No Good Very Bad Nursing Instructor

[misskitty22]

I am writing this with broken heart .I was recently forced out of my ADN program by an awful evil nursing instructor/clinical instructor. She had been harassing and bothering me since the beginning of the semester in 2014 it began with my first skill check off where she failed me and continued. She would make comments about me being quiet and not answering enough questions im quiet by nature”.

It grew to where she tried to fail me on a dosage calculation and passed another student for the same amount and it was noticed by other instructors and was allowed to retake it without her presence. She is so terrible that about 95% of the 65 member class were terrified when she taught or did skill check offs because we knew someone(s) head would be on the chopping block. She would make and effort for fail people on their second attempt so they couldn't come back. She was even recorded saying to a student that she was stupid and would kill people if she became a nurse. She was even fired from her job at a local hospital as an RN for poor disposition to coworkers and patients and few other nasty things. On my first clinical day I was told by her that I shouldn't be there I shouldn't have made it this far.

I followed the chain of command and she was told by the senior director that anything she said shouldn't have made it to her ears .

In my case with her she claimed that my care plan was not good enough for progression according to her. Even though we were instructed to use our care plan guide book. No one else was told this and was a allowed to continue on in the program. Im not sure of her reasoning for picking and harassing me if it was my skin color or my quietness I never had any problem with any of the other instructors , SIDE NOTE they even ran from her and said we've had issues with her before with her involvement with students.

My question is there any to keep her at bay if I return to the program. Should I contact my states board of nursing? Get a lawyer? SOMETHING!?! . HELPPP!!!

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Have you reported this up the chain of command? Knowing both your nursing programs chain of command and the policy for filing grievances is something you should look into. I would definitely not bring up the skin color accusation unless you have absolute truth. I also wouldn't go for a lawyer at this time- follow the avenues provided by the school.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

I've had issue with a nursing instructor who wanted to thwart my nursing schooling due to her sub par nursing expertise and projection of her insecurities; she wanted me to go against what we were taught and was best practice and I challenged her, respectfully, by attempting to give her that information, but she wouldn't have it, thus putting me on her list. However, I had a pretty rough skin, spoke up for myself, and didn't put myself in the position to give her a reason; I had gained the trust of the rest of the instructors the dean, and the director of the program, so she COULDN'T go too far.

I would try to appeal the decision; I would request that someone look into your care plan and make a decision; as well as prevent her from having you anymore because she is blatantly harassing you; your school should have a policy against this and a process in place for this; if push comes to shove maybe legal intervention may be in order, but first see if someone higher than the instructor can deal with this; if not, go over that person's head to get results; go up the chain of command.

Being shy, and your skin color-has she said anything about your race(?); that's a reportable issue, and may be a legal recourse, btw-should not be an excuse for the instructor to be hard on you; this instructor seems to be a bad apple, and really needs to be dropped from this program; she has NO business teaching.

[dishes, BSN, RN]

If you return to the program and she is your instructor again, you already know what kind of behaviour to expect from her, be prepared to react neutrally and professionally with her at all times, do not get into conflict with her. If she critisizes your work, respond with 'so just to clarify what your saying is; I should change/add/remove this to the careplan, is that correct? Great, thanks for your suggestions.' The only thing you can change in this situation is your own response, you do not need the BON or a lawyer, you just need to know how to communicate calmly and assertively with irritating people.

[Gooselady, BSN, RN]

Dishes said:

The only thing you can change in this situation is your own response, you do not need the BON or a lawyer, you just need to know how to communicate calmly and assertively with irritating people.

Maybe too little too late, but this ^^ is a vital piece of 'wisdom' that will help you get through school/training and the rest of your career as a nurse.

The secret is people (all people) have a lot more 'power' interpersonally than they realize. Usually, the moment someone in authority displays unfairness we collapse and go resentful. We don't have to do that, nope. We don't have to 'buy into' this treatment, and we do have resources, like going up the chain of command. Unless the whole school of nursing is rotten to the core (very doubtful and rare), you will get appropriate responses if you follow a few principles and take actions based on those principles.

First one I think of is 'document, document, document' in factual, objective language. I'd have ran for a pen and paper before I forgot to write down every one of her insults and put downs, and submitted them one by one to the dean/director/whoever. Basic human resource regulations are in place to deal with that stuff. Most younger folks don't know how to work the system, so don't feel too badly, you've just had a rather harsh wake up call to the Big Bad Real World which unfortunately has a few of these types in positions of authority. In my experience, they are NOT tolerated for long, and it is almost always because students/coworkers etc document factually and objectively and send their docs to the dean.

