Question ladies...

I do not think that this should be an acceptable practice-------does the school not have a simulation lab? I would call the director- because it is more than a little creepy.

Listen to your gut. This is inappropriate. Yes, call the person in charge of this course.

HIGHLY inappropriate. Report it.

Unless students were informed beforehand and had an option not to participate, it is not appropriate.

Teaching correct 12 lead placement on a living human is definitely more effective than on standard piece of plastic, but the whole thing still doesn't smell right. The agency which administers the course needs to be informed.

When I was in LPN school we did EKG's on each other. BUT, we were a class of all females, kept our shirts on, and had the option to opt out.

This seems inappropriate.

yeah, definitely report this instructor. What about a mannequin, as previously suggested in a sim lab? I've also heard of shadowing an EKG tech for a few hours/half a day or something. Most real patients don't mind; it has to be done anyways & they have the option to choose. I never learned lead placement in nursing school, but rather on the floor on a cardiac unit with the telemetry course on real patients.

I hope your wife & other students are willing to talk to director/supervisor of this instructor. Please let us know what happens. :-)

and kudos to your wife for removing herself without causing drama.

Thanks for the input everybody; I'll post an update after I contact the administrator today.

That sort of thing is ONLY acceptable in a truly voluntary situation, and where there is no other reasonable option to learn the skill. Often in a classroom setting there is an unspoken pressure to agree, and that is not okay. And really. . . it sounds creepy. there's no reason to make a woman sit in front of a class in just her bra (or to make a man sit topless!), in order to learn where to place leads. I mean really. A tank top would suffice; you can place leads on top of the fabric without sacrificing the learning experience. A hospital gown at least!

But honestly... some skills are best learned on a real person, but placing leads can be learned easily on a mannequin and then perfected in clinical.

This is coming from someone who happily let her midwifery classmates do their first pelvic exam on me. I am not shy. But this sounds unnecessary and weird.

Agreed. If it's so important to have a real person, they should take volunteers only or get a paid medical model.

Ok, so I was getting the run-around when trying to get in touch with the department head so I just called the Dean's office and placed my complaint with the Dean's secretary which got prompt attention of the Dean's office. I was put immediately in contact with an agent of the director that oversees the health sciences college at the university. I left the complaint anonymously so that nobody would be singled out and will follow up with the director tomorrow.

Now the scary part, I've got to go tell my wife what I have gone and done!!