misstaz25

Oh by the way, I got an A

Hi again everyone. I just saw the post was back open. I thought I would update you. The papers were written. She didn't want them for a grade, so I told her in the papers how to deal with lying and how she didn't handle things well and backed up my point with sources. On the how to quit smoking papers I told her all the ways I have tried. She probably thinks I have never tried. I have been on medication, the patch, etc. So I told her about the side effects and why they didn't work for me. My grade is reinstated. In fact I pulled her aside on Friday and told her I am done being upset over this incident. I also told her I appreciate her dedication to the program (she is there many evenings). From now on I will be keeping track of any other unfair things she does, whether to me or other students, however if I do anything about any of it, it will be after I have my degree in my hand. I am going to do my best to get along with this instructor.

No that was not what I was trying to say. Smelling like smoke in healthcare is unprofessional. This incident happened to be at a LTF. Both the hospital and LTF we do clinicals at have smoking areas for staff. I was not trying to say only hospital patients deserve to not smell smoke. However I could see more of possibility of it being a bigger issue at a hospital due to the more critical patients. I am not saying in anyway was LT patients are less important or anything to the likes. I am not missing the point of the rule. I have stated over and over LESSON LEARNED. Does anyone out there think lecturing/punishment works to get someone to quit smoking? It is a very difficult addiction, it has been compared to heroine and cocaine in additiveness. I am going to check out the link above about quiting. If you people out there really knew how many ways and times I have tried to quit. Also it is not advisable to try to quit when under stress and if anyone can say the nursing programs are not stressful, let me know where so i can transfer. As Mark Twain said "quitting smoking is easy I have done it thousands of times."

Burnout and TinyNurse, I you had read the whole post you would know I am writting the papers and have admitted my wrong and agreed not to smoke before, during clinicals. Addiction does not control me to the point of being willing to give up my dream. If you had read you would know that. My problem is the legality of her actions. Get off the high horse about smoking and focus at the issue at hand.

Thanks WanttobeRN my point earlier was exactly that. She doesn't have a healthy lifestyle and really doesn't hid it either. Morte amen and thank you. The nursing programs do push you to be so perfect and infallible I can see where new students would be a pain to the nurses training them on the job. We are basicly expected to be above human and never make mistakes. If we do make a mistake there are harsh consequences. We are not even allowed to miss more than 2 days or we are automaticly kicked out. No exceptions and no excuses. Also with the programs being like this you can expect your newbie on the floor to be the whistle blower and a**kisser because it is an admired trait (by instructors) in the program. If there is a rule that no one really follows your newbie will be the one running to a superior about you breaking it. I understand nursing since I have been a CNA and Medication Aide for years. Sometimes you can't follow every rule that looks good on paper. Patient care needs to come first. I know rules are important, but sometimes they are just paperwork and redtape to look good for state.

In case you missed the sentence before I said I don't ridicule overweight people. Many people do even if they dont say it, it is in the way they are looked at or treated. People can be very mean. I think it is ironic that someone clearly overweight can harp about the effects of smoking on a smoker and not expect someone to say something about weight and health. But than maybe that is why an overweight nonsmoker would pick on a smoker, its something they have got their whole life and its an issue they can throw in someone else's face.

Thanks Jay-Jay. I understand how people are allergic and have stated this will not happen again. When I am in the clinical area or at a hospital working I will not smell of smoke, well to the best of my ability, by not smoking in car on way there, or having a cigarette outside just before going in, etc..

I am not saying pick on them not me. I have many of the other bad habits listed above. However I only get ridiculed over the smoking. I have seen others get ridiculed over other habits by those that think they are so much better than everyone else. The issue at hand is not smoking, it is abuse of power. If you cant stay on track there is a red X at the top of the page to close the window.

One person a few pages ago said I should just quit. If it was really that easy dont you think I would? No I really like being ridiculed by people that have no idea what it is like to try to quit something you are addicted to. I would love to quit. It is not that simple. If you have never smoked, please dont tell anyone oh just quit. I know there are lots of nurses out there that have found a way to quit. What works for one person doesnt always work for another. Thank you RobCPhT. Can we please stick to the issue at hand. The bully of a teacher. I have decided to write the papers dont tell me to suck it up and write them. Mavis please I have heard enough. You clearly dont get the issue here. Not boo hoo I had to get up at 5:30 I had to leave town at 5:30 meaning I had to be up by 4am to shuffle kids around. I could care less about getting up early its that we did a 12 hr day in place of a 4 hour class and than got treated like children cause we picked a day she didnt like. This woman hates anything that doesnt go her way. It has been interesting to hear of all the places where smoking is not even allowed on the property. No place here is that strict. Its also good to hear I am not the only person with a tyrant of an instructor. People please I have admitted I mess up. Please quit throwing it in my face and focus on the issues at hand.

