I just finished my first week of nursing school so maybe it just takes time, but I feel like I'm being consistently left out of my clinical group. They formed cliques pretty early on and already seem so close-knit. I'm pretty introverted and I know my social skills need work, but I feel like I've been pretty friendly so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.
I don't mind not being friends since you don't really click with everyone, but I don't even feel welcome most of the time. Like we all downloaded an app to keep in contact, and one girl said she'd add everyone's numbers to form a group. I feel like they've been using it already but it's been 3 days and I haven't even received a group invite. If we're having group discussions I get talked over or don't even get my opinion asked. If we have to split up into pairs people seem reluctant to pair up with me. I'm on okay terms with one girl in the group but she isn't always there, so today in lab when we were supposed to practice using the BP cuffs I was left on my own with no one to practice with.
I'm honestly happy I got into nursing school and happy I got through the first week but this is just breaking my heart.
All the teachers say "rely on your classmates! They'll be your support!" but I don't feel any of that. I'm fine working on my own and I don't mind working with a group, but rejection isn't fun.
Should I just...wait it out, relax and try to be as helpful as possible? Confront them to see what the issue is and if we can work it out? Ask to switch to another clinical group? Just...accept the situation, plow through on my own and hope for a better semester in the spring? I don't know. I want to be able to focus on my reading and training for skills lab but this is weighing over my head.
We had some issues where people formed cliques in nursing school but I jumped around to all the different options so I wasn't really aware of it. I had clinical classmates I could rely on except for one or two who were kind of ****** towards me. To be honest, I would have just asked another group if you could have practiced with them if there is an odd one out.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Meh------ I found I did better studying and doing my work on my own. Study groups always had one or two slackers who depended on the rest to spoon feed them or do the work for them. I had no time for that. But I WAS already married, a mother of a toddler and I had 10 years' military experience and I pretty sure of myself. I had a life outside nursing school that was full enough.
If they liked me as I was, fine; if not, ok. NO skin off me and my goals never wavered.
We introverts have a tougher time and have to try harder to be a part of the group. I was astonished when someone I trusted told me that they thought my quietness meant I was snobbish and didn't want to be part of the group! I had a tough time jumping in and joining conversations since I was sure I had nothing interesting to say, and evidently that was seen by the others as meaning that I was uninterested...
This happens to me too. I have a hard time fitting in because I am introverted while it seems like others become best friends in the first few minutes of class. When people finally get to know me, they usually always state they didn't realize I was so friendly as I was coming off snobby to them.
I have no advice to add because you have received amazing advice already but I just wanted to send hugs to you and let you know you're not alone.
I know about being introverted, but I found that curating resources and starting a shared dropbox account for the class was a positive. It probably helped that we had leadership that set up an us-vs-them environment as well. In their own words, they created a "monster", but the result was that our cohort developed a sense of camaraderie. It's early still, give it some time and if an opportunity presents, rally the troops and consider yourself a stakeholder in everyone's success.
I'm in my 4th semester of nursing school. While I participate, help out anyone who asks, administrate our class FB group, share willingly and cheerfully.... guess what? You are not alone whether it is your 1st week or 4th semester. There are cliques, people get left out. It shouldn't happen, but it does.
What I ended up doing for skills is outright approaching classmates and asking if I could join them even if I were to be a fifth wheel (so to write). If a set of classmates stated their group was full, I then approached an instructor asking if she could watch me perform the skill and critique what needed to change or otherwise improve.
My school is full of cliques because it participates in a dual degree program with a local college - so it seems like 3/4 of the class are 19 and already know each other from the other school. I'm only 2 weeks in, but I'm a little older than the average student (mid-20's) and I sought out people who seemed mature and who also weren't in the dual degree program to talk to and study with and it's worked out okay for me (so far... I mean, everyone in my group passed our first nursing test soooo ) I would suggest listening to the convo around you before class and if you hear people next to you complaining about how hard the studying was or whatever, jump in and sympathize. See who you click with and suggest that after class you get together in the library or wherever to study. Those smaller study groups are where you'll make pals.
I started nursing school not too long ago myself and it seems that the trend is that groups were formed from the initial orientation. We happened to sit next to someone and it grew from there. We currently have a close-knit group of 6, but no one ever hesitates when we get scrambled up and put together with others we don't particularly know. Most of us happen to be type A personalities and over-talk each other on a regular basis! LOL! One of the girls happens to be on the quiet side and I don't ever feel she is left out of the group, she simply isn't overtly talkative. I think if it is difficult for you to interject into a larger group conversation then a smaller group might be better. I don't think people with good intentions try to exclude anyone but due to your quiet nature they may have just forgotten to add you to their group app. I think we all struggle with our own weaknesses. I personally have high anxiety and compensate with a lot of talking. There's a lot of facets of nursing school that we never thought of until we actually got there. The bottom line is to step out of your comfort zone and do what you never thought you were capable of doing. Whether it be trying to be more social with a group of peers or getting in the personal space of your patient. Nursing is a profession that we are driven to but most of us need to overcome our own fears and insecurities to get there!! Keep an open mind and never forget that you need to constantly be stepping out of your own comfort zone!!!
) I would suggest listening to the convo around you before class and if you hear people next to you complaining about how hard the studying was or whatever, jump in and sympathize. See who you click with and suggest that after class you get together in the library or wherever to study. Those smaller study groups are where you'll make pals.
applesxoranges, BSN, RN
2,242 Posts
We had some issues where people formed cliques in nursing school but I jumped around to all the different options so I wasn't really aware of it. I had clinical classmates I could rely on except for one or two who were kind of ****** towards me. To be honest, I would have just asked another group if you could have practiced with them if there is an odd one out.