Nursing Instructor Anger Management

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I have a problem and I need some advice... I am a non traditional adult college student (I'm 39 years old). After raising my daughter, I felt it was time to go back to college and complete my nursing degree. Currently, I'm in the 4th semester of a ADN Nursing Program at a local community college. I'm supposed to graduate this coming May 2018 (only 3 or so months away).

The Spring 2018 Semester just began a couple weeks ago. Our instructors made it clear they didn't want to see anyone on their cell phones. If a student is caught on their cellphone in the middle of class, the student would be asked to leave. Today, I had our Pediatrics class, which is taught by my favorite instructor. Being the oldest student in the nursing class, I got a seat in the front row almost in front of the instructors desk. Before class was started, I turned my iPhone on silent and placed it in a pocket located on the bottom front of my shirt.

About 40 minutes or so into the class, I hear my phone alarming. I thought to myself, "Oh No! That's MY phone alarming! I know it was on silent, how can it still be alarming!?" I didn't know that, even if an iPhone is on silent, it will still alarm. So I grabbed my phone really quickly and pressed all the side buttons, praying one would shut off the alarm. As I pressing every single button on the sides of my phone, I glanced up and noticed my instructor giving me a look that, if looks could kill, I'd definitely not be breathing right now. My instructor put her hand out and I placed my phone in her hand. She uses my phone to point at me and say, "Next time I will ask you to leave!" I apologized and told her it wouldn't happen again. She walks over and places my phone on her desk. After a few minutes, it dawns on me that the alarm probably has "snooze" on so it was going to be alarming again soon.....and I was right! My phone did start to alarm again. I immediately attempted to explain to my instructor that, when my phone went off initially, it was an alarm and now it's alarming again due to snooze being on. I apologized to her again and told her she was more than welcomed to turn the entire phone off. Before I could finish my sentence, my instructor picked my phone up from her desk, grabbing it by a corner and threw my phone at me! Had I not caught it, it would've hit me pretty hard in my lower face and neck area. I was extremely surprised that the instructor had thrown something at me in anger. The entire class went very quiet. The instructor told us to take a short break.

I understand completely that I should've ensured that my phone was completely off. I wasn't texting or even looking at my phone. Had I been blantantly disrespecting my instructor, I could've somewhat justified what happened.

Now, I feel I will be targeted by this instructor. I have clinicals for 12 hours every Monday with the same instructor. I don't feel comfortable having clinicals with this particular instructor. She has failed students on the spot during her clinicals and I feel I will more than likely be one of the students she will fail this semester.

Does anyone have any suggestions??

Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.
Have you spoken 1:1 with the instructor? I think that should be your first step. You both have some blame to bear - and it sounds like the relationship could be mended.

With a staff college witness

I cannot improve on this advice. Just gave everyone a chance to read it again.

You are right, she was wrong to throw your property at you. But don't be "dead right".

There used to be this traffic safety PSA about being right that it was your turn at a four way stop. The other person was in the wrong at 30mph and the person in the right ended up dead anyway. Sometimes it is in your best interest to let them be wrong.

My mother used to say... the cemetery is full of people who had the right of way.

I would open your mouth and say something. You have rights as a student to be in a safe environment free from hostile action.

Get in writing from several students what occurred. Goto your academic advisor and look up the chain of command in filing a report. Especially if you have clinical with her.

If she seems to think this behavior is ok, she has more than likely exhibited this behavior before.

For those of you who said they were interested to hear how this situation played out....

I'm sitting here, 45 days before graduation, failed out of the program with decent grades - current grades no lower than a 86% in all three classes - Med/Surg III, Pharm II, and Peds. As I feared, the instructor who threw my cell phone at me, was also my clinical instructor. I was given one Unsatisfactory on the FIRST day of clinical and my second and final Unsatisfactory on the SECOND day of clinical! What a coincidence, huh?! Both unsatisfactories were because she said I did an IV unsafely. (A little information about me: Prior to starting nursing classes, I was a full time night shift Phlebotomist at a major local hospital for 7 years, which required me to be the only Phlebotomist in the entire hospital for 10 hours a night. I realize it wasn't in my scope of practice to administer IV's, but sometimes the nurses had tried and failed to successfully place the IV and I was their last resort. I probably did a few hundred SUCCESSFUL IV attempts while working there.)