I have already clearly stated this will not be an issue anymore. I will not smoke on the morning before clinicals or during. Please quit be so self-rightous and calling me immature. I have also stated I am writing the papers. Please read all of the post before commenting. I am not angry because I got caught. I am upset that she made up extra punishment after the incident. I am upset that I paid almost 3,000 for that one semester of school and she could threaten all my hardwork over her principles. Just my books for last semester were $886. I am a dean's list student. I have earned a 96% in her class. I am upset because I am a responsible student and she has taken this one incident and made a huge stink over it. Even mentioning telling on me to my mother should be punishable. I am 30 years old with 3 children of my own. I don't need stupid threats like that. Yeah, you can throw in my face all the students that didn't get into the program and I did. I also went to school for all prerequisets getting straight A's and making the presidents list. I spent over $8,000 going to school last year and it will be another 20,000 or so before I am done. I earned my spot in the program. I really dont want to hear anymore stories of how people are allergic to the smell of smoke. I am a respectful smoker and dont do it around nonsmokers. The state I live in resticts all smoking inside public buildings except bars where you have to be over 21 and it is posted on the door that it is a smoking building. Even the hospital here has a back area semi-sheltered for smokers on their breaks. This is not an issue at these places if I was an employee, only an issue with her. Personally I feel I should be able to smoke in the morning before I am on her time. Don't worry, I won't. What it comes down to is she doesnt want anyone that smokes to be a nurse. I can understand that many nonsmokers don't like the smell of smoke at all. I don't like the smell of many purfumes. However I am nice enough to keep my mouth shut when I run into someone with strong purfume or body odor. I am also nice enough to not comment on the fatty eating a big mac or going through the buffet for the 3rd time. Why is it society is willing to allow open season on smokers? Everyone has their vice in life. If you say you don't you are either insane or lying. I don't care what people's vices are: smoking, drinking, caffeine, junk food, overeating, not exercising, chewing tobacco, biting fingernails and the tons of other bad habits there are out there. If everyone got bashed like smokers do there would be a riot going on. Being a smoker is not something that should disqualify you to be in healthcare. I really don't care that there are now laws about not smoking in public places. That is fine and I understand why. What I have a problem with is societies smoker bashing. What I do at my own home, in my car, or on campus in a smoking allowed area should be my own business. In case no one has noticed the anti-smoking laws and high taxes have not got smokers to quit. Smoking is not illegal. When they make smoking illegal then they better shut down McDonalds and all other fast food. Could you non-smokers please lighten up a little? When you give up even one freedom to better society, you deserve to have none. Ben Franklin

Thank you Brefni. I specificly stated I didn't need a lecture on smoking. I have heard them all. I need to know how to deal with this teacher. I have decided to not rock the boat too much, but I do feel that she was completely out of line. She doesn't see that she was. She justified the hallway talk with we didn't come by her office to speak to her. I dont know about the other student but I was by her office to speak about this and she was never there when she said she would be. She said there are rules in the nursing program and she stands beside her punishment. My issue with this is she wrote it up as a critical behavior and a first offense on anything is to be an admonition notice. Two critical behaviors in a semester and you are out. This was the very end of the semester but I still feel it was thrown way out fo proportion. She also tried to say the incomplete was for a clinical paper she didn't have. I have the other student as a witness the incomplete is for the extra papers. She also said the threat of telling my mother is because she wanted me to know she would not do that. Well why bring my mother into it if it was not to intimidate me? She made that threat with the other student present also, so I would have her as a witness to the way it was worded and it wasnt a joke. I know many nurses and nursing instructors are very much against smoking, but I still feel she is way out of line. I am going to keep track of everything from here on out and when I do have that diploma in my hand I am contacting the state board that regulates the program and telling them just what I think. I would stand up more now, but most of us have already learned it just causes harsher grading. Actually here is an example. We were told we had to go to an all day conference out of town. We were given the option of Thurs or Fri to go. This choice was given by her superior. We all chose Friday. Well Friday would have been lab/clinical day anyway and it was for that class. This teacher pouted like a grade schooler because she had to teach that day and couldnt go. She blamed us and graded us harshly for a few weeks. She also threw in a paper on the conference. Now this is a large class of about 99 through out the state. Only our 18 had to go to the conference and we had to spend our whole day there instead of 4 hrs in lab. We left at 5:30 am to drive there by 8 and didnt get dismissed from it till 4:30 and still had to drive home. She made us write a 2 page paper on the event to top it off. No other site was required to do anything like this. She is instructor over all 99 of us, but only her students at my site had to go through this. We, all 18 of us, wrote her a letter stating her attitude toward us about the day chosen and the harsh grading and treatment. She pulled all of us aside and said we were being immature. I think she was immature to pout about day chosen, if it was an issue we shouldnt have been given an choice. We chose the day over a month in advance so we could make plans for daycare and school for our children. She expected us to change it just over a week in advance and we refused. Over 3/4 of the class has children, half of them single parents, and to find someone else to take mom's spot for a day is not easy. People had taken the day off from work and were scheduled to work the day she wanted to go. It just wasn't an option to change the day with little notice. This is the kind of mature woman I am dealing with.

I did meet with her this afternoon. I was very polite about it and we talked calmly. I didn't threaten or say anything about going over her head. I am sucking it up and writing the papers. She insists on having them and I don't really want to cause to many waves. I have to deal with her for another year and a half. I am considering talking to her supervisor, confidentially, about the issue. I know if it came to it i could take this to court and win, but why cause problems?