In fact (this is very strange, I admit) I became friends for a time with a nursing instructor. What was odd was that NO ONE liked her, but I did. She was an odd duck, not a bad person at all. But in retrospect, her interpersonal skills SUCKED when it came to working with her students. I heard recently she was denied tenure and basically fired because of all the complaints. I was too young at the time to get it, heck, she really like me, which flattered me, but like I said, I was young and simply grateful to not be one of the ones she couldn't be bothered to be polite to

[AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

I am so sick of people playing the 'skin color" game.. enough!!!!

Do what others have said and file a grievance, but stop using skin color as a scape goat!!

HPRN

[fivefeet05NP2B]

Ummm, chip on your shoulder much? All I saw her do was suggest that maybe this was the instructor's issue with her since she obviously does not know. Just because something is not your reality does not mean it does not exist. :-)

[WookieeRN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I would appeal, but remember it's not what you know, it's what you can PROVE.

Don't use the skin color discrimination as a basis for your appeal unless you can prove it without a doubt, or else you will be treading dangerous waters.

You don't need to report this to the BON... I'm not even sure why this would seem like a viable option.

You definitely don't need a lawyer.

[Fruit Sucker]

There will always be at LEAST one professor who will try to fail you out. Sometimes they just don't like you for whatever reason. I had a professor whom I suspected disliked me because of my race, but there's not much you can do about that unless you have some proof of it.

The truth of the matter is, you have to figure out a way to deal with these types of people and pass. Do whatever they tell you to do. Jump through their hoops. You only have to deal with it for a set amount of time and then you're done. Make it your business to get everything right. If you don't make any mistakes, they can't bust you for anything. Don't worry about whether other people had the same mistakes, it's irrelevant and you'll only frustrate yourself.

Nursing school is about getting past obstacles. Use your creativity to deal with jerky professors. You may hate it, but figure out a way to please that person who's trying to fail you. Find a way to make yourself likeable to them. The more they see you fight them, the worse you're making it for yourself. It's not about being right, it's about doing what you have to do to graduate.

Edit: In the future, if someone who is in a position to fail you says that you are too quiet, the wrong response is to tell them "I'm quiet by nature." Make it your business to be more outspoken, it won't kill you. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, but it would be in your best interest to learn how to please people who are supervising you instead of "being yourself." This is just one of the pain-in-the-butt aspects of being a working adult, you have to learn to be likeable to people you don't like.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

Ok, so here is my 2 or 3 cents worth....

It doesn't really matter at this point what the reasoning was/is because as you went up to the top of the ladder, comments were made, and a decision to keep this person on as an instructor continues. So they are validating that although her behavior was wrong, it is tolerated.

Personally, I would fight to get every dollar of my money back from this half baked place. There are many who play the "kick you out" game because, well, then you have to pay them more money and spend longer in school that anticipated originally. They throw around the "well, you can apply again next year...." well, think about it--one year of tuition that they keep--THEN another year of tuition next year...and on it goes.

Interestingly, it is those students who get the most federal financial aid this seems to affect the most.

When I was in LPN school, I really noticed that I had a hard time learning things. That others really did well in. I was working full time, out of necessity. I was "spoken to" on more than one occasion not about necessarily my learning style, but that I was "taking too much on" and other weird stuff that almost ended my education more than once. I have a style of learning that doesn't come easy. Had nothing to do with working. My child is now in college, and not for nursing. No such conversations happen with her. (thankfully). I have found that there's so much of ones ethics and character caught up in getting a nursing license, that it almost gives free rein to pick ones life apart, to find ones weakness, and go for the jugular.

Bottom line--your learning style was not in tune with how this school teaches nursing. You have documented proof of your work that was satisfactory. I would negotiate with the school for a refund of anything you paid, and a cancellation and return of your federal school grants/loans etc. You may need an attorney to do this. I would ask for legal advice. As emotional as this is, I would keep emotion 100% out of the equation. However, the hostile environment made it unlikely of your success.

I would not pay 2 more cents to this school. And let me guess---a for profit school, right? Your money is better spent on a school with a better reputation, and more investment in a student's success.

Best wishes, and let us know how it goes.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Moved to our General Nursing Student for member advice on how to deal with difficult instructors.

[NightNurseRN13]

I had an instructor like that. She tried her hardest to get under my skin, but years of working as a manager in retail served me well in that situation.