trying to stay strong and not give up but I feel like everyone is against me

[golosa82]

I am a 2nd semester nursing student and this is my 2nd time taking med-surg. I still am having problems cracking down the answers on the exams but I feel like i understand the material alot better than last semester and I'm not doing as good as I want to be doing on the exams but theyre are passing grades. My instructor though, consistently tells our class on a weekly basis "nursing isnt for everybody", I don't know if she says that to us because we are re-taking med-surg or she doesnt think we are trying hard enough. She also said that when she sees us at clinicals she's not impressed with what she sees in our performance. Then yesterday a nurse at the hospital we do our clinicals at asked us what semester we are in and we told her 2nd semester. So she said she felt like we are not as advanced as we should be, she goes on further stating that we dont know how to make beds right. In our program we are required to take the cna class to have experience in that, and I took that course almost 2 years ago. I've never worked as a cna/pct, so those skills on bedmaking are kinda iffy, I can say that I do attempt to do my best on making my patients beds. But putting all this negativity together makes me feel like I'm being told I'm just not good enough to be a nurse. I feel like I've improved alot in clinicals since last semester because before I was always too nervous to go in the patients room, now its not as bad and I do my assessments right away. I do tend to have questions alot tho like when a patient tells me he is having chest pain and feeling nauseous, that to me is alarming, so I'll do vitals and I'll tell my nurse and she'll just say "o well he's been in pain since he got here, and everything makes him nauseous." So besides from what I do, what more can I do if I'm being told pretty much there's nothing to do-so I'll go in and re-position my patient and see if that helps any. I kinda feel unsure of myself alot of the time, but aside from everything I'm trying to hold my head up high and try to learn as much as I can, I really want to pass this semester, not because I just got "by" but because I know what I'm doing. Does anyone have any advice or similar stories to tell that they've had on any kind of negativity from people?

[Blessed S.N.23]

All i want to say is STAY STRONG AND YOU CANT DO IT!!! Im only in my first year of Nursing School(BSN) and i have a hard time but I encourage myself and know i've came far and I can do it!! I have friends who are in the ADN program and who have a really tough time in med-surg! It definately takes some hard work and dedication and thats how there making it right now! Good Luck! Remember dont give up! U can do this!:)

[golosa82]

Thanks! I really am trying hard to stay positive, I'm a person that sometimes takes criticism to heart but I know that in this field criticism can either make u stronger and become better or break you and I'm trying to just take the positive criticism to improve myself and let the bad things brush past by me.

[decembergrad2011, BSN, RN]

I'm sorry that you don't have a more supportive instructor and staff nurses at your clinical site. My med-surg lecture instructor/course coordinator was AMAZING. And she would never say something like "Nursing isn't for everybody," therefore implying that some of the students in the room weren't cut out for it. In fact, our program makes sure to stress that nursing takes all kinds, and that those who aren't great at one area can still excel in another. Please, please don't be discouraged.

Making beds? That's the LEAST of your worries in my opinion. There are so many other things that are important to learn as a nurse. You'll figure out the most efficient way to make a bed as time goes on and you get more experience. Personally, I took that CNA class 2 years ago as well at this point, and if I got "making an occupied bed" on a state CNA licensure exam, I would have no idea where to start. You know why? Because it really just isn't that important. I'm a fourth semester nursing student and I don't know how to make a bed systematically. Oh well. The CNAs are the ones who are concerned with things like that, while I'm more concerned about passing meds, making assessments, and doing interventions. I make sure my patients are comfortable and settled in with clean sheets, and 90% of the time, if they are mobile, they like to arrange the sheets and blankets on top of themselves.

If the nurse thinks you could be better at bed making, she should show you how she does it rather than criticize you. In my opinion, it's inappropriate for her make snide remarks like that, especially since she is not an instructor and is unaware of how your curriculum works.

I'm proud of you for going back at med-surg a second time. Many, many students in my class failed that course, and of those that failed, only a fraction are repeating it. Many dropped out of nursing school and changed majors after failing med-surg. The fact that you are willing to try again and make progress tells me that you're going to be just fine.

Good luck and stay positive!

[ERsn]

Hey Betxq,

I hear what you're saying. I'm in my 2nd semester of NS and the negativity i expereince from peers, my ex clinical instructor ( she was something else....)... is constant. I've been talked down to and treated like (fill in blank)______ lol.

I felt like i could have written your post because it sounds a lot like me.

The way I try and get through all the $h!t is talking about it with someone i'm close to ( no one in my class seems to be worthy, so i talk to a sibling) and i just tell myself this is i'm going to do and that's it. I've been discouraged and treated like total trash, but you're doing this for you and never let anyone tell you otherwise. You're capable, worthy and are going to make a wonderful nurse. I hate hearing people being negative to others... and i do believe you are trying your best..... sorry for rambling, this post just reminds me of me :)

But i feel for you.... there are just some nasty people out there, but dont ever lose sight of what's yours. You will be a nurse! )

[ERsn]

I was told nursing may not be for me because i didn't appear "happy" while emptying an illeostomy bag (it was my first time too, so i wasn't exactly sure of what to do, or expect) ... lmao. I mean, Come on! Some instructors need to quit pushing their weight around and actualyl instruct,instead of walking around with a scowl on their face looking for the next chance to pounce on someone. It's people like that that don't belong in nursing.

