Dreading clinicals!

[krenee]

Now I know I'm not alone in this . . . I am in my final semester, and for the first time, I got a really, well, mean clinical instructor. She is just waiting to pounce & yell at someone for something, if you know the type. I know from what I've heard, that she's all bark and no bite . . . meaning she isn't going to fail you, just make you feel really, really bad, so I just have to get through it . . . but 7 weeks of her sounds like an eternity right now!

So, I could just use some encouragement! Anyone else survive a really tough instructor? My plan is to nod and smile, and apologize immediately if she says I did anything wrong - doesn't matter if I agree, one doesn't argue with her! LOL.

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

I have heard other students complain about my last clinical instructors. I even had other instructors warn me about how she bragged about giving out critical U's.

I was really nervous to have to spend 7 weeks with this" terrible" clinical instructor.

However, she turned out to be one of the best clinical instructors that I've ever had. Yes, there were times when she bit my head off... but I quickly learned from my mistakes.

I learned that if you come to clinicals mentally and psychologically prepared you will do fine.

Before I gave any meds I made sure I knew them in and out, so she wouldn't chew me out for that. I always made sure she was present for all procedures and med administration. I communicated with her on every thing. I took initiative and helped out my other classmates. I didn't stand or sit around doing nothing. I offered to help out with things and to gather information about the hospitals protocol for different procedures. I basically did everything I could to not give her a reason to yell at me. If you use confidence, good judgement, and take initiative you should do fine.

That instructor loved me ! Even though others thought she was mean, I knew that I would have an impact on how she treated me.

So what if you still have problems with her ?

Hold your head up, stick your chest out and be proud of the fact that you will be a nurse soon, and will only have to deal with her for seven weeks.

Smile, grin, and keep going. You're smart, and will make a nice nurse.

Just know that all of us nursing students have had mean instructors at one point in time. But don't let her get you down.

[redtshirt]

when our instructors come to check up on us i walk speedily with something in my hand "oh im really really busy today sorry cant really talk have to do x,y and z". Ours arent so much instructors because they dont really teach us anything thats the RN's jobs. They just check we're there all the time