NEED INPUT PLEASE

[pnlm_a]

In med/surg clinical as a nursing student I was put with a nurse who was impatient with me, and rude at times. She was a bully to me at times during clinical, and I am not the only one who notices this. When I requested to be put with another nurse to the clinical instructor, my requests were ignored, and week after week, I was put with this same nurse, who I felt unsafe with. Finally, at the end of the clinical instructor, my clinical instructor informs me that this nurse I was put with (the same nurse I feel unsafe with) in clinical thinks I should not be passed and I am failed from med/surg clinical. I immediately retake the med/surg clinical with another clinical instructor, and I am passed with no problem. Several people in the nursing school comment that I should not have been failed in the first place.

I am in my last clinical before I am finally able to get my nursing degree, after this horrendous ordeal and then I am bullied by this same nurse again. The same nurse from the med/surg clinical who was a bully and rude to me, and who was responsible for failing me somehow finds out which unit I am doing med/surg II clinical on.

She apparently calls down to the unit I am to do clinical on and spreads malicious gossip about me to the nurses on this unit. I am about to clinical on a unit with a bunch of nurses who have just been told all of this horrible stuff about me.

It seems as though I am failed by this one nurse from clinical and then I go on to retake the clinical and she is trying to go after me again. I know I have few rights as a nursing student but this doesn't seem right to me for her to go after me like this. Because of her, I am humiliated, and have to face clinical for the entire semester with a group of nurses who taunt me. It does not seem right that this nurse can get away with bullying and that this behavior is condoned.

It does not seem to send a good message to the other students I am in clinical with that I am being treated this way in clinical. Several nursing students remark that it is unbelievable what happened to me.

Is there someone I could have talked to in the school of nursing I attended about this situation? Is there someone at the nursing school or at the hospital I could have talked to about this situation?

[leslie :-D]

i would be tempted to discuss with nm, only since instructor blew you off.

however, i did butt heads with one of my instructors (who did everything in her power to browbeat and belittle me), and i took it to the very top of my nsg school...

reminding them i paid damn good $$ for my education, and refused to be anyone's doormat.

probably because i was in my 30's and confident/determined, the dean took me seriously, and must've talked w/instructor, since i had no problems thereafter.

i also put my concerns in writing, and threatened to bring this to the doe (dept of ed) for reconciliation.

my school had too valued a reputation, for anyone to be making a stink.

i would bring this to your dean as well, verbally and in writing.

if they think they can bully you, they will.

fight for yourself.

and best of everything.

leslie

[betc]

I am sorry to hear your clinical experience was a negative one.

There is always a channel or direction of command when it comes to authority.

Hopefully you have documentation of the incident you have described. If your clinical instructor has ignored your information, then you go higher to her "boss".

The school should address the behavior of the "hospital nurse", using proper channels of authority. Director of nursing, nurse manager to the staff nurse.

take care of yourself,

Betc

[nyteshade, BSN]

She apparently calls down to the unit I am to do clinical on and spreads malicious gossip about me to the nurses on this unit. I am about to clinical on a unit with a bunch of nurses who have just been told all of this horrible stuff about me.

This comment concerns me greatly...do you have some evidence? Please keep personal documentation about your whole process, and call a lawyer. I may get flamed for being so harsh, but every nurse is aware of what slander is!

[netglow, ASN, RN]

I could totally see what the OP describes happening. When I was in school, I know of two students who were targeted.

One was failed in our skills lab final for that semester by a instructor she never had, but who was known to fail students for insignificant things. She got a second chance after petitioning. Now, the following semester, at the final skills lab, she was evaluated by that same instructor, and was failed. Funny this, as policy is that you don't get the same evaluator twice, and it cannot be your instructor. Could it have been just a coincidence? Sure, but we all knew it wasn't. I do think that instructor had said, "I'll take this one!" She had been insulted that this student challenged her judgement the first time. This student was already a healthcare professional and never behaved as if she knew it all.

The second graduated a few semesters before I did. She had an instructor hunt her down for 4 skills finals, failed her every time, and she was offered a second chance after petitioning each time. At the end of it all, and after this instructor gave her a lecture about really just wanting her to become a good nurse (BALONEY) this student asked her if she would be the instructor to "pin" her as this student tried to take the high road and believe this instructor might have been genuine in her lecture. Well, of course, the answer was a flat out "No". This student was quite accomplished, holding 2 prior degrees, and was a source for younger students (me) while practicing in the lab.

[Belmont_Murse]

I've read a couple of posts recently where students are being treated rather roughly by clinical instructor and/or staff they're assigned to work with on rotations. It's deplorable to be subjected to this treatment when you are supposed to be learning task oriented skills, working on CONFIDENCE, and putting into practice the didactic portions of your classes. It's absolutely necessary that you take control of your education in this situation. You may not be able to "stand up" to your clinical instructor or assigned nurse as it can be quite confrontational and potentially negative. However, you can go to the instructor in charge of this Med/Surg II class, express your concerns and see what happens. Of course, the next mode of action would be to take it to the dean. Bit of advice: keep to the facts surrounding your experience. Utilize the nursing skills you've learned so far and let whomever you tell know that you feel unsafe (Maslow). Best of luck. Take the high road every time.

