First Clinical Instructor

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At my nursing school, we get a new clinical instructor for each semester. My first semester is finishing up and I'm reallllly sad to get a new clinical instructor. I like my clinical instructor so much and I've heard horror stories about the other instructors from friends of mine who have them. I pretty much got the best instructor this term and it just makes me think its all down hill from here. When I think about getting a new instructor next semester and not having the one I have now, I seriously get sad. Now when I first started out this semester with the instructor I have now I was kind of scared of her and didn't really like her that much. Now I get along with her good and she jokes around with me, and is generally a really good instructor, and makes clinical fun. Has this happened to anyone else? I'm just wondering if this is normal to not want any other instructor other than whoyou had the first time around. I've talked to a few people and they said they felt the same way but then when they got a new instructor the following semester they were okay with it and the new instructor grew on them too. Give your input please....

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I think what you are feeling is completely normal. But when you get in with the next instructor-you'll get used to them and they may or may not grow on you like the first one.

Change is good. The next one may have some things the first one didn't and that will be even more for you to learn.

Good luck!

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Its normal I think to feel that way about your first instructor. This was the person who helped you find your wings! You will always be able to visit this person, and it sounds like you have a great reference for your resume!

Don't put much faith into what other people say about the other instructors either. They may not be as bad as they are made out to be. Go into your next semester with an open mind and try to remind yourself that just because its a different person, it doesn't mean that person is a bad instructor.

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I think what you are feeling is completely normal. Our first clinical instructor remains our academic advisor through the year, and is the person who pins us in June. I absolutely LOVE my instructor, but I also realize, I may love all my instructors and each one brings their own experiences with them. So far, I've heard nothing bad about any of our instructors...of course we thought WE had the best :chuckle and were able to do alot more in the clinical setting than some other groups. We were her fledglings...and she really let us earn our wings.

Good luck!

~T

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Specializes in Critical Care, Pediatrics, Geriatrics.

it can be scary! I have had four different CI's and each one brings out something new and better in me. Some are harder than others, but it just makes you better at what you do! The worst thing to do is to go in with a preconceived idea of what someone will be like...especially if it is negative. That can really hold you back.

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Specializes in ER, NICU.

I tend to agree that you learn from each new instructor:

You learn which ones are the witches and which are the good ones. :lol2:

I had this one psych instructor: I got LOCKED between the double "safety" doors for quite some TIME before the staff at the unit looked up to push the door release trigger to let me IN the locked psych unit!

Well, I tried to explain to this CI that I'd been on time, but locked/trapped between the doors - making it impossible for me to be on time...

She looked at me and said: "You are always late!!!". Well, all my nursing student "sisters" - knowing full well how paranoid I was about being late to clinicals KNEW I'd always be the first one to arrive at clinicals for about three years running.

They all burst into laughter! The instructor got all red faced and stomped out of the room!

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Do you normally get to choose what clinical instructor you want or are you assigned to one? I'm not sure how this works.

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Do you normally get to choose what clinical instructor you want or are you assigned to one? I'm not sure how this works.

We are assigned to our clinical instructors AND hospitals. They tell you up front, you don't choose your instructor, nor your clinical assignment-no special requests. They also will not place you in the unit you work in (if you are a current hospital employee) They do try to place us closer to home during the winter term, because of inclement weather. We utilize at least 3-4 different hospitals...some are well over an hour from me, that would suck in the ice and snow.

~T

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Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.

We can ask for a certain clinical site, but there's no guarantee that we'll get it. I *did* however get the site that I requested for my last semester :p

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Specializes in Critical Care, Pediatrics, Geriatrics.
Do you normally get to choose what clinical instructor you want or are you assigned to one? I'm not sure how this works.

before clinical begins the instructors ask us to pass in any special requests and car pool information that they take into consideration when placing us. So far so good.

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Nope.. the clinical instructor is assigned to is... same goes for the hospital.

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I think the main reason I'm sad about getting a new instructor is that they aren't as nice as the one I have now.

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