To the nurses: clinical instructor who called me out

[starrys]

I am in my psych clinical right now. It's been only day 2, and I have a lot more days left. The professor is very outspoken and she says it like it is which is the opposite from me. I am very quiet and shy, I get choked up every time I need to speak in front of the group especially during post-conference when we share everything. I talk 1:1 with the patient and I try my best. My previous clinical instructors told me I would be an excellent nurse and they never mentioned to me about being quiet, etc, but only good things.

However, this professor is different. You can see right away she likes the most outgoing ones. When it was my turn, she had this weird look on her face and I had to speak up more than everyone else when I was the one who actually spoke to a patient more than others. Then in front of everyone she said I would never make it as a nurse because of my personality. I got so embarrassed and wanted to just leave..

I'm going back today and I don't know what to do...

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Here is what you do. You go back. You hold your head up. You look her in the eye EACH AND EVERY TIME you talk to her and you speak with some degree of strength in your voice. One person does not get to decide your career for you. There is validity in what her estimation was - you WILL need to become more assertive, confident and have a better ability to speak and represent yourself. Take that bit of information and let the rest go.

If your anxiety is so high that speaking in a small group of known people in postconference hinders you, then seek some assistance from your school's counseling office. Many people overcome this type of social anxiety/shyness with a little help. And no, it is not an indicator of whether or not you can be or will be a good nurse. You got useful feedback in an unhelpful way. Take the useful parts and discard the rest.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

If it's any consolation, every psych instructor I ever knew was nuts!

Do NOT let this witch affect your schooling. Speak with a counselor and tell them exactly how you were demeaned in front of your fellow students. Many people have a fear of public speaking. In fact it is one of the top 5 phobias.

You would think a psych instructor would know that .. and support you instead of bully you. If you get mad enough at this witch, your nervousness will be gone.

Good luck, it is one rotation... it will go fast.

[ADAngel]

I agree.. Go back and hold your head up high. You have to have confidence or your patient won't have confidence in you. I am all too familiar with that. When I worked as a CNA, I was the same way - shy and reserved, not very outspoken. Patients had seen that, and walked all over me and lost confidence in me as a caregiver. I even had one patient kick me out of their room. Take this as a wake up call, if a clinical instructor felt that way and spoke out about it, then a patient will do the same. Good luck and don't let this affect your nursing abilities, just take it as a learning experience.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

Just do what you have to do and pass. She is full of BS. I had one like that in school too. He was such a jerk. Being shy is fine. You will eventually learn to speak up as needed on behalf of your patients and your self.

[ckh23, BSN, RN]

Don't let one person deter you from being a nurse. I had clinical instructors that didn't like me for whatever reason, but you do what you have to do and pass. Then when the next clinical rotation comes along you won't have to deal with that person again. Now if she is going to be giving you negative marks because you are "quiet", but are doing fine with everything else than that would need to be addressed.

On a side note, I'm curious to know how old your instructor is and how much experience they have.

[caliotter3]

I had a clinical instructor like that, who was a psych nurse. She was full of BS and used her "psych" skills to cover her inadequacy in med surg. Do not let this person push you out of nursing. Good advice for you to look her in the eye every time you speak. Good for you and good for her to know that you refuse to be intimidated by her.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

agree with above posts - most psych instructors have issues. However, her behavior is unprofessional and should be reported to the Dean.

[Raviepoo]

Calling you out in front of your peers is disrespectful, inhumane and unprofessional. How do instructors get away with that behavior? Don't let her get to you. She is a monster. Just put in your time and move on to the next clinical experience.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

As this is not the first time you've posted about how a CI told you that you would not be a good nurse, I think you should take a little time to self-assess and see what you could possibly be doing wrong that two separate instructors could have noticed and remarked upon. Get the input of a trusted friend/classmate as well.

Odds are you're not doing anything wrong. Odds are it's nothing more than personality clashes and your CIs are being rather unprofessional in dealing with it. However, there is always a chance that you may be overlooking something in your own behavior, so it never hurts to be honest with yourself and check. Maybe you need to do X, stop doing Y or be more Z. And if you do find it's something that you're doing, don't beat yourself up with the I'm-Going-To-Be-A-Bad-Nurse stick--just fix it and learn!

As far as what you should do for the rest of the class...the advice I gave in your other thread still stands here: thank her for her feedback, seriously consider it, take from it what you think is useful and disregard the rest. Don't let her attitude get you down or ruin what could otherwise be a very educational and unique clinical experience. Don't give her the satisfaction of seeing you cowed, and certainly do your best to prove her wrong.

And remember, while the following statement in no way excuses her unprofessional and rude behavior...the fact is that you will be dealing with people like her throughout your nursing career: if you think your CIs are bad, wait until you meet some of those doctors! This is the time for you to start developing that thick skin--you will need it.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I agree with with what everyone has told you......is this the same instructor you have had issues with in the past So, if you don't like public speaking then you won't be doing any lecturing in front of large crowds.....but you need to be confident in that you will be a good nurse and believe it, patients count on it.

I was told by my first clinical instructor that I would never make a good nurse because I even though I was very social......I was a loner and prefered to do too much by myself and didn't delegate responsibility well.

That was over 33 years ago........:hug: now go back to school and proveher wrong!

[grpman]

We didn't all come from the womb being assertive, jack-a..'es like her. It took her time to develop her art of being confrontational and it will take you a bit of time to develop your confidence. I agree with earlier posts that you simply look her in the eye with whatever confidence you can and learn from a bad experience. But what is worse, being demeaning in a teaching role, or lacking confidence as a student nurse?