Instructor from hell fails me in clinical!

[jolly4u]

I had attended a nursing school at a university. I decided to transfer in the middle of the program (after 2 semesters) to a university closer to home. I figured since the programs were both 3 year BSN programs they would be very similar.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Everything about the program was different from the way the instructors treated the students to the classes. My instructor was the one everyone dreaded that semester. We, however, did not get to select our own clinical instructors at this school. To get to the point, the instructor was awful She didn't praise you, give you any compliments or confidence what so ever, all she did was find something else wrong with what you were doing. This was not only for me, but my classmates as well. Because I was so on edge by the way she treated me, I was sure to keep up and make sure I was going to pass, everything was looking good a couple of weeks before the end. Well, she ended up failing me, because on the last day of clinical, the nurse had complained about my sterile technique while putting in the foley cath. This particular nurse didn't really like students and so I didn't really even want to go in there, but the nurse I was working with said very bluntly that if I wanted new experiences I should go in there and seek them. During evaluations, I stated how I didn't think I deserved to fail the course, and so the instructor then changed my grade to a D-. Thinking about this makes me so depressed, knowing that I am going to have to repeat the whole semester. I made an appointment with the Dean, and he in turn called the Director of nursing and asked that she try to resolve this with me first. She was then upset with me, because I went over her head. The only reason I did this was because tallking with her before about this same instructor had gotten me nowhere, and also the instructor had found out I had went to her! Is there anything I can do now? It just makes me sick to think that I am going to graduate six months later, all because of this. I know there has to be some way I can file a grievance or something. It is just I do not know where or even how to start. PLEASE GIVE ME SOME IDEAS. Thanks

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

There is nothing at all that led up to this? At my school we don't get to pick our clinical instructors or sites or teachers or anything like that either and our clinicals are pass/fail.

Anyway, it just seems like their should be more to this story, to have NO problems with any of your practices but then failed off of heresay, no write ups or anything. Your instructor didn't even witness this mistake?

It seems like a few pieces of the puzzle are missing.

I am sorry about not passing

[jolly4u]

The instructor was always hard on us I felt especially towards me. (But the others students complained about her as well). There were times where I didn't know what side effects of drugs were such as agranulocytosis, psuedomembraaous colitis. She said that I was not critically thinking. It was really a terrible uncomfortable situation. The previous two semesters, I had gotten straight A's at the other school. Any other questions, please let me know! Thanks

P.S. Where did you go to school?

[mb1949]

My best advice is to suck it up, I have seen mean, petty little instructors on power trips do this to students before, including me, just retake the course and move on, your school sounds like mine and believe me if you make too many waves they can ruin the rest of your school time

Good luck and remember this too will pass

[jolly4u]

Thanks, I appreciate your support. I have heard horrow stories before about nursing instructors, I had just thought that was a thing of the past. My other instructors were great! They were there to help anytime-they didn't judge you, they knew you were learning and did not expect you to know everything. It is a terrible feeling to have to repeat a whole semester though. If it was just one class, I don't think it would be so bad. Did you also have to repeat a whole semester?

[DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP]

Jolly,

I'm very sorry about you not passing, I would be upset as well.

That being said, please reflect back on your experience and critically think about what you could have done differently, and how you can grow personally from this experience, regardless of how difficult that may be.

Please remember that by saying "the instructor failed me.." that you are not taking any personal responsibility for what happened.

In the future as a professional nurse, you must be prepared to accept responsibility for your actions on a daily basis, whether you agree or disagree with their consequences.

I sincerely wish you all the best.

Diane

[morte, LPN, LVN]

Jolly,

I'm very sorry about you not passing, I would be upset as well.

That being said, please reflect back on your experience and critically think about what you could have done differently, and how you can grow personally from this experience, regardless of how difficult that may be.

Please remember that by saying "the instructor failed me.." that you are not taking any personal responsibility for what happened.

In the future as a professional nurse, you must be prepared to accept responsibility for your actions on a daily basis, whether you agree or disagree with their consequences.

I sincerely wish you all the best.

Diane

maybe the student has no responibity in this matter, maybe it is truly the instructor's issue.......

