I am in a prestigious nursing school, and had a very bad experience with a preceptor. I found her harsh, uninterested in the student's progress and very critical and inflexible. All of my other preceptors were fantastic.
I tried speaking with the 2 directors of the program and clinical, and was completely put down by them and attacked personally, with every fault of mine they can think of, being bought up, as opposed to getting any support, encouragement or being listened to.
This was a very bad surprise, as the school itself seemed very focused on the student's best interests.
Does anyone have advice? It was not at all my intention for any of this to happen, and I am now eve questioning this field.
I disagree. The responses immediately pointed out what they felt she did wrong. As if the whole thing must have been her fault. We have no idea what happened and I think a little support would have been more helpful. Perhaps the encouragement to hang in there because not all nurses are uninterested in helping students and things will get better.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I am so sorry you have had this experience. You are going to run into people like this throughout your career. I would not let one bad apple spoil the whole bushel. I would take it as a valuable experience and move forward.
I myself am not giving away the school I am in. It may not neccesarily be Columbia (I asked how easy it was to get in on behalf of a friend who was going to apply.)
So Been There RN, I must say that I really appreciate you standing up for my behalf. That is really special.
As for the story, the preceptor was my clinical instructor, not a nurse, who was assigned the whole semester. As for her behavior, my entire group found her intimidating, harsh and unfair and wanted to portray herself as tough and efficient but left is feeling unsupported and judged. Her evaluations of us were absolutely awful, mostly blown out of proportion. This was when I went to the "higher ups" to report this on the behalf of my group who were afraid to speak up to anyone, that I got blasted.
Either way, the past is the past and I learned lots of lessons from this, some mentioned in this thread. Thanks for your support :)
Unfortunately, it is true what they say about nurses eating their young. I too had a bad experience with a nurse instructor at the university level. I had a very difficult time fighting for myself. As you have already experienced many people fail to understand the depth of the issues when it is presented to them. They may get caught up in technicalities and view you as a whiner and a slacker. Or they simply be uninterested in getting involved in your issues. You may not think so now but a severe problem can affect your future performance and possibly your ability to matriculate. I recommend that you keep written records of your work (black out patients names), assignments you handed in and anything your instructor has given you. Also keep a diary or record of her conversations with you, witnesses, any actions which were aggressive towards you, etc. Keep your your notes as objective as possible. Electronic records are good to have so if possible communicate with this instructor and with the administrator that you complained to by email. Always send yourself a copy as well. As you have already found out a verbal complaint is not enough. You must have proof and the factual information that you collect. Now complaints such as yours must go up the ladder. Always start with the immediate supervisor and if you get a poor response go over their head. Also they must be reported in a timely manner. Do not wait. Time is not your friend here. The university has a set procedure for issues such as yours. Find out what they are and follow them. If this issue is truly severe you may consider getting legal help as well. Remember who you are dealing with. The nursing instructors in the department likely know each other but may or may not get along. It is likely that they talk about students so it is possible that you may get another instructor later whose behavior towards you is directly influenced by the instructor who is currently giving you problems. This happened to me. It was a nightmare! I did learn several lessons. You need to address this issue quickly before it comes to you ( it is always better to be on the offensive rather than the defensive), be objective and factual, line up your allies (maybe there are others in the department who have had similar experiences?, It is likely that this person has made some enemies due to her negativity.), do not hesitate to get legal help, and ALWAYS MAKE YOUR OWN ASSESSMENTS! I have been a nurse for 25 years. When I hear negative things about patients or staff I base my own opinion on what I experience, not on the comments of others. I hope that helps. Good Luck!
So Been There RN
7 Posts
I disagree. The responses immediately pointed out what they felt she did wrong. As if the whole thing must have been her fault. We have no idea what happened and I think a little support would have been more helpful. Perhaps the encouragement to hang in there because not all nurses are uninterested in helping students and things will get better.