[ItsTheDude]

sounds like you're actually getting well trained for nursing politics in the workplace. some nurses will lean (be impatient, rude, bullying...) on a student to see how they react and will keep leaning on them if the student reacts poorly. i don't know if that's the case here, but workplace/nursing politics is actually more important than nursing. some of the best nurses i've seen just couldn't work well with others or adapt to workplace politics, needless to say they were fired or left like a bat outta...

[newtress, LPN]

I had an interesting twist in the tormenting bully of an instructor I had. She did all these blatantly obvious things to me as a student, similar to what is posted above. But guess what. Two of the clinical days at a hospital she lambasted me in front of the staff nurses right at the station. She would flip the MAR open very hard and point to a page and sternly bark "READ IT!" while continuing to bang her finger on the paper. After that disgusting display when she finally walks away from me, all the nurses at the station said "write it all down, document it. We will ALL sign our names behind it. We can either call your program director and tell her to not ever send this instructor to our facility again, or you can tell your PD to call us and we will fill her in." Imagine witnessing the degradation some of these instructors pull, and the staff just cringe with the I'm so sorry you are being treated like this look on their faces. This should no longer ever be tolerated in any nursing school from ANY instructors period. End result: The instructor was not allowed back to this facility again.

[Simba&NalasMom, LPN]

sounds like you're actually getting well trained for nursing politics in the workplace. some nurses will lean (be impatient, rude, bullying...) on a student to see how they react and will keep leaning on them if the student reacts poorly. i don't know if that's the case here, but workplace/nursing politics is actually more important than nursing. some of the best nurses i've seen just couldn't work well with others or adapt to workplace politics, needless to say they were fired or left like a bat outta...

I couldn't agree with you more about nursing being mostly about the politics. I wonder...when a person deliberately bullyrags a student in a situation to "see how they react", what do you suppose he/she thinks an "appropriate" reaction is? My personal experience in the workplace with these types of impatient wretches is it does not matter how I react: if I stand up for myself calmly yet assertively, I'm being "insubordinate," and yet if I just "grin and bear it" then I'm weak (and my body language just belies me as being passive aggressive, anyway... lol). There is no winning with these sorts, and I wish I COULD advise others on how best to deal with them. Sorry to sound so bitter, but I'm sure I'm not the only one to lose a job and actually be on the verge of leaving the profession because of these impatient and horribly mean psycho nurses.

To the OP I truly am sorry for what you have been through. I do think it's a bit ridiculous for a program to fully take the recommendation of a floor nurse to fail you; maybe that could have been argued. After all, do you not have clinical instructors who float around to check your performance as well? It sounds like you are a caring person and I do hope you make it through.

[Simba&NalasMom, LPN]

I had an interesting twist in the tormenting bully of an instructor I had. She did all these blatantly obvious things to me as a student, similar to what is posted above. But guess what. Two of the clinical days at a hospital she lambasted me in front of the staff nurses right at the station. She would flip the MAR open very hard and point to a page and sternly bark "READ IT!" while continuing to bang her finger on the paper. After that disgusting display when she finally walks away from me, all the nurses at the station said "write it all down, document it. We will ALL sign our names behind it. We can either call your program director and tell her to not ever send this instructor to our facility again, or you can tell your PD to call us and we will fill her in." Imagine witnessing the degradation some of these instructors pull, and the staff just cringe with the I'm so sorry you are being treated like this look on their faces. This should no longer ever be tolerated in any nursing school from ANY instructors period. End result: The instructor was not allowed back to this facility again.

Wow you are SO lucky!!! Good for those nurses.

My bully instructor put me on clinical probation early into the program and I had no choice but to do my best to keep my nose squeaky clean! Found out from a previous class that every year she singled out one student to pick on.

[Simba&NalasMom, LPN]

You know, after re-reading your entire story, I would seriously consider going to your program director to complain about this clinical instructor. She ignored your requests and then failed you based on the advice of this nasty nurse. Sounds to me as if she really wasn't around much to do her own job. You spent good money and then wasted an additional semester when the problem could have been averted had she listened to your concerns.

[newtress, LPN]

I agree with that. The program director should be given a heads up on what is going on with an instructor that overtly singles a student out. I don't know what your nursing school contract is with the facilities that allow your students to do their clinicals at. But in my state, if they for what ever reason choose to no longer allow that school's students on their floors they can discontinue the relationship. That is why those nurses said they would sign documentation to have this tyrant instructor not return to their hospital for clinicals. It is upsetting to the staff nurses, the patients can actually see and feel the tension in the room with an instructor humiliating the student as she is trying her best to complete a skill. I remember patients making the comment after my insane instructor left the pt's room with me finishing up, "geez that woman was rough on you, they need to put her out to pasture. You did just fine honey." So yes I think the program director needs to know what she is doing to you on your rotations, because it is obvious she is a very bad representation of your nursing school.