[elkpark]

maybe the student has no responibity in this matter, maybe it is truly the instructor's issue.......

That's always a possibility, but I think it's a v. slim one. I've had many years of experience as a nursing student and a nursing instructor, in a variety of programs and settings, and I've never encountered the kind of arbitrary, unfair, "s/he just didn't like me" kind of situations we hear about here. Most nursing programs go out of their way to help students succeed, if only because so many students these days are quick to grieve or sue if they feel like they've been mistreated, and make an effort to "weed out" the kind of instructors that represent potential problems (legal or administrative) for the school.

Often, we hear stories like this here, everything was fine, I did one little thing, and I got kicked out just for that, the instructor's just had it in for me from the beginning, and then, eventually, it turns out there's quite a bit more to the story than we were originally told. I'm not saying that's neccesarily the case in this person's situation, but that is how many of these situations play out over time here.

To the OP, I'm sure that your school has a grievance process, and I encourage you to use it if you really feel, on reflection, that you've been treated unfairly. Your student handbook should spell out the steps to follow. Best wishes!

[cfuller2012]

For some strange reason a lot of people don't want to believe that there are instructors from hell or those that may have it in for certain students. Well I beg to differ, first of all instructors are people first with all of their weaknesses and emotional as well as psychological baggage; then they are instructors. I can say this because the whole time I was at a particular nursing school I was harrased from day one and treated blatantly different from other students. However, not to sound religious or anything but the bible tells that those who live godly in Christ will suffer persecution. Often times when people are different from us all we have problems with them including myself. I was very quiet and minded my own business. I studied alone and did not run with the crowd. Although, many of my classmates would and could testify that the majority of the staff had personal issues with me. From Fundamentals on up to when they failed me by not allowing me to go to clinicals for peds and psych I had been persecuted. In addition, every semester before new instructors had ever met me personally they knew my name. My husbanad and I had sat down with the dept chair of the program on one occasion trying to discuss the matter. Things were okay that semester but they got worse and worse every semester thereafter. I ended up filing a complaint with the state board of nursing, the dept of education and sought legal counsel. I found out that this nursing program had been on probation once in the not so distant pass and on this very website they have a reputation of doing these sort of things with particular students. My attorney wanted me to contact other students who had previously attended to try to find out what the common thread was/is. So to sum it up the very field of nursing is a battle of good and evil because Jesus died so that people could be healed but satan uses people to keep them in bondage; so my experience as a CNA for the past 13 yrs has revealed to me that often times nurses are unaware of how satan is using them to hinder God's work here on earth, and many students and nurses alike forget that nursing is not a job it is a ministry. Looking back at Florence Nightengales work, she nursed from a heart of compassion, a divine call, and a willing God -like spirit. Many are called but few are chosen!

[caliotter3]

maybe the student has no responibity in this matter, maybe it is truly the instructor's issue.......

When one encounters the type of instructor who arbitrarily targets and persecutes individual students with no provocation or justification, one can not turn around and make it the student's fault. It is not always the fault of the student. There are people holding instructor positions who have no business being near students or patients in the clinical setting.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

When one encounters the type of instructor who arbitrarily targets and persecutes individual students with no provocation or justification, one can not turn around and make it the student's fault. It is not always the fault of the student. There are people holding instructor positions who have no business being near students or patients in the clinical setting.

thank you:up:

[Hygiene Queen]

I had an instructor from hell. I also happened to have her during the nadir of my existence. She was really letting me have it one day. She was basically calling me "stupid". I just looked at her at one point and said, "I am not as clever as you." Apparently this fed something her ego needed and she moved on. I passed that clinical by the grace of God.

Sometimes we get dealt a tough hand. Instructors are not created equal.

I'm sorry you failed. It's a horrible feeling that I may experience yet between now and July. As I said, I barely passed.

Keep your chin up and keep going if this is what you really want.

I must agree that there had to be more than poor cath technique that failed you.

Look back to assess what you could have done better and then look back no more. Move on and I'll bet your next clinical will be much better.

This is a setback, but it's not over.

When I get down, I force myself to think of seeing my family's faces when I finally get to put on my cap, carry my lamp and get pinned!

What a motivation!!

Good luck and cheers!