Nursing Instructors who are hard, pick on you, or are impossible to deal with

mariedoreen · Apr 4, 2006

There is no underlying wisdom for an instructor that acts like an ass. I'm really sick of people telling me that being treated like dirt while in nursing school is part of the educational process of learning to be treated like dirt when working as an RN. It is never acceptible or professional and I have zero respect for those that do it.

People should not subscribe to the OPs wisdom, it only perpetuates the cycle of ignorance.

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Apr 4, 2006

There is no underlying wisdom for an instructor that acts like an ass. I'm really sick of people telling me that being treated like dirt while in nursing school is part of the educational process of learning to be treated like dirt when working as an RN. It is never acceptible or professional and I have zero respect for those that do it.
People should not subscribe to the OPs wisdom, it only perpetuates the cycle of ignorance.

Huh...

Well, I'm a stronger person because of the high expectations my instructor had for me, and I can understand her logic. Her anger was over things that I didn't know, and that she thought I should. Because of that, I had to up my game. But I guess, according to you, that I am perpetuating some cycle of ingnorance. That kind of attitude is exactly what we are talking about when we say get prepared for the real world. But that's ok. I'll just blow it off, like I learned to do on clinicals. :uhoh3:

mariedoreen · Apr 4, 2006

Huh...
Well, I'm a stronger person because of the high expectations my instructor had for me, and I can understand her logic. Her anger was over things that I didn't know, and that she thought I should. Because of that, I had to up my game. But I guess, according to you, that I am perpetuating some cycle of ingnorance. That kind of attitude is exactly what we are talking about when we say get prepared for the real world. But that's ok. I'll just blow it off, like I learned to do on clinicals.

So you were not preparing yourself as well as you should have been for clinical and your instructor got angry about it. That's not this issue. High expectations are fine, becoming angry because a student is jeapordizing patient safety by slacking off is fine. Bullying students and acting unprofessionally are not. Those who have really been subjected to this understand the difference very well.

JeanettePNP, MSN, RN, NP · Apr 4, 2006

So you were not preparing yourself as well as you should have been for clinical and your instructor got angry about it. That's not this issue. High expectations are fine, becoming angry because a student is jeapordizing patient safety by slacking off is fine. Bullying students and acting unprofessionally are not. Those who have really been subjected to this understand the difference very well.

This is a very subjective line. You're saying it;s OK for an instructor to yell at a student who "should have been better prepared." If you believe that losing your cool and yelling at someone is wrong and unprofessional, then it's wrong even if the student deserved it because they didn't know something they should have. I can understand yelling as a knee-jerk reaction to an imminent disastrous move, but not part of a thought-out educational approach.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Apr 4, 2006

and thanks for the uplifting outlook on the rest of our careers.

I agree.

The OP's posting reeked of negativity. There's a lot to be said for encouragement.

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Apr 4, 2006

So you were not preparing yourself as well as you should have been for clinical and your instructor got angry about it. That's not this issue. High expectations are fine, becoming angry because a student is jeapordizing patient safety by slacking off is fine. Bullying students and acting unprofessionally are not. Those who have really been subjected to this understand the difference very well.

Actually, my CI yelled at me because I didn't know my patients DC meds from the time she was DC'd a month prior -not exactly being unprepared or slacking off. Or, once she yelled at me because I didn't know if my antibiotics were dosed according to my patient's creatine clearance(it was 8am I had barely received report)-again, I don't consider that being unprepared, nor do I condsider it jeopardizing patient safety. But the point is, hostility from other people is to be expected, and I don't need to take it personally-because I have had the same treatment from my CI. I survived that, and I'll move on. But I like how you can somehow turn what I said into me not being prepared for clinical and a slacker! That's pretty funny. I'd sure like to meet someone who was better in clinical that I was. There wasn't one part of clinical that was difficult (or NS for that matter). I kicked butt. In fact, that's why I blew off all the things that she said. Because I knew that in the end-it didn''t matter. .

mariedoreen · Apr 5, 2006

Actually, my CI yelled at me because I didn't know my patients DC meds from the time she was DC'd a month prior -not exactly being unprepared or slacking off. Or, once she yelled at me because I didn't know if my antibiotics were dosed according to my patient's creatine clearance(it was 8am I had barely received report)-again, I don't consider that being unprepared, nor do I condsider it jeopardizing patient safety.

