Just wanted to ask this...in our program, the professors are very intimidating. I've had instructors whip meds right out of my hand-not because I made a mistake BUT because I wasnt' fast enough.
Others in this program have had instructors yell at them down the hallway in front of staff nurses and patients.
I know that nursing is STRESSFUL and that family members and patients can be crazy, nasty, and nuts at times (I've worked in a few hospital settings and have seen this)HOWEVER, instead of promoting learning they are creating a fearful environment.
I'd like to add here that I know that crazy, nutty sick ppl can be par for the course and I actually loooove my patients -even the cranky ones : ) and they like me and have made postive comments about me in front of my instructor...
However, its the whole experience that has me so stressed out and questioning everything.
One student put it best, "we are like abuse victims -we are not aloud to talk out of sheer fear"
There are students in my class on meds because of the stress.
Are other students experiencing the same situation? I don't really feel that I am learning but merely surviving.
Any advice (other than tuck and roll, keep my head down and my mouth shut LOL) would be appreciated as well.
Nursing student abuse is rampant. Recently much has been written about student abuse--by teachers, schools and/or other students. However, nothing has been discussed about the abuse student nurses receive. Until instructors. other nurses and/or schools are held to a non-abuse, non-harassment policy, the problems will continue.
Oh wow, my program is no where near that bad. 80% of the professors are nice and are very approachable. There are a few bad apples, but the previous semester always warn us. I have to say I love my class too. We all help each other out, stand up for one another, and post study aids and answer questions on our facebook page.
See I think the problem really is that afterward, students that do survive think "Oh well this made me a better nurse" and then they feel like it is or was okay. It's not. I don't think you have to act that way to teach or have your students take nursing seriously. I don't think people learn more this way, especially how competitive it is to even get into nursing school these days, the students that get in are serious. I don't want or need someone coddling me but I shouldn't be afraid to ask questions or develop an anxiety disorder from nursing school. We are the answer. We are essentially the future of nursing and its up to us how we want it to be for those to come after.
I wish I knew if my program was this way. I'm attending a CC, which is a different CC from the one I did my pre-reqs. My husband and I moved out of state for his job and now I feel like I'm walking into NS blind. I'm optimistic but nervous for sure!
One of my clinical instructors was absolutely horrible, and that is putting it nicely. She was rude, inpatient, hostile, completely unfair, and just plain old nasty! She would yell at us in front of staff or patients, rip things out of our hands and do it herself if we were not fast enough, nit pick every last thing we did, accuse us of things that we didn't even do, tell us we weren't cut out to be nurses, etc.... I could go on but you get the point. She informed us on the first day of clinical that she was notorius for being a hard ass and was extremely proud of that. She also told us that we would learn to hate her real fast but that we would learn more from her that quarter than any before it or after it, so it didn't matter if we hated her or not. Nice introduction hu? Well she was right about one thing, everyone hated her. I experienced real anxiety for the first time in my life during those clinicals, even threw up before some of them. The stress was extreme and we all completely dreaded going to clinical each week. This kind of atmosphere is not conducive to learning. After several weeks of anxiety I simply could not just sit back and take it anymore from this woman. We had a nice long chat where I confronted her bullying behavior and stuck up for myself, all done very respectfully. After that she definitely eased up on me, which led me to believe that she gets away with bad behavior because most people didn't speak up for themselves. Her reviews from students are very low and numerous students have put in complaints to higher ups, and from what I hear things haven't changed as she is still teaching clinical and torturing students. It's really sad that this kind of behavior continues!
Ha too familiar, my school experience was pretty much the same. you already know 'don't be a target' probably the most important. What we did that helped was have information exchanges when we switched clinical sites. Give the new clinical group all of our notes, study stuff, projects, and a pep-talk on the instructors quirks. The previous group would do the same for us coming in.
Sharing your info with the next group was really a great idea!
No, our instructors would never treat us as 2nd class human beings like that. I'm a confrontational person, so I would be reporting this to higher ups with references to your school's conduct policies highlighted.
My nursing program is the same too! It seems as if the professors want you to fail, as sad as that sounds. From my experience with the nursing program at my school, I am not impressed. Yes, nursing is a tough program. However, professors should want to see you succeed and help you along the way, especially if you are coming to them asking for help. Don't let the professors defeat you. Keep your head held high and you will get through it!
Making you scared CAN cause you to make mistakes, sometimes dangerous ones! .
I definitely agree with this! I feel enough pressure and anxiety to be perfect and quick. Adding to that by being extreme would just be a giant clusterfudge.
I think I would be surprised into silence if someone ripped something out of my hand...the first time. If it ever happened again, I'd probably "politely" ask if she thinks I'll be able to learn what I need to know without actually doing it.
LadyinScrubs, ASN, RN
788 Posts
Nursing student abuse is rampant. Recently much has been written about student abuse--by teachers, schools and/or other students. However, nothing has been discussed about the abuse student nurses receive. Until instructors. other nurses and/or schools are held to a non-abuse, non-harassment policy, the problems will continue.