mean clinical prof

[deetrain]

I don't want my clinical professor to have the satisfaction of failing me, she gave me one strike which means I have 2 strikes left. She wrote me up for not being able to do the blood pressure on my first try...how messed up is that. There were other factors involved such as disorganization, lack of confidence, safety issues ( i was supervised with a student nurse who had 25 years of experience, so i dont know what she's talking bout). A couple of weeks later, she tells me if I need help I can come to her, i don't freakin believe her. Should i trust this mean witch?

[TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP]

On a normal patient, you should be able to get a BP on the first try...

[BrynnLeann]

There isn't a lot of information here. If you are near the end of your education (4th year here) and you can't get a blood pressure on the first try - unless they are other confounding factors - the prof might be right in giving you a strike. However, I remember being in second year and struggling to figure out blood pressure machines after being taught manually.

Sometimes profs have a hard time remembering what it was like before they knew how to do these skills. Just try your best, don't be too nervous, and ask for help when you're unsure. That's really all you can do.

Best of luck!

[noyesno, MSN, APRN, NP]

I wouldn't trust her.

From my experience, it's always better to ask fellow classmates or the nurses you are working with in clinical. Try not to bother the nurses too much though. I only go to my instructor when its absolutely necessary.

In clinical, its also good to try and problem solve on your own as much as you can. So, unless it is something that could cause danger to the patient, try to be as self directed as possible.

Keep practicing those BP's in the meantime. You can get that skill down! :)

[llg, PhD, RN]

So ... you don't trust her and think she is a "mean witch" because she gave you 1 bad grade? You can't condemn a person for 1 bad grade, particularly when you admit that you actually did fail to do the BP correctly.

What is this instructor's reputation among her former students? How is she treating the other students in your clinical group?

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Sounds like tough love to me. Sometimes it takes a person getting rattled up to prove they can do good things.