The instructor accused me of retracting the IV needle back in the IV catheter and then pushing it forward again while attempting to thread the IV catheter in the patient's vein. The first time I could've done what she accused me of, but I most definitely did not the second time. I made a point of watching that IV needle very carefully. The instructor said I was being unsafe, but both times she attempted the IV after giving me a "U," she manually backed the IV needle out of the patient's vein (instead of pressing the white safety button that retracts the needle into the clear chamber) and tossed the bloody protruding needle onto the patient! The first time the needle landed on the blanketed leg of the patient. I immediately grabbed it and pressed the safety button, retracting the IV needle, and put it in the sharps container. The second time, she tossed it onto the abdomen of a 74 year old with severe mental retardation. The needle landed on the side of the patient's abdomen where his colostomy bag and midline surgical incision with 29 staples were located. Another student was at the patient's bedside with us (thank God) and was able to grab it and secure the needle before anything bad happened.

I wish I was exaggerating all this, but unfortunately I am not. I wish I had reported the cell phone being thrown at me. I should've known this instructor would target me after the cell phone incident, whether I told someone or not. I just want to graduate! Regardless of what happens, I feel like I need to advocate for the patients this instructor could possibly injure.

I can assure you that the general result of what happened to you has happened to many others. The sad part of all of this is that the system allows and encourages otherwise good students to be treated this way. Most are then shut out of nursing and that is tragic. Become one of the very few who move elsewhere to find their way in nursing. That way, you will win, over that misfit.

I am so sorry! I wrote a post telling ypu she wpuld fail you . I urged you to get in contact with a specual third party that is not hired by the university but works alongside the university to prevent thr harassment and abuse of students. Remember when i told you she will find little ways to fail you? I am a keen oberver of human nature. I feel that people are predictable unless they have a good character and they refuse to let their personal feelings dictate how they treat people.

None of this surprises me. It is really awful and totally unfair.

Specializes in Oncology.

I know I'm a couple of months late on this post but I just had to say that......... you did a great job with keeping your composure, because honestly, it would've been a different situation if it was me. First of all, I'm pretty sure everyone in your class are adults. Also, I hope that you brought this situation to you program director, Dean, whomever is the "high up" of your nursing program. That was not necessary. Nursing instructors should be helping future nurses to obtain as much knowledge as they can so that we can be successful in our careers, not treat us like we're "less than" or that we should "stay in your place" (my experience in my nursing program) simply because we're nursing students.

I am the original poster of this thread. In case you didn't see my most recent post a page back, I am kicking myself for not reporting my nursing instructor for throwing my cellphone at my face and humiliating me in front of the entire second year student body.

This past Monday, March 19, 2018 on the second day of clinical, this same instructor gave me my second and final clinical unsatisfactory - 47 days before graduation, forcing me to withdraw or receive an "E" for all three nursing courses in which I am enrolled and passing all three with no lower than an 86%.

On the first day of clinical, she handed me my very first clinical unsatisfactory ever! I have never had any trouble with clinicals. On our second clinical day, she gave me my second and last clinical unsatisfactory coincidentally.

I'm a nontraditional college student, I'm almost 40 years old and I've worked in the health care industry most of my adult life. Before starting in the nursing program two years ago, I was working as a full time night shift Phlebotomist for a major local hospital - 10 hours of my 12 hour shift I was the only Phlebotomist in the entire hospital. I quit working, pulled out my retirement to pay for nursing classes and took out student loans to help me live (along with what little savings I had) while attending nursing classes.

Now, here I set, wondering what to do. This has left me over $10,000 in student loan debt and wondering what options I have. Needless to say, I'm way past depressed - devastated is the better word. I have no job, a car that only runs when it feels like it, living with my ex....

I know I sound pathetic but I'm not posting this for attention nor am I attempting to throw myself a "pity party." I hope someone in a similar situation, with an egomaniacal nursing instructor, will read this thread and learn from my mistakes. Also, I'd love to hear some suggestions as to where to go from here...

A little side note... I have reported having the cell phone thrown at me to the Dean of the nursing department although she isn't acting like it's much of a big deal. I plan on contacting the Dean of Academic Affairs and the President of the college. I'll update this thread, for those who are curious, periodically.

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