harassment to a canadian nursing student

HeartsOpenWide, RN · Jul 6, 2008

what did they do to harrass and belittle you? What were their reasons for not passing you?

AirforceRN, RN · Jul 6, 2008

First of all...take a deep breath. Next...

Talk to your instructor, be calm, state your concerns, what you want and why you deserve it.

If that doesn't work, follow the chain up...talk to your course director, your dean etc. The last person is the ombudsman of the school. If its still not going well, consider the possibility that you might be wrong and they are right.

vashtee, RN · Jul 6, 2008

I doubt this has anything at all to do with being Canadian. Clinical instructors are notorious for making (some) students unhappy.

SPN1982 · Jul 6, 2008

hey,

i have spoken to my clinical instructor MANY times, inreggards to if i may have upset her or if there was even a personality conflict, and i said was "have i done anywrong do disrespect you in the last week or two, cause if i have i would greatly appricate it if you could tell me so i can understand why there is so much tension & we can move from here" and then in her notes to my college after we had that discussion shes states quote "i was questioning her ability to be an instructor"... she totally twisted my words around .. .. since the 4th day of clinical she has been on my case 24/7 telling me to quit, but i have stood strong and told her NOO i have worked this hard til now and im not going to give up when i'm almost finished. i had told my college this and they did questioned her, but she denines it and that is why i was given a re-evaluation, and my re-evaluation is the total opposite to what she was grading me as.

she has also harassed me by stating i have a eating disorder because i have such a small stature, so what is im small boned i eat 12 small meals a day VS 3 big meals its actually healthier for you. SHe has also made comments to me like "Wow isnt it gross how skinny people can suck in there gutt soo much it looks like there ribs are going to pop".

She has also broken the rules of confidentuallity because she was discussing my progress with my peers & questioning them about my abilities & my learning disability which is noo bodies bussiness.

which brings me to, the most degrading this a clinical instructor can do to a student, I have a learning disability, which she was well aware of. My clinical instructor whom was never prepared, told me that she did have the time nor did she want to make the time to meet my learning needs, she prohibited me from bringing my accomidation palm pilot with me to clinical, which is pretty much like my bilble and the college did state i was allowed to bring it because the government had approve it. and when i spoke to college about all that has beening going on, they basically told me that she was the eyes of the college & she had stated i was learning my learning disability as a excuse, which is no true because i have one of the highest GPA's in the my graduating class, i have noo grades below an 80%.

SPN1982 · Jul 6, 2008

also her reason for not passing me was because i mispronouced a medication.. metformin.. but i had said metaformin???? like OOOh my gooodness.. and she said i has time issues.. but if i can do vitals, give am meds, head to toe assessment, am care , dress & have my pt up within 25mins... i think i have pretty damn good time management skills.. my clinical instructor was flexing her power... and she was originally in school for RN but supposily dropped out & became an LPN.. but seriously i think she might have been kicked out because she started going out of her way to be rude to me as soon as i told her that my career long term goal was to eventually be a nurse practioner that worked with children with special needs... and ever since then she had made comments to me like "you know if the LPN get a bigg enough raise you wont have to go back to school" or "you know going back to school after you done your LPN is a waste of you time". as a clinical instructor dont you think she should be happy that i want to continue my education, not hinder me from it?????

vashtee, RN · Jul 6, 2008

What does this have to do with you being Canadian?

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jul 6, 2008

She has also broken the rules of confidentuallity because she was discussing my progress with my peers & questioning them about my abilities & my learning disability which is noo bodies bussiness.

Your instructor is not wrong to ask your peers about your progress. She needs to have a complete picture of your abilities and there will be times when she is not physically able to observe you at work. She should also be seeking input from the nurses with whom you've been buddied on your clinicals. However, she should not be giving them information about your learning disability.

which brings me to, the most degrading this a clinical instructor can do to a student, I have a learning disability, which she was well aware of. My clinical instructor whom was never prepared, told me that she did have the time nor did she want to make the time to meet my learning needs, she prohibited me from bringing my accomidation palm pilot with me to clinical, which is pretty much like my bilble and the college did state i was allowed to bring it because the government had approve it.

Do you also take your Palm Pilot to your exams? It seems a little rigid on her part to disallow you to use it but you do have many other resources available to you on the ward while doing clinicals.

and when i spoke to college about all that has beening going on, they basically told me that she was the eyes of the college & she had stated i was learning my learning disability as a excuse, which is no true because i have one of the highest GPA's in the my graduating class, i have noo grades below an 80%.

I think you're confusing theoretical knowledge with clinical competence. Having good grades on an exam is not the same as being being clinically competent to provide safe care. I've known many nurses who had top marks all the way through school who, when faced with a situation they'd never dealt with before, were unable to apply the theory and book-learning they had to the patient in front of them. If a person can't integrate their knowledge base with their practical clinical care, they will not be a good nurse. One of my classmates, who had a GPA of 3.9 out of 4, nearly killed a patient the first week she worked after getting her license when she overlooked all the signs and symptoms of CHF and impending collapse in an elderly man, then went ahead and gave him a bed bath with the head of the bed flat... because that's what she was supposed to be doing at that time of day. He became hypotensive and dyspneic, required intubation and a stay in the ICU. It's not enough to be able to quote the textbook word for word. You have to know what to do with the information. Perhaps that is what's concerning your CI.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jul 6, 2008

also her reason for not passing me was because i mispronouced a medication.. metformin.. but i had said metaformin???? like OOOh my gooodness..

I can't believe it would hinge on something as simple and ultimately nonsensical as that.

and she said i has time issues.. but if i can do vitals, give am meds, head to toe assessment, am care , dress & have my pt up within 25mins... i think i have pretty damn good time management skills..

I don't know how it's possible to do all that in that time frame and do it well.

my clinical instructor was flexing her power... and she was originally in school for RN but supposily dropped out & became an LPN.. but seriously i think she might have been kicked out because she started going out of her way to be rude to me as soon as i told her that my career long term goal was to eventually be a nurse practioner that worked with children with special needs... and ever since then she had made comments to me like "you know if the LPN get a bigg enough raise you wont have to go back to school" or "you know going back to school after you done your LPN is a waste of you time". as a clinical instructor dont you think she should be happy that i want to continue my education, not hinder me from it?????

She's expressing an opinion. Just as you are here, talking about her lack of ambition, or her lack of abilities. So who's right?

loriangel14, RN · Jul 6, 2008

I don't know how it's possible to do all that in that time frame and do it well.

Yeah, that's what went through my mind.

linzz · Jul 7, 2008

Thanks for the input janfrn, it is always helpful to get input from an experienced nurse. We can all learn from it.

suzanne4, RN · Jul 7, 2008

And I have to agree with the above posters. It is physically impossible to get all of that done and done welll with a proper bath, etc., in just 20 minutes.

Getting something done quickly does not necessarily mean that it was done correctly, or without something amiss.

You are quick to point out what is wrong with your instructor, but have you actually taken the time to sit back and look at how you are doing things? Take an outside view of the scene and think if that is something that you would be happy with, if you were the patient and know what you do about nursing. I would try that for a start.

And I do not accept that you were not passed based on mispronouncing the name of a drug; that just does not happen. And with the responses that you were getting from others in your school, suggest taking a good look at yourself first; before blaming everyone else. When one person thinks that everyone is against them, believe me, it did not start out that way.

Attitude has much to do with getting things done, not this way at all.

And what you are posting has nothing to do with being a Canadian and none of your rights have been violated. You keep mentioning that, but nothing to substantiate it. Againm suggest that you take a good look at yourself and what you would be doing if you were the instructor and the shoe was on the other foot.