The most annoying student

cp1024 · Nov 21, 2014

He sounds pretty horrible, and incompetent. But NO ONE deserves to be reprimanded in the presence of an audience. This was very wrong on behalf of the instructor. She should have called him aside and spoken to him without an audience.

Also, many have already spoken about wishing him dead...imagine if he were to die. You may not like him, but there is someone who loves him. When you wish someone dead, you wish pain on those people. And while I get he's annoying and incredibly obnoxious, there are worst people out there (pedophiles, rapists, serial killers ect).

You have only a few more weeks to deal with him. Take a deep breath and focus on yourself. Get ready for your NCLEX and ignore him.

OnlinePersona, LPN · Nov 21, 2014

There's this guy in my class who I need to rant about. He's just the worst. He always has to be the center of attention, is loud, and constantly interrupts others. He is a know-it-all and has to be right all the time. Today he disagreed with another student about a test question, and as the debate went on he melted down and yelled "I hate people like you! I hate your ********!" The other student was being surprisingly professional about it.
The thing I hate most that he does, is he dances around me air boxing at my head. Pretending he is an MMA fighter or something. He insults the people of color in the group by trying to suck up to them by "talking like them." It makes me cringe. He calls our professor "yo, teacher!" He comes in and pretends that he is teaching the class and says stupid things to everyone when the professor isn't watching, like "you're fired!" One day I was preparing medications and he whispered in my ear "I can't stand you." I said "what are you doing??" and he laughed and danced away.
He calls all the women "honey" and "sweetie" and is really condescending. He "corrects" people with wrong information and then says "don't worry, you'll get it sweetie." He's currently a CNA and he loves to tell everyone about his "years of experience" and how he is "on a different level than the other students."
He constantly screws up in clinical and blames it on others. He got ripped a new one by the CI for messing up a simple IV drip calculation, and meanwhile he turned around and yelled at one of the other students, saying she was talking and messed him up.
The worst part is this guy is in his forties. I just honestly can't stand him. My program is over in 4 more weeks and I can't wait until I never see this guy's face again. This guy is so bad that I think the world would be a better place if he dropped dead. I don't know if he has ADD or mania or something he needs to be medicated for, or if he is just a terrible person.

so i didnt read the other responses from everyone, forgive me if i am radical. i would call him out and get all up in that @#$. Sometimes its perfectly fine to tell people what you really think. i did it to this girl in my class, now she gets on everyones nerves but is a angel around me....because i dont play that. :sarcastic:

sjalv · Nov 21, 2014

I'm a 20 year old male RN student and the behavior you've described made me cringe just reading it. I cannot fathom how such a person is managing to pass. In my program, if a person's behavior is disrupting class, the complaints of other students are taken seriously and the 'problem child' is spoken to. I would recommend you talk to the head instructor of your semester.

scaredsilly, BSN, RN · Nov 21, 2014

We had one of these, the best day of clinicals was the day he was goofing off doing his moonwalk, tripped over an empty wheelchair (no clue who put it in his path-haha) and skidded all the way under the nurses station. The impression he made on the staff was not good at all! :-)

The advise to document and report incidents is good advise! One reason is that nursing schools LOVE to assign group projects and to protect yourself you want documentation on file so that he is never a part of your group. I got stuck with the moonwalker on a project-there were 5 of us--we met and divvied up the work and ALL of us knew that moonwalker wouldn't get his in, so we secretly divvied up his work as well so that we would have backup when he messed up. Sure enough, the day before the project he was not at our group meeting, and the deadline we all agreed to came and went without his participation. The day we were to present the project, he showed up willing to take credit for work done, and all 4 of us went to the instructor and told her that he had not participated. The project was 20% of our grade, and him getting a zero was just enough for him to fail out.

I have a feeling your Mr. obnoxious will be gone soon enough!

Fruit Sucker · Nov 21, 2014

How would you feel if you were dressed down in front of the entire class. I bet you'd cry too. I know I would.

Nope. If you would cry in front of everyone for being criticized, I suggest you get ahold of yourself. No way in **** would I cry in front of people because someone said something mean to me. We are not children.

Fruit Sucker · Nov 21, 2014

so i didnt read the other responses from everyone, forgive me if i am radical. i would call him out and get all up in that @#$. Sometimes its perfectly fine to tell people what you really think. i did it to this girl in my class, now she gets on everyones nerves but is a angel around me....because i dont play that.

Haha, I love it. Some people are like that.

la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN · Nov 22, 2014

How on earth did he get this far to be graduating???? Hopefully the NCLEX will be the great equalizer for him and he can get taken down a notch or two.

