficult to fail you (at least here anyway!)
I first started my Nursing Degree nearly 15 years ago. At the time I enrolled a third year told me to get a diary and note dates, times, locations and exact descriptions of any "problems" that I may find. I started to do this and lasted a semester before deciding that I should go and work in the real world because if the instructors were representative of Nurses I didn't want any part of that *****.
I went back to Nursing and had two individuals try it on but quickly backed off when I explained my stance on that type of behaviour, basically I outlined my plan of the diary, letters to the Dean, Equal Opportunity Advisors (University and Government) as well as the local media outlets.
After this plan was explained there were no problems until my final clinical placements which due to the number of studenrts V's the number of placements I knew that there would be a delay. After six months of waiting, calling and getting no-where I spoke to the placement co-ordinator who told me that there would be a three to four more month wait for my final placements.
I spat the dummy and spoke to the Head of Equity at the University, (I looked up the number on the Internet) and told him that I had had enough and had lost a minimum of seven months work (assuming that I started my placement that day) and was going to bypass his office if my demands were not met. I Emailed him my demands, definate dates for my placements to be given me within a week.
Lo and behold I got a phone call the next day asking if I could start my placement the following Monday, there was a cancelation, (funny that!)
BTW there were people who had not only finished their placements but had there RN ticket and were working before I sarted my final placements. As you can imagine there is no love lost between me and my Nursing School.
End Rant....Sorry, this was going to be a short post but I fired up at the memory.
That really sucks. As a president of a small voc college and adjunct nursing faculty, knowing what I know, here's what you could do.
First things first. Deal with the bias, smile and get your ticket. Keep great records, and maintain contact information on every potential witness, because the next step, if you really want to effect a positive change, comes next.
After you graduate, start collecting witness statements in affidavit format. Retain a lawyer, and send a demand letter to the school for immediate termination of those involved. They will laugh and do nothing. Next, file formal complaints with both regional (Western, Central States, etc) and programmatic accrediting bodies (NLAN) as well as with the state board of nursing. Find out each and every one of the funding sources for the nursing college as well as the institution as a whole. Also, obtain a list of alumni. Research your states equal employment and discrimination codes. You will find the burden of proof, although it's on you, is extremely low (preponderance of evidence versus clear and convincing). Next send a memo out to the alum and all funding sources what this institution has done, outlining failure of leadership to correct the problem.
Next have your attorney file a discrimination claim including elements of civil rights violations, naming the institution, the college of nursing, each and every nursing instructor, the chair (if applicable) and the dean. The import here is on the civil rights gig, so you can opt to use a federal forum for leverage. Find out other places where these instructors work and have worked and have your attorney subpoena employee files to document trends in discriminatory behavior. File formal actions against the nurses licenses with the state board of nursing, using the pending litigation as evidence of violating nursing practice acts, which always mandate that nurses follow both state and federal code, especially when it comes to civil rights.
Next, make public each and every action, as it goes through the channels. File a thread on ripoffreport.com, Better Business Bureau and post on this site.
The bottom line--What they did to you and the others, based on their gender, constitutes harassment in the form of discrimination. This behavior places each and every employee of that institution of loosing big money--in the form of litigation, but more importantly, in lost funding. No bucks--no program.
Ultimately, its up to you how you proceed. Just my 2 cents.
This is very helpful information for me. I know that I will have to keep my head up as I enter Nursing school. I only see one Male Nursing Instructor listed and I know the student female to male ratio will about 25:1 if not, more. I also know that I will still have make sure anything I say is said, has much more thought used before as not to draw myself into any unneeded conflict.
Just hang in there. The way I see it is there are lots of people out there who have had it way worse. Just buck up and graduate. Maybe you need to reassess yourself...you may not be doing so hot if your instructors are that hard on you.
If you really really really feel that strongly about it, theres only one thing to do. Anonymously, report the incident to the state board, of course I would suggest you do it after graduating.....Other than that keep your nose clean and endure it.
algebra_demystified
215 Posts
I had one instructor who had it out for me from the beginning. I should have figured it out earlier, she has zero self confidence and low self-esteem, I'm a bull in a china shop. It was a bad personality match.
When I finally got it through my thick skull that I was going to **** away my opportunity to get through school on time because of some petty disagreement or "justice" or whatever, I sucked it up and sat in the back. I ducked my head for the rest of the semester, got through the class, and got on with it.
On graduation day, I was trading high 5's with my microbiology and anatomy instructors in line, and I saw the nursing instructor who had a problem with me. "Oh, are you still here?" she says. No, I'm graduating. Thanks for the B.
Some people have real discrimination issues, like paperwork missing from their folders, false grades, undeserved bad reviews, that kind of thing. I'm going to go way out on a limb and guess that it's possible to end up in the same situation in a work environment. It's probably a good idea to figure out how to use diplomacy to navigate those troubled waters.
Good luck, gents.