nursing school bullying

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there's a nursing student in my lab group who is wishy washy. he talks to everyone in class but me. or if the teacher hands him some sheets to pass around to other students, he'll hand it to everyone except for me. don't understand why he's bullying me. never had a disagreement or said anything controversial or radical. its giving me a bit of anxiety

Lol!! ^ morte

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Seriously sounds like you need to grow a set. I have been bullied by pros, this is little stuff. Practice being assertive at home in the mirror or with a trusted friend. Picture these situations and come up with your assertive ammo to fire back at him. The more you practice it, the more likely you are to respond appropriately and automatically.

For example, when he skips you while handing out papers, ask him why. If that is too confrontational, then you can say, "I feel left out when you don't hand me my papers. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't skip me in the future."

Another example is during your labs. When he starts giggling and acting immature, ask him why he's acting that way. "You know you're acting like a jerk, right?" If that's too confrontational, then tell him "I feel that you are being rude. I would appreciate it if you would keep it to yourself."

It sounds like you have an esteem problem. You may want to work on that and develop skills to cope with this guy, and the other people who are going to try to bully you in the future.

The confident person does not let these little slights slide. She addresses it immediately and moves on, because this is not important enough to her to waste time and energy on. She has bigger fish to fry, such as studying and passing classes.

Good luck.

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I had some free time so I read through the OP's previous posts. Interesting...

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it would fix the problem, lol. only OP would have to pass out the papers.

Lol!! ^ morte
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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.
I had some free time so I read through the OP's previous posts. Interesting...

Yeah kinda makes me think the OP and this "bully" might have dated...

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

Hold your head up your shoulders back and NEVER LET THEM SEE YOU SWEAT!

THIS...

This quote is key to you making you successful in nursing...what better time to start than NOW. :yes:

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
it would fix the problem lol. only OP would have to pass out the papers.[/quote']

I was going to suggest that...but I prefer to go for the jugular... ;)

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I had some free time so I read through the OP's previous posts. Interesting...

Eh, sounds like the few posts were pertaining to this situation, and now the OP wants to do something about it. :yes:

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

Yeah kinda makes me think the OP and this "bully" might have dated...

Eh...not sure about that...not something to count of....

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Regardless of how it started or why it's happening, I don't believe this passive-aggressive behavior on the part of the male student rises to the level of bullying. Many of us nurses have seen bullying up close, and this ain't it.

Bullying is being called into the nurse-manager's office and written up for every minor infraction of some obscure policy. It's being given the worst patient assignments every day you're on duty. It's being harassed at home for forgetting to check a box on a form. It's being accused by this same manager of failing to sign out a narcotic before you even get the keys in the morning. It's being driven out of your job by the relentless hounding and threatening to report you to the BON if you take your complaints higher up the food chain.

That, my young friend, is bullying. And while I feel for your discomfort around this male student---and believe you have every right to call him out on his behavior---let's put things into perspective here and call it what it is: a guy who's probably more insecure than you are acting out like a fourth-grader. He's not grown-up enough to be a nurse. And at this point, neither are you, unless you can face this head-on and confront it like an adult who's going to be holding peoples' very lives in her hand a couple of years from now.

As unpleasant as nursing school can be, it's good training for what you'll face out there in the real world. Out there it won't be a matter of some jerk who won't pass you a paper; it'll be a family member who gets in your face about the "lousy care that's killing my mother". You can't go running off to your manager crying "he's being mean to me!" It'll be a co-worker or a manager who gets a wild hair, decides she doesn't like you for some inexplicable reason, and proceeds to make your work life as difficult as possible (as in the example above). It'll be a doctor who yells at you for calling him in the night about a fever, even though he'd instructed you to do so when he left the hospital for the evening.

Not to rain on your parade, but you must understand that this job is not for the faint of heart and that you need to grow a much thicker skin if you're going to survive, in nursing school AND beyond.

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No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. It's bothering you because you are letting it.

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Trust me. I've been bullied before about my body an stuff. You will get enough. Best thing: look at him an say you got a problem with me or something? He may not know how to act then. Those people continue to act that way because nobody says anything to them. I would also bring it to your instructors attention even though that might not help because y'all all are adults and nobody got time for that junk. If confronting him doesn't work, just ignore him like the others said.

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