Stuttering? I am getting a bit down by it...

I'm so sorry you're going through this. You instructor should know that stuttering is not caused by anxiety, though anxiety does often make it worse. It sounds like she is bullying you, which is unfortunately common in nursing school. You may need to go to the dean of nursing. I'm sure they will not want people to know that their faculty bullies students with disabilities. Enough is enough.

I am hard of hearing and am waiting to sit for my NCLEX. During 3rd semester I did a rotation on a PCU and my primary nurse was the charge nurse and she stuttered. I worked along side her and she would stutter several times but would not stop and apologize, she just kept on going like it was nothing and the family/patient just went along with it.

She worked in a trauma ICU before working there. Being hard of hearing people ask where I am from and I tell them I am hard of hearing and they are shocked and I just move on. I've learned that ultimately people may look at you in disbelief at first but ultimately it is your work ethic and your care that people ultimately judge you on.

Every unit I did rotations on the nurses were kind of shocked by having a hard of hearing student but they quickly got over that and saw me for my skills and knowledge that I brought. I rotated through ICU and worked on codes while other students stood back scared. I work as an ED tech and will be starting a level 1 trauma ICU position in a few weeks.

I will encounter the same problems of shock by people who have never seen a deaf nurse but I know ultimatly its your skills and compassion and the way you care for your patients that you are judge on. Don't focus on your stuttering. If they ask tell them yes I stutter and move on. Most people don't ask about my hearing unless they know someone or have a deaf child. Alot of my patients find comfort somewhat in knowing that.

You can't change that you stutter or that some people will have issues with it but you can great nurse. :hug:

I am not a nurse, but I picked up this newsfeed feed on Google alert and joined just to respond. I am a speech-therapist and a person who stutters. I also do research in the cause and effective treatment of stuttering. What your supervisor is suggesting is unrealistic and, if that doens't get their attention, illegal under ADA. This unfortunately happens all the time. The previous poster is correct - stuttering is not caused by anxiety, but anxiety worsens stuttering. There's a lot a research to support that. If anxiety caused stuttering, stuttering would track more cleanly with populations diagnosed with clinical anxiety disorders.

It sounds like you are close to being done, so you may have to make some decisions as to how much you want to rock the boat. Just know they cannot fail you legally because of a disability. If you'd like to speak further about this that would be fine - I can send my email if you'd like.

Also, if you need some reliable online resources that are not trying to sell you a "fluency device" or push any specific kind of treatment on you, I would start with the Stuttering Foundation of America. Stuttering Foundation of America The have a handout called "Answers for Employers" here Answers for Employers and a referral list of specialists in the area (I would recommend seeing a fluency specialist if you do choose to go to speech therapy). There's a wealth of information available on this site, including current research.

Also, the National Stuttering Association (NSA) is a community of people who stuter and provides a lot of good resources National Stuttering Association (NSA): Stuttering Help .

Hope this helps. Keep fighting the good fight.