Tough clinical instructor

Jenngirl34RN · Sep 12, 2015

Take a deep breath and get past it so you don't let it get to you next week. For your SBAR, write it down. Jot down the important info you need to get across. Run over how you are going to say it in your head before hand, and maybe practice some pretend ones with a classmate before your next clinical.

KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN · Sep 12, 2015

I would second the advice above, but still write down what happened with date and time on it.

However great your clinical instructor might be, she has no rights to intimidate, humiliate and use threatening in order to teach you nursing skills. Her behavior might be aggravated by the fact that you are an EMT; there were previous topics on this forum mentioning discriminatory behavior of instructors toward students with previoys healthcare degrees/experiences outside of nursing as quite widespread and even richly "rationalized".

So, while I would try to do my very best to master those SBAR reports and generally do my best otherwise, I would speak with a school official you trust if there would be one more "episode". Your clinical coordinator possibly would be the best person to speak with if she is students' advocate and trusted; if not, speak with any professor or assistant Dean. Check your school's policy book and find out what are your options. If there is no direct statement that clinical assignment cannot be changed once it starts, then you have your right to ask for immediate transfer to another clinical site/other instructor.

And I would strongly advice to consider your EMT past and experience as a strictly private fact of your biography until your graduation party.

Natasha, RN, BSN · Sep 12, 2015

I feel your pain as I went through nursing school where there were some clinical instructors who were downright rude, mean, and very intimidating. Whether the reason for this was their personality type, insecurity, to "toughen us up", who knows... but it made for a miserable learning experience. Who the heck can give a good SBAR when you're still learning and can't concentrate because of how the clinical instructor was being?!? I know I couldn't, and was not able to when this very situation happened to myself and others in my group. We were, however, later able to use an SBAR format sheet that was given to us by our classroom instructor (after picking her brain on how to succeed in clinicals) and that helped greatly. You fill it out, all pertinent info is there, and voila. I can honestly say that every doctor I have spoken with at work (thus far) has never had an issue with my SBAR and I believe it was due to practicing using the format over and over again during clinicals in school.

While your clinical instructor may have high expectations out of her students, she is sorely mistaken at the way she's going about achieving her results. I feel students learn the most in an environment where questions can be asked, mistakes can be rectified with constructive criticism, and an approachable instructor can help guide along the way. Good luck to you, and remember to just take a deep breath, block out the intimidation factor (the best you can) and plunge forth with all of your SBAR format info. I wish instructors would keep in mind that you are a student and still LEARNING and it is OK to make mistakes along the way, but of course learning from them as you go. We are all human... no one is perfect, not even seasoned nurses. Fortunately, the rest of the clinical instructors throughout my program were beyond helpful and truly wanted us to succeed, and we learned the most from that positive environment. Hope your situation turns out better as your schooling continues :)

Pistachio830 · Sep 12, 2015

I am not trying to get back at my clinical instructor or anything like that. She is the way she is and I have accepted it. All I want to do is get better at what I am doing and build up my confidence when I am around her. She just scares me. Its like all the work I do just deletes from my brain the second I see her. I've never had this kind of anxiety before, I don't know if its because I'm worried about messing up or getting kicked out or both. I just can't say out loud what I have learned/worked on. It's not like I didn't write down my sbar or practice it before I saw her, I did. It's just not the way she wanted it. I'm not trying to come after my clinical instructor in any way. I just need some tips to build up some confidence because I've never had this type of anxiety in my life. And I have read multiple threads about instructors being intimidating/tough and what not and I know that everyone has gotten through it. And I know I am capable of getting through it too. I just wanna know how other people did and what I can do about it in my situation. Also off topic, she does not know that I am a former EMT, nor does anyone in my class know about it.

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · Sep 13, 2015

Threatened to "kick you out" of what? Are you being dramatic? Why would you be kicked out of clinical for a subpar SBAR? If you flipped off a person in the hospital or showed up drunk then I can see you being kicked out. It makes absolutely no sense what you are describing.