Why are clinical instructors so cold

JentheRN05, RN · Dec 8, 2005

I can tell you, not ALL instructors are like that. Personal experience was 3 out of 12 clinical instructors during my education were a bear. They shouldn't have been clinical instructors, but more strictly for theory. One stands out clearly in my mind. I referred to her as the "drill sargent (sp)" because she walked and talked like she was straight out of the military and with one heck of a southern accent. She worked you like you were a peon and so on and so forth. Got put on clinical probation, due to anxiety in her clinicals when I hadn't had any problem up until then.

In turn, I learned ALOT from her, but she was still really REALLY cold!

Not all of them are. I totally love one of my instructors so much so that I still talk to her after I graduated, because I WANT to.

Keep your chin up, you'll look back and realize what you did learn from the rough ones and you'll be grateful for it.

dave1117 · Dec 8, 2005

100 people surveyed, top 5 answers are up on the baord.

The #1 answer...

Because they can.

good luck, dave :wink2:

SoulShine75 · Dec 9, 2005

Some people are born a**holes. Some...it's just a product of environment. I'm sure many of these instructors left nursing because they were burned out and they've carried this with them into teaching. Like I always say..you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Always be nice to them no matter how rude they are, afterall your life is basically in their hands at this point. Keep a :) on your face and never let them see you sweat.

GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN · Dec 9, 2005

I had a few like that. I think its a power thing. "Im the teacher and you're not, so nenernenernener" However I had some really amazing teachers. They aren't all bad!

Tweety, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2005

I had good instructors. The instructors I see in my hospital are awesome.

Now they definately aren't trying to be your friend. Their training future nurses so it's an awesome responsibility.

They should be a little more nuturing and supportive from what I'm hearing on this bb.

B- is failing. That's unbelievable.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2005

Many clinical instructors, in my honest opinion, possess that classic "Eat your Young" mentality. Some simply do not do all that is in their power to make good nurses out of their students. Frankly, some clinical instructors behave in a manner that would be best described as bitchy and unsupportive. My statements are based on my experiences and observations while in nursing school.

Maisie · Dec 9, 2005

Most are like that, so brace yourself for more. I understand we can expect the same from nurses once we become nurses. Why, an earlier poster put it well, because they can.

Maisie · Dec 9, 2005

Most are like that, so brace yourself for more. I understand we can expect the same from nurses once we become nurses. Why, an earlier poster put it well, because they can.

nurse4theplanet, RN · Dec 9, 2005

I have had mixed feelings with my instructors for the most part. Sometimes the ones that seem the nicest, turn out to be the meanest. Some seem so cold, and then turn out to be fantastic mentors and vary caring. Since I have been through bootcamp, I wouldn't compare any of my teachers to a drill instructor:rotfl: ! But they run a close second...:)

Yes, I am shocked that a B- is failing! Wow, I will never complain about having to make a 78 to pass!!!! My best advice for nursing school is to try and do exactly what you are taught, when you are expected to do it, and don't argue with the teacher...in my experience, it gets you nowhere.

But I am also not doubting that this cold instructor may be just that...a cold hearted son of a gun! Birds of a feather flock together, and sometimes one bad apple can ruin the bunch...so if this appears to be a trend at your particular school it is probably because attitudes of certain ill instructors have rubbed off on one another. Keep your head up...this too shall pass.

1Tulip · Dec 9, 2005

Let a once and future clinical instructor weigh in here:

Let's say I have eight students and in an attempt to give them a good clinical experience I find eight patients for them to care for. (Understand that that means I was on that unit the day before pouring over eight patient records and making MY notes on the clinical needs of those pts.) OK, we all arrive on the unit at 6:45 AM. I am now responsible for the safety of those pts (although a shared responsibility with the staff nurses), and the education of eight students working independently. For almost every procedure my students are going to do, I have to be aware of who has already been proven proficient, who hasn't, when each proceedure is due and make sure I'm there to help and guide. Meanwhile, it's my job to ask questions like...

*Do you know why you're flushing that line with sterile saline, not sterile water?

*Why is this patient getting lasix? What are some of the side effects? Do you know when his last electrolytes were reported? Do you know what his serum potassium was? (Because you can be sure... I was making notes on that the day before...)

*Your patient had a fever yesterday? Why? What are your going to be assessing for today?

*What must you do before you give that tube feeding?

*I think your patient is impacted. How would I know that? What has to be done now? What changes in his care have to be made to correct the situation in the future?

*What's your priority for this patient this morning? Why?

*What cross checks are you going to do before you administer that drug?

And that's just routine stuff. If a patient's condition is changing, then things can get really hectic.

