Quiting clinicals because of bad work envirnoment

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I am a second year male nursing student of a 4 year nursing program an this is my story:

I had a bad experience in the hospital I chose because they were not used to teach students, they just gave me their work and sit around with their mobiles without teaching me anything. I felt like a slave. They didnt pay me attention, i was trying to integrate myself but i didnt get any response from them, they felt offended all the time with all I said.

I am not from USA, I am from Europe and my school offers me another opportunity in june in another hospital for the clinicals.

I dont want to quit nursing, i really enjoy my time with my patients, but I dont know how to deal with a bad work enviornment when i am the student and i am even more vulnerable in that situation. So now after quiting clinicals i am doubting myself about my hability to cope with these situations.

I need any advice and some encouragement.

Thanks a lot

Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
why? I quit my clinicals because my university offers me another opportunity in june, it was my first time in a hospital, i didnt want to have a bad experience because of a bad work enviornment.

So if I change/quit clinicals Im done as a nurse right? I dont have any second opportunity? Thats what you are saying?

I'm saying that you must lead a charmed life. If I had quit a clinical, I would have been dismissed from the program. Apparently, you have the luxury of choosing optional clinicals if you don't care for your assignment.

In real life, you must deal with your assignment. No re-assignment. No second chance. Good luck with that.

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Specializes in MCH,NICU,NNsy,Educ,Village Nursing.

OP--the worst day/days of my life were as a 2nd year nursing student. The teacher was awful, the learning environment was stressful. I thought it would be better for me if I stopped, but with my family's support, I stuck it out and persevered. I actually learned a lot through that experience:

1. In this world there are people who are unkind. They do not define me. I am responsible for myself, and they, themselves. I cannot change their behavior, but I CAN change mine, if needed.

2. Those things worth having are worth working for, no matter the obstacles placed in my path.

3. Nursing school prepares us for all kinds of people, experiences, and things. Perhaps by their rudeness, they were actually teaching you how to respond to others who are not always nice/thoughtful/helpful.

I do have a question--is your school in the United States, or in Europe. It is really unusual for a student to be able to quit in America and pick up clinical in another location at a later date.

I wish you well.

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I can't think of a single student at my school who was given the opportunity to "quit" a clinical placement and return a few months later. Walk away and you were done. Happened to more than one person I can think of. Hope that the OP gets just the work environment he wants in June.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

Where was your clinical instructor in all of this? That's whose job it is to teach you -- not the hospital staff.

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Where was your clinical instructor in all of this? That's whose job it is to teach you -- not the hospital staff.

My question as well.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
i didnt want to have a bad experience because of a bad work enviornment.
At times, life's circumstances call for us to navigate bad experiences rather than avoid them. When we successfully work through negative experiences, it facilitates personal growth, interpersonal skills, and the potential for retrospection.

While I would have loved to quit several of my nursing school clinical rotations due to negative experiences with certain people, quitting would have had a detrimental impact on my professional outcome in life.

When the going gets tough, tough people get going. Tough people don't quit or avoid.

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Specializes in MCH,NICU,NNsy,Educ,Village Nursing.
Where was your clinical instructor in all of this? That's whose job it is to teach you -- not the hospital staff.

True...unless the clinical is a preceptorship type environment. I had colleagues at a nursing college whose students were precepted in the clinical setting without their presence on a routine basis. The faculty made trips to the clinical location to check in, but did not teach all skills. (Not my preferred method, but it seemed at the time to be a trend.)

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Where was your clinical instructor in all of this? That's whose job it is to teach you -- not the hospital staff.

In Europe you go alone to a hospital and work with the staff.

It was my first experience in the hospital and they let me alone with the staff, people are judging me saying that i have thin skin when they dont have any idea what i have been going through.

I had to integrate myself to a staff that had been working together for a long time and the majority of them didnt want to teach just finish their work and leave.

They didnt assign me anybody to teach me, they give me their work while they were playing with their mobile.

Anyway I just want to say that I AM NOT IN AMERICA, so dont judge me like if i was there.

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Specializes in Critical Care/CVICU.

You are definitely not alone in having a clinical experience that is less than ideal. I mean, you really don't have options here, except for to go back to clinicals in June. I suggest you go back in with a good attitude and not with the mentality that you can just "quit" if you dislike the hospital. You will work with coworkers, whether it nurses, physicians, or other staff, who you do not always "click" with. Being a professional means looking past this and still making the best of the situation.

Best of luck to you, I hope you feel more comfortable in June at your new clinical site.

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Plead to her sense of compassion. A very smart person, who is vice-president of a major company in the U.S. told me, "If someone doesn't respond with a helping hand after you humbly ask for their help had no intention of helping you in the first place. At least you will know where you stand. Keep us posted. I know you can do this!!

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Anyway I just want to say that I AM NOT IN AMERICA, so dont judge me like if i was there.

You are not in America? Then where are you? Wouldn't you get a better selection of answers that you want to hear if you posted your threads in a nursing website that is primarily based where you actually reside? Yes, we do things differently in America. That could very well explain why some people are so surprised that you say you get a "do-over" for your clinical instead of being removed from the nursing program, which happens to most "quitters", at least in AMERICA.

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Wow, that is not how I feel about nursing. If it was just a matter of reading policy and procedures why have clinical rotation. Physicians don't give these types of responses to interns, and certainly would never speak to a colleague in this manner. Medicine perpetually changes. It is every nurses responsibility to ensure the highest quality of patient care is achieved. Remember folks these are the nurses who may be taking care of your parents, husband or maybe even you! So, I guess if this is truly what nursing school is like. Get what you can out of it, and look for a ASN, a MD, or anybody who can offer a little more guidance than what you have been given, but don't give up. The best nurses sometimes struggle the most.

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