Ok i thought I would add some clarification. This incident was not at a hospital, it was a a LTF. 90% of the staff that works there are smokers including the nurses. Until 2 yrs ago this place had a smoking room, indoors, for staff. I was done with my patient for the day and my patient had asked me to leave her alone to nap. I am a considerate smoker, I try my best to not smell of smoke, and the smoke the instructor smelled was on my jacket. It is cold here and smoke sticks to your clothes when you have to go outside in the cold. I told her that I would not smoke during or right before clinicals anymore before she assigned the extra work. I have not given her the letter. It was written in a very angry state and I have slept on it. I am going in to speak to her in an hour or so to explain to her in person how I feel about her display in the hallway and my intent to settle things without having to involve anyone but us. There is not a policy on clinicals and smoking in the written rules. She verbally told us if we smell like smoke we will be docked. I agree smelling like smoke around patients is unprofessional in a hospital setting. However most of the staff at this LTF smoke and there is a smoking area. I already told her it would not happen again after she pulled me aside and asked me if I had smoked. This was a first incident and I feel she has gone overboard because of her personal bias. After talking to her if she still holds her ground on writing the papers I will write them to be able to continue in the program. I will also go over her head regarding the withholding of my grade and the unfairness of it. I guess I feel someone has to stand up to her at somepoint. She has been bullying most of the class all year so far.

Help, I am at risk of being out of the nursing program because I am a smoker. I really could use some advise on how to deal with a very unfair instructor. I am a first year PN student and we just started clinicals in Nov. I have an instructor that is absloutely against smoking. Of 18 students in the class only about 6 are not smokers. We were informed that if we as much as smelled of smoke during clinicals we would be docked in our grade. One day another student and I got busted for smoking. Please no lectures on smoking and how bad it is. I really would like to quit. Anyway, our grade for the day was docked in every area it could. I would be fine with that. What I dont feel is fair is the way the instructor handled it after that. A few days after the incident the instructor pulled me into her office when no one was around. She flat out asked me if I had smoked, and I said I will not lie, I did. She asked why after knowing her clear views on smoking I would do that, was I just that addicted? I told her yes, it is an addiction. This teacher than asked me about the other student and if she had smoked also. I felt uncomfortable about her asking me about another student, but I admitted she did also. I told her that I was sorry and would make sure it didnt happen again during clinicals. In fact I had just done another clinical the day before and told her in no way did I smoke before or during that clinical. This lovely woman told me that I need to think about what my punishment should be for disobeying her rules. Now remember my grade got docked for smelling of smoke. She also threatened to tell my mother about the incident. My mom works at the college but in a totally unrelated department. A few days later she pulled me and the other student aside in a public hallway to lecture us and give us our punishment. She stated that we would write a 2 page paper with 2 references on how to quit smoking. Also we would write a 2 page paper on lying. Now I never did lie to her, she asked me if I smoked and I told her yes I did. If I wouldnt have confessed she wouldnt be able to punish us at all. Then to top it off she wants a 3 page paper on patient abandonment. She informed us, this is on the very last day of class before Christmas break, that we will have an incomplete in her class until she recieves these. I feel she is out of line and that she did this in a public hallway is just aweful. She wanted to make an example of us in front of the other students and I feel she handled this poorly. I am furious. I have read the policies and procedures for the program I am in and nowhere does it say anything about smoking. In fact I dont think she can even assign extra papers because of it. My grade was docked as we were warned would happen. How can she make up extra punishment when I was punished by my grade? How can she make up extra assignments when we were told our grade would be docked. I earned a very hard A in her class. I got a 98% on her final. Also this woman is a constant overeater and is constantly snacking on candy and other fattening treats. She flat out admits she cant live without candy. Yet she has the balls to judge anyone that smokes. She actually will pick out little things to dock grades on just because someone is a smoker when a nonsmoker can do clearly worse and recieve a better grade. I wrote in a letter to her that her behavior toward me and the other student was rude. In public to degrade us and ask us to write about effects of smoking and lying. How would she like it if she was asked to write about her eating habits and lack of exercise and how her fat butt is bad for her health? She can walk around with a jelly donut in her fat hand, but god forbid she smells smoke on a student. She called me at home tonight to inform me that if she does not have these papers in hand by Weds of this week she will not let me continue in the program. I am considering taking her actions to her superiors and filing a greivance with the college regarding my grade. Is it fair for a teacher to withhold your grade because of something like this? I have wrote her a letter pointing out how unfair it is and that I will not write extra papers for being a smoker. I admited to her I was wrong to smoke during a clinical, and said it will not happen again. My grade for that day was lowered because of it. I expect the grade I earned for the semester. I completed her course and than on the last day she throws 3 papers at me as a punishment!!! I wrote her a letter that I expect the grade I earned and will not be treated like a child and will go to the board if she follows through on her threat. I feel I should add I am a president and deans list student. I have a print out of the points in her class and have earned a 96% fair and square. The class is over and I have an incomplete at the time deans and presidents list are being made, so she has taken that from me. Please no lectures about smoking, if i could just quit I would. I want to know if her behavior is even justifiable? What are my legal options in this?