I'm currently in med-surg I and my clinical instructor is driving me crazy. She just doesn't like me. Every week at clinical nothing I do is good enough for her. The other day I made a mistake with documentation and I admitted my mistake and asked her what to do in order to correct it and because of that I got a 30 minute talk. During this talk she went as far as accusing me of having an attitude problem along with a personality disorder.
When my other classmates make a mistake with something she just tells them don't let it happen again. She basically treats me different than the other students in the group. I am fed up with it, so I called her this morning and told her I will not be returning to clinical with her because of the issues we have been having. I also called our lead instructor for the class to see if I would be able to make up the 5 days of clinical we have left with the group that has clinical in Jan. If not then I will have to drop the class because I shouldn't have to subject myself to being mistreated.
Also if I go back and get into an altercation with her, I run the risk of failing the course and getting kicked out of the program. I am able to take constructive criticism, but when I am being attacked on a personal level like that I am not going to stand by and just let that happen. I want any nursing student, or anyone in general, reading this to know I am not just complaining or whining, I have shown that instructor nothing but respect and I think I deserved the same.
Did you ever think that maybe she "picks" on you because she knows that you can do better and is pushing you to do so. Our Instructors can be so bad that we all pull over on the side of the road to hurl before we get to our site, but we get through it. They weed the weak out, you don't want to show weakness, you will pay the price. What are you going to do when the Doctors start yelling?? Go Back!:heartbeat
Specializes in General adult inpatient psychiatry.
One thing I can say to this that I rarely ever hear on this forum is something like the clinical experience I had last quarter. I had the complete opposite of this instructor type: a pushover. She was consistently late, gave out easy A's, and pretty much let us do our own thing. I was constantly relying on my peers, my smarts, and the other nurses on the unit for help I really needed from her. If a clinical instructor sees something in you that needs pushing, I say take it. I can't imagine all instructors are out to get their students and I know sometimes I need a push. I had an instructor pull me aside during Fundamentals and say, "You know, not everyone is going to be as understanding as I am. I know it's first semester, but you really need to get it together." I have been working my tail off and taking all the advice I can get in clinical since then and it hasn't steered me wrong. Now I'm in psych clinical and have a great instructor who has high expectations of me again and I'm thriving.
Specializes in SNU/SNF/MedSurg, SPCU Ortho/Neuro/Spine.
i get hit in the hed every day!!!
with teacher with my boss at work and things that just ticks me off!!
but i suck it up and show my teeth (fake smile) than say : YES MAAM!
and all i can think of that bi**ch is that she is my mother so i just do whatever she says (boos or teacher) and by thinking they are my "mother" i even forget why i was ticked off and end up ok!
i never snap! i shuved my atitude way up my a*s so for i could be as humble as possible, and even to agree whith what i don't!
dont forget : be humble and show your teeth (smile ) at one point or another she will stop picking at you because you are now "abiding" by her rules, and she "comands" you, so there is no reason for her to be a complete a*s hole!
i hate to break it to you, and it's not that i don't sympathize, but nursing school is a lot like boot camp. you need to learn to suck it up and just get through it.
ha ha, that has been my motto for this whole 4th semester. i keep telling myself and everyone else suck it up, we have 4 more weeks!
I would like to thank everyone for their input. I am returning to clinical tomorrow. I had a talk with our team leader (lead instructor) and I have been advised that it's best for me to finish clinical. Mainly because I can't fail clinical based on one incident, and the fact that I am passing the lecture portion of the course. I am staying in the class because if I quit now it's like my clinical instructor wins. I guess I just have to suck it up and get through clinical. That means smile on the outside and say "I'm sorry, what can I do to improve this" and refer to her as a b#$*! in my mind.
She's either smelling fear or blood. I've seen this happen to one or two students in almost every clinical. It's known when you sign up for clinical that this instructor is like dr jekyll and mr hyde (you never know which one you're going to get), or the one that rides one or two students per clinical class (turns out to be true each time), we even have one where male students should never go (she's never passed one yet). It seems to be a whole different game with each one. Can I just get one that wants to teach and support me in my nursing skills (just one, please!).
Hang in there. I had a clinical teacher just like that. I cried a few times during clinicals and as vashtee said "it's just like bootcamp," it actually is like bootcamp. I feel like some clinical instructors do this to try to break down the students and see who will actually toughen up and stick through it. I think some instructors who are like this are trying to prepare you for the "real world" where you will encounter many different personalities that will frustrate you even more. You'll get through this!!
Hi there JenaWade25. I am also a nursing student. I can definitely relate to you what you are saying. By the time I got home from my clinical last week, I was yelling at my boyfriend. Taking all of my frustration out on him. He had to calm me down. My clinical instructor referred me back to the nursing lab (I am in my second semester, but took a year off), to practice basic nursing care: positioning, vitals, and calculating drugs. At first I couldn't believe that she was actually making me do these things. I've run into some issues with my clinical instructor before in my first semester and so I immediately thought that she was attacking me on a personal level.
It took a lot of thinking on my part and reasoning with someone else, not in my shoes to understand that I don't handle criticism very well. I don't. I've realized though, letting people get to me on a personal level, will only make me depressed and in a rut my entire life and I don't want to be like that. So, I've learned to look past what she referred me to the lab for and go in and zip through everything. Maybe she wants a second opinion on my basic skills? I don't know. Do I think it's ridiculous? YES! Do I know how to do basic nursing care? YES! Can I take a manual blood pressure? YES! Can I put on a brief/diaper? YES! Even though it feels like she's personally degrading me and even if she is trying too, I can't let her bring me down. So, I'm going to act like everything is OK and do what I'm supposed to...Prove her wrong and in the Spring...Drop her like a hot fly and never take her again.
My clinical instructor gets on my nerves in other ways as well. She is the type of person who is all over the place. She's always bouncing. Always talking about herself and her life. Never asks anyone..or at least not me about my life and how I'm doing. She's all about her. And that is fine with me, but if I'm not all "hyperactive" doesn't mean that I'm any different than you are. Ugh! That is one thing that I cannot stand about her! =] Just my rant and rave!
) at one point or another she will stop picking at you because you are now "abiding" by her rules, and she "comands" you, so there is no reason for her to be a complete a*s hole!.thumb.jpg.421493329dd1f136a4222fe8e9399213.jpg){kind=small}
waitingforthedream
231 Posts
Did you ever think that maybe she "picks" on you because she knows that you can do better and is pushing you to do so. Our Instructors can be so bad that we all pull over on the side of the road to hurl before we get to our site, but we get through it. They weed the weak out, you don't want to show weakness, you will pay the price. What are you going to do when the Doctors start yelling?? Go Back!:heartbeat