Tips For Dealing With Bully Instructors

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Specializes in Ltc, Hospice, Spinal Cord.

in another thread someone posted about an instructor who was targeting a student and making her life miserable. it brought back "not so fond" memories of when i was in nursing school. so i thought i would share some insights that i learned along the way that helped me survive. here goes...

some tips for dealing with bully instructors:

1. never show fear... they will search you out! look them straight in the eye when they speak to you.

2. when confronted by instructors don't get nervous, instead ask them questions. turn the focus back on them. they usually love showing off their knowledge. then, if you like, tell them how impressed you are with their insight. this works very well for those egocentric bullies.

3. if you know an instructor likes to target students seek them out first! if you approach an instructor before they approach you i find they quickly lose their interest in you.

4. never let a teacher back you into a corner. you're in school to learn. if you don't know something never guess, and don't stutter or show fear. simply say; "i don't know... can you explain that for me so i have a better understanding" or "i'm not sure, i will look that up". students are so afraid to say they don't know something. don't be!

5. be proactive in your learning and don't be a victim. they can't intimidate you unless you let them.

6. keep in mind you are just as intelligent as they are, they've just got more experience.

i know nursing school is tough. the toughest thing i've ever done for sure!! but you will get through it just like the rest of us did and you will laugh when you look back at how much you've grown.

best of luck to you! :up:

Love this post! Hope came across this before I went through nursing school! Couldve avoided the Bully and her Bully ways

Thanks for the tips! I start school in January and am so glad I came across this site. It is really giving me some insight on what to expect. I'm a calm and mellow person by nature, so I know I will just have to remind myself to stay level headed in case I get nervous about something. I really want to soak in everything the instructors tell us. We have orientation next month, so I'm really anxious to have a small preview of the atmosphere of the program. I feel very passionate about the nursing field, so when times are tough I'll have to remind myself on why I'm here in the first place.

Thanks again for your post!

Specializes in Rehab, Geriatrics.

This is so true. A bully instructor is about to fail my friend i guess because my friend is so quiet and not too proactive in clinical. I mean she does what she has to do but she is not so proactive in learning at clinical.

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