Sun0408, ASN, RN · Nov 22, 2014

Sounds like someone I went to school with. His behaviors and know it all mentality got himself a F times 2 thus removed from the program. Don't worry too much about him. The universe has a way of dealing with his type.

LittleCandles · Nov 22, 2014

I had this exact student in my class. It was actually worse and more drama because of rumors she spread about me and trying to get other people kicked out of the program.

But why am I telling you this? I thought.. Oh I'll never see her again..

Wrong....... We now work together...

My point? You'll have to learn how to work with these types of jerks because you may or may not end up at the same job location one day.

FlyingScot, RN · Nov 22, 2014

Nope. If you would cry in front of everyone for being criticized, I suggest you get ahold of yourself. No way in **** would I cry in front of people because someone said something mean to me. We are not children.

No we aren't. But we are human and sometimes humans cry from things like frustration, desperation and shame. I tried to be nice. Apparently I wasted my time.

klone, MSN, RN · Nov 22, 2014

It is never appropriate to correct or reprimand someone in front of others. Your instructor was in the wrong, regardless of how much joy you got out of witnessing it.

JenniferGuthrie · Nov 22, 2014

We didn't have a guy QUITE this bad, but we did have one. He was in his late 20's to early 30's and (I admit) a smart guy, but VERY arrogant about it. He was even arrogant about his muscles and food he ate--yeah, that guy. He was constantly challenging the instructors, with the apparent goal to make them seem stupid or ignorant. Even when they would politely shoot him down, he would find some other seeming loophole to put the class at a complete standstill while he argued his heart out. Loudly. We often left class irritated at the intrusion and feeling like we got no actual instruction time...left to teach ourselves by the book. The instructors often tried to halt him, move on or ask him to meet outside of class for further discussion of his issues with the content, but he constantly monopolized things and made himself the center of attention.

He would also do this with other students--say when we had a presentation. He was always the one we expected to raise his hand at the end and tear everything apart and try to make us sound like idiots. Not nicely, of course, but by as rude as he could manage. But we were learning and obviously didn't have the ability or know-how the instructors did. In some respects it made us try to be more prepared, but in the end everyone hated him because he wasn't trying to be helpful--his goal was to elevate his own sense of himself at the cost of everyone else. He would drop instructors/classes he felt weren't intelligent enough for him, confront doctors, and demand other assignments he felt were beneath him or not challenging enough.

When we heard one of the other students was secretly dating him, we were all incredulous and appalled, wondering if she had some sort of crazy self-esteem issue and wanted to be controlled and belittled. Naturally, she began to defend him. Long story short, he was controlling and often made her cry. And she was beautiful, tall, athletic and could do so much better, we said, so it all made no sense.

A funny thing happened. One night several of us went out dancing and his girlfriend was friends with one of my best friends, so she invited them to come. I was pretty ******. I didn't want my stress-relieving good time ruined by his attitude. But...he was obviously trying to be friendly--and looked uncomfortable trying, let me tell you. I didn't trust him, so I didn't reciprocate too much. Also, he was not a graceful dancer, so I had a little bit of internal glee that he wasn't good at something and knew it.

I have to say, though, that several semesters later while still arrogant and judgmental overall, someone or some situation seemed to have put him in his place. I was in another class with him. When I saw him, I rolled my eyes, sighed and buckled in for a long semester of negativity.

While he still challenged things he seemed to actually do it because something wasn't clicking. He would accept the answer or ask to talk more later. He was more likely to let other people talk in group situations (although still wanted it done his way and tried to take over). While he passed classes, he was struggling like the rest of us and not getting the top grades he was used to.

Point being...nursing isn't burger flipping (which was what he was doing, btw). He is either going to be crushed by the reality of the situation or adapt. I would not have predicted it and I tend to think he is going to be a phenomenal nurse.

Your guy...IDK...I have my doubts he is capable of the kind of maturity that would enable him to open to change. As others have mentioned, real life is probably going to take care of him! But you might also keep your mind open the possibility that he is like this because he is not good at being a member of society, deep-down insecure or something else. Someone or something took the time to heart-to-heart with my fellow student and it sunk in. Most likely a seasoned nurse.

Some people are hopeless, I agree. But do try to use your nursing education to be non-judgmental and know there are things you don't know. If he "can't be saved", let it roll of your back and carry on. It obviously is eating at you! You will hopefully have a long career and will come across a lot of people you physically despise or write off as a waste of cells. Some will be co-workers. Take this as a learning opportunity for YOURSELF if not for him to become a better nurse.