Senior LVN student in need of encouragement/advice

[MedicalMelody]

Long story short, due to personal circumstances and "instructor discretion", I was forced to leave my LVN program, which I carried straight As in at the time. When I rejoined the new cohort for MedSurg 3 (the last rotation), I stepped into a world of drama: same instructor who dismissed me, students threatening lawsuits, students fighting each other, and the director of the program resigning. Despite all this, I dove right back in, getting high praise from the nursing director at our clinical site and "Excellent"s on my care plan packets.

Despite this, the instructor has been dropping thinly veiled threats "you're walking on eggshells", "I've dropped people 2 weeks from graduation", etc. Those after she wrote me up for not following instructions I was not present for (I was caring for a client at the time). I don't know what it is about certain students (I'm one of two) that rubs her the wrong way.

I'm on time to class, prepared, respectful, and, since I returned, quiet (keeping my head down).

The other issue is exams. I find myself struggling to study without my old study group and have been a bit ostracized by the current cohort because I won't take sides, don't have kids, and/or can't relate to their established study group. As such, my grade for MS3 has fallen to 83.3% (a "C" in this program). We graduate next month and I would like to bring my grade back up to at least an 84% (B). I have asked the instructors, but their advice was not helpful (read the study guide-I do). Any advice/encourgement is welcome at this point.

Thanks for reading.

-Melody, NREMT-B, CPT-1

[Glenna, LPN]

You sound like you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. How much longer do you have left until you graduate? I take it that you are in your last term from senior being in the title. I do not have many answers for you, with that said, I can sympathize with you. All you want to do is learn and your instructor is giving you headache which is not needed and I am sorry for that.

Is there anyone at school that you can talk to about any of the issues that you are having? Or do you feel alone and daily feel as if your life force is slowly being crushed from your body?

At my LPN program, it was very disorganized. At the same time some of my classmates called it nazi school because they kept changing things on us in mid-terms. We would get talked down to and the MA students were the pride and joy of our school leaving us to feel like the ugly, red headed step children. There was so much drama at my school and my classmates were so bad about talking crap behind one anothers backs. It didn't make it any easier for the fact that we had to be in the same room all day long for 8 hours at a time. Then of course there is that one classmate who thinks that they are better then everyone else and voices what they think even though no one wants to hear it.

Some of the instructors they had working at my school I swear should not even be working and it made me fearful that they were even nurses. One of them had parkinson's and always lost paperworks. Oh and she was also the one who found our clinical sites. Well...kinda...we either had to find our own...or um...not have one because she would some how run out of time to do her job.

I hope that some of my ranting about my school shows that I can sympathize with what you are dealing with at school. There really isn't much you can do. And there was no used complaining because they didn't care. I felt all they cared about was the money. I shouldn't be so down about my school because they taught me what I needed to be a nurse and how to pass my NCLEX.

Everyday, during my last few months at school I felt like I was being crushed. I was getting to the point where I would snap at people. Which wasn't very nice of me. The only thing I can suggest to do is maybe try and find someone in class to help you with your grades a little. If that doesn't work is there someone at your school who helps students with tutoring? At my school they had a person like that. And I'm sure your going to want to strangle me for saying this and I'm not trying to be mean at all okay? Just try and suck this up as best as you can. I know easier said then done. It was really hard for me, it really really was but some how I found that it in me to look passed all the crap they were throwing at us and make it till the end.

When you graduate I think you should go on vacation and pamper yourself. You need a mind dump from all this crap your school has put your through. I'd give yourself two weeks before you start studying for your NCLEX.

I hope that this helps in some ways. I know that I didn't have all the answers but I feel your pain.

[newtress, LPN]

Glenna, LPN stated it so well.. "Nazi school." I knew all along this was no where near necessary for a nursing school department to be ran this way. I too my dear, had to sit out for a portion of my LPN program due to an overdue hysterectomy. When I returned, the crew I had to finish the program with were total mayhem. Including a batch of actively bipolar instructors for which one was not allowed to return to the hospital clinical site for what she had done to me and a few staff nurses. I placed that mental disorder of "bipolar" upon those instructors because after working as a psych nurse later after becoming licensed they absolutely fell into that criteria upon my subjective observation of them. That being said, these rodeo classmates and instructors who infiltrate like an academic malignancy might succeed temporarily in making you feel like sh*t and question whether or not this is worth it. The instructor who told you "you're walking on eggshells" is the same one I had for med surg clinical. She had it out for me and the only male student. Classic bullying and abuse of power.

I offer you this: it will be worth it once you are out of school and sit for your NCLEX. But how does an LPN student get through this mess? Know that what you do, or where you go, or where you work after you are done, is finally your choice. You will be the captain of your own ship. The whole nursing school environment is quite similar to psychological abuse in domestic relationships. All the elements are there. These instructors sound very much like an abusive parent or an abusive partner in a relationship doesn't it? Yes, it is.

You will succeed I can tell. Staying quiet and keeping your head down right now is a coping skill, and it sounds odd to say, but this will save you. The chaos and disorganization of the students and your program is crazy making. My brother offered me one thing before I graduated and didn't think I'd make it. He simply stated "all you need to do is cross the finish line" and he couldn't be more right. Go forth and prosper MedicalMelody.