Saw an angry clinical instructor...

[Bortaz]

For the last two weeks, as I was walking to my office in the hospital, I've passed by a clinical instructor and her students from a local university nursing program. She gathers them in a hallway that serves as a seating area for visitors.

this woman has, every time I've seen her, been literally ranting and raving at her gaggle of students. I've heard her call them stupid, lazy, slow-witted. Heard her practically yelling that they will never survive as a nurse. Seen her literally rip their care plans to shreds and toss it on the floor.

it is all I can do to not stop and put her in her place, but I'm pretty new at this hospital and am not sure how that'd go over.

Should I confront her about this behavior? Would there be a contact at the hospital that would deal with the college staff? Should I just mind my business? ****** me off to see this reprobate treating students like this.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

Do we ever see medical students treated like anything less than demi- gods?

We would never see a physician instructor, treat medical students like this, or PT students, OT students, etc.

JMHO and my NY $0.02

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN (ret)

Somewhere in the PACNW

Hi Lindarn - long time no see. :)

I don't know where you live but I've seen medical students, interns, and even residents treated like they are waaaay less than demi-gods.

Interns do the scut work for the residents, remember? And residents have to answer to the attendings.

It ain't pretty for docs-in-training either.

[firstlight]

She is being a bully to them.

[SteelGrey]

Sure there are tough professors, but I think this is boiling down to an issue of professionalism, especially in the work place. It's somewhat of a privilege for various programs and their students to come to the hospital and use the facility for clinical instruction.

[beckyboo1, BSN, RN]

I can't understand what she has to scream and carry on about in the morning before they even get started. This definitely needs to be stopped ASAP.

[TheAverageMan]

Cell phone recording for evidence perhaps? Don't upload it on youtube or anything, but at least have something to back up the claim, cause she could be best buddies with the Dean at her college, if she managed to land a Clinical Instructor job, and no one noticed how she treats her students.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

What gets me---other than the obvious lack of professionalism on the part of the instructor---is that the students are PAYING to be abused!! Nowhere is it written that students must put up with being bullied, shouted at, called names, or having their hard work torn up and thrown on the floor, and if I were in their place I'd be demanding my money back from the school.

Of course, that's easy for me to say because I'm not in the student role and I fear VERY few people. However, I do remember what it was like to be in clinicals, and even though I was a strong and older-than-average student, I doubt I would have made it through with an instructor like this. The school needs to be notified---however that is best done---and the instructor replaced ASAP. Unbe-freakin'-lievable.

[Tenebrae, BSN, RN]

I had some really tough clinical instructors who had very high expectations. But they all acted completely professional and were fair to everyone. I hate that those students are getting such a bad experience. Nursing school was hard but I excelled because my instructors pushed and challenged me.

Absolutelty agree. Throughout my nursing training, I had tutors who pushed us to excel and then there were the others..... I also think that many of the problems with horizontal violence and work place bullying start in nursing school.

I was two weeks out from my state finals exam (NCLEX) when I was called by my program manager and asked to explain a facebook post where I had written about my own journey of living with depression. I was expected to apologize, (or else be stopped from sitting my state finals). Not a single person that I've told since thought I needed to apologise. I think in the end I decided if making an apology was what was needed to sit my state finals, no one had ever told me that I needed to mean it.

As as others have said, I would contact the hospital's liaison or the school's coordinator. Personally, I would not recommend approaching the instructor directly, but that's me. If you feel it necessary then please take back up.

The instructor sounds more than a little bit dodgy. Personally I would not approach without a second person for a witness. I also agree that it should go higher up the chain of command. However while I was training, I saw seriously dodgy behavior from one tutor, who turned out to be best friends with the program manager and head of school. The students never knew who they could take concerns re the course to. Most often they ended up saying nothing because they were scared of being failed due to daring to complain about crappy behavior

[SeattleJess]

I am only starting my fourth week of nursing school, so that will let you give the appropriate weight to my advice. (As an aside, I'm blessed to be attending a program where the values of teamwork and respect are taken seriously. We're nurtured and supported by wonderful clinical instructors who want to see us succeed and nursing management students in their last quarter of the program who show us that we can. I wish this experience for every nursing student.)

We spent quite a bit of time studying professionalism, what it means to be a professional, ethics and the nurse's responsibility to others in his/her various roles. This really is an ethics question for you, it seems. Perhaps you could dodge it by saying, "Not my job!" but then I wonder: Would that be your response if you saw some other form of noxious and disruptive behavior? Is that the kind of interaction and environment your hospital wants to project? Because many people are not going to distinguish nursing school clinical instructors from other staff and if they can, they're probably smart enough to know that the person has been approved to be there as an invited guest and presumably represents hospital standards.

I guess you can tell that I think it is my job to respond to abuse. I'd follow the advice of others that you not contact this supervisor personally. Instead, contact the appropriate supervisor in your hospital. I'd also call the school because my school because the school has values and an image and it may not want a raving psychopath to be part of it. The behavior you describe is WAY beyond even the hardening law students go through. There's a difference between challenging students and abusing them. Abuse has no place in any profession with obligations to the public.

(Stepping down from box now.)

Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. You make me proud to be joining the profession of nursing.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

There's usually an educator who co-ordinates clinical placements. Document your observations and submit to the educator. He/ she can then follow up with the school.

[beckyboo1, BSN, RN]

and Bortaz, please keep us updated on what becomes of this situation!

[ShelbyaStar]

I just wanted to say thank you so much for caring. It can be pretty much impossible for the students to do anything, since they are assumed to just be whiners and it can be too easy for the CI to figure out who complained. Having an unbiased 3rd party (or two or three) will help a lot. Hopefully something comes of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[NurseOnAMotorcycle, ASN, RN]

Bortaz, I've never known you to be anything less than completely direct on what you think about things. Take that drive to the real world, stand up for these students and say something to the school's director! You can do it!