Struggling with hostility from professors

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Good afternoon,

I live in the north east and am currently am a 3rd semester ADN student. We were the first class to struggle with Covid education (we were set to online in our first semester) and have been dealing with hardly any face to face or clinical experience.

Our clinicals have been mostly simulated via different programs online. In the beginning, we did our best as students to consider this was all new for our professors but it was hardly returned. The director and the professors have been absolutely horrible to us. One professor told us our scrubs were all fitting a little too tight and we needed to find new ways to be healthy and consider our nutrition. The belittling, horrible comments, critiquing ever single statement- by the end of last semester, we didn’t make a peep. It was impossible to say anything right.

What some students are getting, others aren’t. Many other students are at facilities that allow clinicals to the students, where I don’t get as much clinical time because my facility won’t allow us on as much. My peers are getting far more and better clinical experience than I am.

Finally, my clinical instructor is being extremely hostile toward me. This past week was horrible- despite being fully vaccinated, since I was sick, I was put on quarantine and made to get a PCR test before I could return. I was sick, I didn’t do my assignments with as much detail as I normally do, and my professor ripped it to shreds and put horrible comments on it. To be clear, one was on a outdated CPR simulation where we clicked buttons on the screen that I don’t think was made by a reputable business/educational facility. I had to do a reflection on it, where the questions didn’t make sense (like how I would perform motivational interviewing or therapeutic communication for a patient who has collapsed and needs CPR- obviously would come after but that was in the simulation). Not to mention, this stuff isn’t worth much points at all…5 at the most. They want us to do simulation clinicals every week for 8 hours and we get no grading from it. NONE. Not one point for participating in 8 hours of work on a computer. I would RATHER do a care plan! Anyway, I received several hostile emails from my professor that friends and other students have found to be completely out of line. I can’t even report them to the director, she didn’t even do anything about the professor in the class before that body shamed us. They are like a group of catty high schoolers that won’t do anything for anyone but their own. I don’t dare say anything hardly at all because nothing will come from it. Another student has a target on her back so big, I don’t even dare publicly speak to her. She’s a 45 year old woman who has been accused of everything out of the book and they are literally victim shaming her- telling her she’s too public about her spousal abuse history (she’s very passionate about women living their lives to their fullest and living a life free of abuse) and that she needs to quiet down. 

To be clear: only 30% passed our second semester :) many had to stay back and retake. The college took zero responsibility. They blamed us. Slapped academic planning committees on us and told us we needed to do better. I am at my wits end and have been suffering from moderate depression. I can’t do anything right for this program. I have no motivation to do any work now because they’ve stomped me into the ground so hard that I don’t even want to continue nursing school.

I guess I’m asking: what do I do? Sit down, shut up, put my head down and endure the next semester and a half for pennies on the dollar?

I did apply to another community college that is an hour away. but I worry I won’t be able to get in without having to skip a whole semester.

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From what I have seen and experienced, your answer is in your second to last paragraph.  Endure it until you have what you want.  Do not pin your hopes on another community college program.  Are they even considering to allow you to transfer into their nursing program?  Almost all nursing programs will not accept another school's nursing courses for transfer.  The best most people get is to be admitted, but required to start the nursing courses from scratch.  Just wondering.  Figure out how to get through this or you might sabotage your own future when you can't get into an alternate program. Good luck.

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Just now, caliotter3 said:

From what I have seen and experienced, your answer is in your second to last paragraph.  Endure it until you have what you want.  Do not pin your hopes on another community college program.  Are they even considering to allow you to transfer into their nursing program?  Almost all nursing programs will not accept another school's nursing courses for transfer.  The best most people get is to be admitted, but required to start the nursing courses from scratch.  Just wondering.  Figure out how to get through this or you might sabotage your own future when you can't get into an alternate program. Good luck.

Luckily, the programs in the state are all under the same educational board and they have made all public nursing programs to be the same (objectives, content, down to the same course codes and material). I had considered them last semester when we were dealing with a lot of the same things. I wouldn’t just drop out without a future plan of being accepted into another program. 

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Have you talked to them at the new school?  What are the vibes you get?

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I had talked to someone in admissions but need to have a nursing advisor appt, so I scheduled it but it’s not for a few weeks. From what I have heard, it is a great school but I had heard that about my program as well until the past year. I don’t even admit to anyone I’m in this program and hear bad things, not only from other students but just the general public. 

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Specializes in NICU.

What is the NCLEX pass rate for your current school and the other one you are considering? If you are accurately portraying the environment at the school, my assumption is a below average NCLEX pass rate. Your experience is not the norm and does not provide a proper learning environment.

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Current school 2019 pass rates first time: 80.43%

other school: 90.56%

Also, is it common to be almost done with the program and the only thing beside assessments I’ve ever done on a live human to be two insulin injections? I learned to put foley caths in…water bottles. I understand I will get the majority of experience after school, but dang, I am very concerned about my lack of skills learned.

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Your concerns are shared by many others who have had sub optimal clinical experiences because of the pandemic.  Unfortunately, better to have to learn more on the first job than to be facing a total shutdown of the program and no chance (at least in the near present) at learning on the job.  Back when there was no pandemic problem, I distinctly remember having to learn how to document med administration on the job (my program was so bad in the clinical component).  How hard is it to simulate filling in a Medication Administration Record? That topic easily could have been covered in a classroom exercise.  I don't remember putting in a single Foley catheter as a student.  My first male example occurred in a home health visit at my first home health job and my first female example occurred at my first long term care facility job.  You are probably no more ill-prepared than I was 30 years ago, although I do admit, I had the opportunity to drive to the clinical site to go through some of the motions.  I wish you luck in getting licensed and starting your first nursing job.  You can do it.

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Specializes in Wiping tears.

It's up to you which one do you want to accomplish...graduate or start over. What will you gain from quitting your last semester? Are you willing to cut your losses? 

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Can you write an anonymous complaint to the administration? You shouldn't have to put up with this abuse when you are paying money for your education. You are there to learn, not be abused.

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Specializes in Wiping tears.
On 6/24/2021 at 2:08 PM, DST995 said:

I had talked to someone in admissions but need to have a nursing advisor appt, so I scheduled it but it’s not for a few weeks. From what I have heard, it is a great school but I had heard that about my program as well until the past year. I don’t even admit to anyone I’m in this program and hear bad things, not only from other students but just the general public. 

Check the NCLEX grade for the first-time takers. Before the pandemic, I was in the nursing program. The school was shut down nationwide. There was nothing much for us, students, to do--acquiring the nursing skills. There was a handful of CNAs in the nursing program. We were allowed to bath/shower, assist in feeding, passing trays, and tidying rooms.  Many of us helped around our clinical sites. And some of them refused to do so because they were future "nurses." That it was a CNA work.   The clinical site generally had an older population with fewer health problems. At my workplace, it was insanely crazy. Nurses had troubled getting breaks. Step down LTACH attached to rehab and LTC. Go figure. 

Once you graduate, you can train one of those places...in vents and trach complex care, LTACH, step down LTACH, or Med-Surg floors. They will train you.  Lots of tubes and hanging bags and changing bandages. 

Congratulations and good luck in your future as a nurse. 

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Specializes in Wiping tears.

What I'm trying to say, you finish your program. Once you're done with everything. Write your complaints to the DNP or to the appropriate person. 

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