Greetings. I just received this email from a professor. I was blown away by the content. I found it unprofessional. I wanted to see what other nursings students had to say. Have you received similar emails before?
Hi NUR 150 Students!
First of all, I would like to thank the majority of students who took to heart the need to dress professionally at clinical this week. The faculty of NUR 150 appreciates your dedication to learning and professional behavior.
This email is aimed at the small number of students who were not in uniform at clinical this week. I wanted all students to read this email, because the unprofessional dress and lack of professional behavior reflects badly on all NUR 150 students. I do not want your clinical group referred to as: the nursing students with the one student whose uniform was so wrinkled it looked like they just rolled out of bedâ€; the nursing students with the one student with tons of earrings in their ear, it sure was not like that when I went to schoolâ€; did you see the fake nails, do they not teach infection control at that college, I am not sure about that clinical group doing anything on my patientsâ€; or lastly WOW, what is with the tattoos that student had, I sure do not want them to be a RN on our floor, my patients would be shocked!â€
Your first impression is often what you will be judged by for the whole clinical rotation and nursing school career. Being in a clinical group with students who do not follow the dress code and professional policy, does reflect back on you. Every day you wear your uniform you are on a job interview. You represent every nursing student at the college. Your dismissal of the uniform policy and/or professional behavior standards is a direct reflection on every student, faculty member, and alumni of the college.
I know that the uniform policy has been taught and enforced previously. I know students are sometimes counseled in their weekly feedback about how to properly follow the professional standards. I am also very disappointed about the dismissal of the policy, since this was discussed in the NUR 150 course and clinical orientation on Monday. I stated the faculty knows that you are able to effectively follow the professional standards and uniform dress code, since you have completed NUR 121. I clearly stated that student who are not in uniform will be sent home for being unprepared. I fully believed that this would be a non-issue, since you are all adult learners.
Next clinical day at the beginning of your clinical day, you will line up and your professor will inspect your appearance to ensure that you are fully following the dress code. Students who are not in their proper uniform in accordance with the policy will be sent home. This will count as a clinical absence. No exceptions or excuses will be entertained by the faculty. Dress code policy from the ADN program handbook has been added to the end of this email for your convenience.
Again, I would like to apologize the large number of students who were following the uniform policy this week. The college faculty thanks you and is proud of you.
Quote from Raviepoo: "It might or might not be right. That's just the way it is."
You do realize that you are proving my point by this restatement? The reality is that instructors are abusing power when they do any of the things that you just mentioned. Whether or not a student rubs them the wrong way doesn't in reality make any difference. Here's an example. I heard from one of my clinical instructors on how she had an professor who she 'rubbed the wrong way.'. However, later on, that same student actually became her supervisor and went on to become one of the foremost managers of her entire floor. Furthermore, that same student caught her former professor demeaning and degrading a student in a similar fashion to what she experienced when SHE went through nursing school. She immediately took the professor aside and professionally warned her that a repeat occurrence would be treated as an act of unprofessionalism, which it should be. The reality is that your so-called real world is perpetrated because YOU choose to accept it as such. If you were one to choose to refuse to allow it to be so, others would follow suit. There is no excuse for unprofessionalism, no matter how much you 'believe' it's based in reality. There is always a better method to deal with a situation that demeaning another human being. Furthermore, you might want to examine how this kind of viewpoint affects your care of patients. How often have you told a patient that they should 'just accept your condition, because in the real world, it's just how it is'? Accepting the status quo of an unacceptable situation is tantamount to committing suicide.
I agree. She shouldn't have, but she definitely could have handled it better. I think her point would have been better made by taking individuals aside and being direct about it.
My school is run by a corporation. Teachers are subject to reviews by students, peers, and program directors. Teachers that are found to be lacking in professionalism, compassion and integrity (these are often touted as the pillars of nursing) are dismissed. We recently had a professor dismissed because she was performing those 'power-play' behaviors that you seem to think are acceptable.
There is nothing wrong with this email. You put the policy/guideline/dress code in the syllabus. You announce it in class. You post an annoucement on Angel, Blackboard, or whatever course management system is available at the institution. You think you told everyone but people still don't follow the rules, are confused, or ask for breaks or unfeasible exceptions. The instructor was probably fed up with trying to get the same message out for the nth time .
Specializes in Pain, critical care, administration, med.
The problem today is many do not understand dress code and professionalism. I have been in administration and taught and can say there is a sense of entitlement among people. The rules do not pertain to them. I never have been told about what I wear. I know it's not appropriate to show my under garments? My clothes should be ironed, makeup and jewelry are appropriate and the list goes on. If that instructor was fed up oh well! Suck it up and learn from it!
I believe there was nothing wrong with the email. Yes time has changed but not much for the medical field. The image for nurses since the begging are sterile and clean. I agree withe the professor. I know a lot of students that were offered jobs before graduation at the location of their clinical. They look at everything. And the students with fake nails, lots of earring, and tattoos should thought about that when they choose nursing as their career.
lmccrn62, MSN, RN
384 Posts
Very sad the professor had to even send that.