Then this is exactly where we disagree. If you're not unprepared and you're not slacking off and you're not jeopardizing patient safety then your instructor is being abusive. It's NOT okay. We do not need to tell students that it is. And that this is somehow educational for them so they can deal with the "real" world. Most nursing students live and work in the real world and they understand that this is just not cool there either.

I have worked in the medical field with physicians and nurses etc... for 18 years. This kind of behavior has never been condoned in the facilities in which I've worked. On the contrary I had never experienced or witnessed such a high level of hostility until I entered into nursing school. And was told it was for my own good.

No way.

mariedoreen · Apr 5, 2006

This is a very subjective line. You're saying it;s OK for an instructor to yell at a student who "should have been better prepared." If you believe that losing your cool and yelling at someone is wrong and unprofessional, then it's wrong even if the student deserved it because they didn't know something they should have. I can understand yelling as a knee-jerk reaction to an imminent disastrous move, but not part of a thought-out educational approach.

I agree. I can see that I came across as having that opinion, but I really don't agree that it's okay to yell and lose your cool at a student. I was saying that in my opinion there's nothing wrong with an instructor being angry at an unprepared student, not that it's okay for them to lose their cool and yell about it. I made a huge mistake one time years ago and I could easily tell that my boss (a physician) was angry about it. But he didn't yell or lose his cool, he talked to me and treated me with respect. We talked about out how the mistake was made and then discussed how it would be avoided in the future. He didn't have to bully me or be hostile to affect change or to get me to 'up my game.' So I do agree with you, especially the last sentence.

firstyearstudent · Apr 5, 2006

There is no underlying wisdom for an instructor that acts like an ass. I'm really sick of people telling me that being treated like dirt while in nursing school is part of the educational process of learning to be treated like dirt when working as an RN. It is never acceptible or professional and I have zero respect for those that do it.
People should not subscribe to the OPs wisdom, it only perpetuates the cycle of ignorance.

Couldn't have said it better myself...

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Apr 5, 2006

Then this is exactly where we disagree. If you're not unprepared and you're not slacking off and you're not jeopardizing patient safety then your instructor is being abusive. It's NOT okay. We do not need to tell students that it is. And that this is somehow educational for them so they can deal with the "real" world. Most nursing students live and work in the real world and they understand that this is just not cool there either.
I have worked in the medical field with physicians and nurses etc... for 18 years. This kind of behavior has never been condoned in the facilities in which I've worked. On the contrary I had never experienced or witnessed such a high level of hostility until I entered into nursing school. And was told it was for my own good.
No way.

Maybe that's why we disagree. I have worked for the last 10 years in a hospital where it was OK for the doctors to call nurses f*** idiots! I guess maybe that's why I didn't break down when my instructor freaks out at me. I have seen so many fights between drs and RN's (my hospital is 50% owned by drs-the price you pay for being in a private hospital). I'm looking forward to being in a hospital where that isn't the norm. It isn't the norm-right?

lizzybeth · Apr 8, 2006

Last week one of my peers messed up during an assessment, possibly teetering on the edge of violating pt. safety, but our instructor waited until a proper time to discuss this with the student. Kudos to her. That is the way it should be done. Why make the student feel like an imcompetent fool in front of the patient , thus making the patient feel vulnerable and afraid of who the heck is caring for him or her?

I haven't encountered a mean instructor yet, but if I do I will make sure she doesn't think that I tolerate that kind of feedback--if that is what is supposed to be called. I will apologize, but not in a wimpering way, and I will show by my non-verbal cues that I maintain my self respect. It would actually just be me being me. I won't confront anyone in authority, but I convey through my demeanor that they will get a respectful response but it might make them look like the a##. I don't know how to explain it i guess. It is all about self esteem and knowing who you are. And knowing that your instructor knew as little as you when they started out.

Good luck to all of you who have these demon instructors. I will probably get one next semester--but I am ready!

lizzybeth · Apr 8, 2006

On the other hand, when I graduate and I am working with a doctor who calls me a derrogatory name--he better be ready for the talk of all talks in the lunch room, or where ever! After that I can be rest assured that he or she will not do that to me again!!!