Soooo, I guess what I'm saying is that even under ideal circumstances, your clinical instructor is being pulled in eight (or more) different directions and is, to say the least, distracted. If she seems aloof, what really might be going on is that she's assessed you and your patient for that moment and has moved on mentally to the next thing she has to do, the next student that is going to need her.

And it's inevitable that I'm going to find areas where a student has to improve. I don't have the luxury of talking at length about it on the unit. At best I may be able to say... "OK, stop what you're doing and find the procedure manual, read what it says and 30 minutes from now be prepared do this properly. I'll be back." No ad hominem attacks. Not putting the student down. No dire threats or dressing down. You just have to do things right. How are you going to learn unless you stumble and struggle a little.

Does this sound cold? It just seems reasonable to me.

BCzito · Dec 10, 2005

Let a once and future clinical instructor weigh in here:
Let's say I have eight students and in an attempt to give them a good clinical experience I find eight patients for them to care for. (Understand that that means I was on that unit the day before pouring over eight patient records and making MY notes on the clinical needs of those pts.) OK, we all arrive on the unit at 6:45 AM. I am now responsible for the safety of those pts (although a shared responsibility with the staff nurses), and the education of eight students working independently. For almost every procedure my students are going to do, I have to be aware of who has already been proven proficient, who hasn't, when each proceedure is due and make sure I'm there to help and guide. Meanwhile, it's my job to ask questions like...
*Do you know why you're flushing that line with sterile saline, not sterile water?
*Why is this patient getting lasix? What are some of the side effects? Do you know when his last electrolytes were reported? Do you know what his serum potassium was? (Because you can be sure... I was making notes on that the day before...)
*Your patient had a fever yesterday? Why? What are your going to be assessing for today?
*What must you do before you give that tube feeding?
*I think your patient is impacted. How would I know that? What has to be done now? What changes in his care have to be made to correct the situation in the future?
*What's your priority for this patient this morning? Why?
*What cross checks are you going to do before you administer that drug?
And that's just routine stuff. If a patient's condition is changing, then things can get really hectic.
Soooo, I guess what I'm saying is that even under ideal circumstances, your clinical instructor is being pulled in eight (or more) different directions and is, to say the least, distracted. If she seems aloof, what really might be going on is that she's assessed you and your patient for that moment and has moved on mentally to the next thing she has to do, the next student that is going to need her.
And it's inevitable that I'm going to find areas where a student has to improve. I don't have the luxury of talking at length about it on the unit. At best I may be able to say... "OK, stop what you're doing and find the procedure manual, read what it says and 30 minutes from now be prepared do this properly. I'll be back." No ad hominem attacks. Not putting the student down. No dire threats or dressing down. You just have to do things right. How are you going to learn unless you stumble and struggle a little.
Does this sound cold? It just seems reasonable to me.

Just wanted to say that I do understand how much is going on for my instructor, however, she would often criticize me to things beyond my control, such as brushing a mans teeth who had encephalopathy and did not communicate, and everytime you would get near his mouth he would clamp it shut. I tried to pull his chin down (pretty firmly), but I think there comes a point where that pt is trying to assert what little autonomy he had left and I didn't want to hurt him. When I voiced that I felt like I'd hurt him she says "its a sponge!" really annoyed. I wasn't talking about the brushing I was talking about breaking this poor mans jaw off. In addition I am vey aware of why you need to do these other things that is not the problem. Keep in mind too I have been in nursing for what 4 months? Most of the stuff in clinical we haven't done in class yet. That is the nature of the program, and somethings yes, they do require some instruction from my clinical instructor. What I find results from nasty instructors, is that people want to cover their asses and not expose their weaknesses and the only ones who truly get hurt are the pts and I wasn't willing to pretend I know everything about nursing in 4 months for the sake of looking good to my clinical instructor. Now I know thats kinda what they want. Its bizzare to me. Not to mention about the lab data, she def wouldn't look that kinda stuff up. The first thing I did every morning was print out all the most current lab data and last few notes on the pt. Often my instructor would be like oh he's getting Mg his mg must be low and I would say (bc I know the last lab data) that it was in the normal range. and she would get annoyed that I must not know what I am talking about?! WTF It turned out they were trying to balance other electrolytes by manipulating the mg. She had no idea what the levels were so it sounds like you do allot more work than she did, not that she didn't do allot of work, but she def didn't know that stuff. anyway, I understood being sorta needing to do things and move on quickly, but I feel like she would often judge without knowing what was going on... I guess there are two sides, I wish she could just see it a little bit where I'm comming from, I really just want to be a good nurse...