Instructors back-stabbing us!!

[mrsmoo2]

I cannot take one more minute of school!!! I'm on mid-semester break right now & the thought of going back makes me ill. Last semester was great..never got below a 90 on anything, clinicals were great. This semester, now that we're in the lpn role & giving meds it's much tougher, as it should be. We've had quite a bit of drama though. Our first rotation this semester we had new instructors, and our whole group got ridiculously low grades. You need a 75 to pass, and I got a 75!! Other students got very strange reasons for points beign deducted, one never made a med error ormissed a day & lost 20 points!!! Then I find out since my best friend is the manager at this facility that one of our senior instructors told these new ones to grade us a low as possible..to pick us apart for tiny things. I think that's as unfair as cheating. This totally wrecks anyones chance at an A in clinicals. Then we find out the head of the nursing dept & another teacher threatened a student...if she didn't "spy" on the rest of us & report back to them everything we said about the program or instructors they would make sure to give very bad comments when future employers called for references!!! Then I find out that during my current clinical at our hospital the lpn I was working with who seemed nice was making fun of me at the nurses station with my instructor standing there. A friend of mine who she didn't know I knew was standing there & stood up for me, but I have just had it!!! I don't want to go back, but I've dreamed of being a nurse my whole life. I hadn't planned on going next year for rn for financial reasons & I really just don't know if I want the responsibility right now..I like getting my hands on the patient more, but now I can't imagine ever going back to this program. I've had chest pains & my nerves are raw..I'm biting everyones head off & I want to take about a pound of ativan just to calm down!!! Just had to get all that off my chest.

[NorthER,RN]

mrsmoo, first off let me say how sorry i am that this semester has been so stressful for you and your classmates. i believe that the arbitrariness of the grading system, based on basically making you feel bad about your work no matter how hard you try is just plain wrong :angryfire .

however, please return after the break. don't let the ba$^ards get you down. one instructor that i had was very good; she also saw the unfairness of some of the treatment given out to students and she said over and over:

keep your eye on the prize

meaning that all of the jumping through hoops and basic awfullness of the experience would fade away once you finish and are a nurse. she was right and the prize is worth it; we need you as our colleague! my prayers are with you.

[guest22304]

mrsmoo, i am sorry that this has been hard for you. my advice is not to give up, to keep plugging along and i know you don't want to hear this.....ignore them. nurses making fun of you? girl, ignore them! let them laugh! you are gonna be the one losing out on graduating, not them! they have their degree and went through what you are going through! you can't let them stop you!

i am also sorry to hear about your instructors. at my school we either get a U (unsatisfactory) or S. but you get graded at midterms and end of semester as well on these clinicals. i am lucky to have good instructors, i cannot imagine them wanting people to "spy" and all that! how childish and unprofessional! i say, ignore them, too and just don't say anything against anybody. if you keep to yourself and mind what you say, nobody can pin anything on you. the name of your game is to graduate and get outta there!

i know you can do it - good luck!:)

[mariedoreen]

I used to tell myself "Cooperate and Graduate." I've been thinking lately though that I may want to change that saying to... "Medicate, Cooperate, and Graduate."

Valium drip anyone?

It's tough. I imagine you're tougher though.