[HyperSaurus, RN, BSN]

I feel for you guys. At my school (a 4 yr public university), our instructors are very positive and encouraging. I get the impression that they WANT us to succeed and will give us every tool they can to help us, without artificially passing us.

I'm not sure what standards your instructor and precepting nurses are using, but you sound like you are on track with your progression. Keep your head up.

[nurse2033, MSN, RN]

Your instructor sucks if they think they will motivate you by putting you down. She should be giving you tips for doing better or taking some time to think why you might not be doing as well as she thinks you should be. And taking duff for making beds? You've got to be kidding. You've got more important things to focus on. You have to believe in yourself. Criticism can be painful but try to look for the truth in it and find a way learn from it. It sounds like your experience is being made tougher than it needs to be, but it is a tough business sometimes, and not everyone will be supportive. You are totally correct to investigate any complaint the patient has, especially chest pain. Hang in there!

[golosa82]

Thanks to everyone that has posted their comments, now I dont feel as bad as I did a few minutes ago since tonight did not go as good as I thought it would. I had clinicals tonight and I had the same pts today that I had yesterday, one of them was discharged and I was given a new patient. The patient I had both yesterday and today, no one told me he was on contact isolation. There were never any signs on his door, it was never on the kardex, but I still wore gloves when I was with him. Getting to the part where I felt stupid was when my instructor came with me to give my evening meds and there happend to be an isolation cart there, that wasn't even there yesterday nor today until later on, so she asked me if my pt was on isolation and I said no-I didnt think he was . Now at this point I'm thinking o crap, now I'm in trouble. So she asks and the pct said the pt was on contact isolation and that they didnt have a sign to post, said she was getting to it. That was strike 1 because she said I was supossed to know he was on contact isolation, which I didnt. Well then when we go in I had to do an IVP and she walks out b/c I kept getting resistance when I was trying to flush, she went to go talk to the nurse. Here's where I totally mess up: I needed another flush and didnt have one on hand and didnt think about how I was gowned up and just walked out of the room like that to go get a NS flush. So my instructor saw me and began yelling at me b/c I broke asepsis , I didn't even know what to say...I just felt so small. It was a stupid error on my part. The past 2 weeks have not been going good for me in clinicals....

[ERsn]

First i wanna give you a hug ::hug:: :)

Also, i really relate to how you're feeling, because i feel the way you do just about every second i'm at clinical. You're instructor sounds like a _____... yelling at you is rediculous. I guess the reason it seems silly to me is because nurses, and my clinical instructor will go into contact rooms without gowns on at all. Isn't that causing contamination once they walk out of the pt's room? I guess what i'm trying to say is, is these instuctors could have more compassion for a student and help a person feel more comfortable with the hospital experience. Making someone feel small never brings out the best in a person. I'm here if you want to PM me. I know how it feels to be treated badly... i had to change clinical instructors because she was a tyrant, and it didn't help that the rest of my classmates were scum..... man, if i had the patients to write all the things they've said to me........ anyway, as hard as it is to remind yourself, you're a student. You're there to learn and you're going to make mistakes, especially when you feel that negativity. The time will come when clinical will be over and you'll be one step closer to your goal

[golosa82]

Thx ham it up-I am glad for the support I'm getting from everyone on here, it keeps me at ease and lets me know I'm not the only one feeling this way. It's so much easier to explain it to people who are going thru the same things I'm going through or have gone through because telling my family or friends who aren't in nursing isn't the same because they dont understand. I have my midterm's clinical evaluation tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. If my instructor brings it up about the hospital incident, i will explain to her that i was never informed about the contact isolation. Regardless, I will not let these last few weeks remaining in the semester to go by without a fight, I will keep my head up because I have worked hard to get here and won't let those kinds of errors discourage me from what I want to do, I will use it to help me become a better nurse

[alex2010]

You sound to me like a hell better nurse than your instructor. If that nurse in hospital said "you are not as advanced as you should be" then she needs to address that to your instructor. Sounds like he/she is the one who fails at teaching more advanced skills to his/her students.

About telling a nurse patient's symptoms and her telling you "he's been pain in butt since he got here". Now that's alarming. I'd bring this to supervisor altho I can understand if you want to stay low.

I recently was a patient in local hospital was transferred to another hospital from ICU while still in medically induced coma. So I was waking up from coma, first thing I heard was hissing air sound coming from my neck. I did not even know I had a tube stuck in my throat. I was on such heavy meds that they made me very depressed and anxious so since I was unable to talk, nurse on duty decided that she did not want to deal with me and took away my call button away from me. I did not know yet that I had urinary catheter placed in me. So I would raise my hand and wave to anyone who'd walk by and there was my nurse walking by, looking at me and laughing and talking with her tech and just pretty much ignoring me. I tried to get up to get her attention. She came back and adjusted my bed so that I wasn't even able to raise my head to even see into hallway. I could not produce any sound since I was on vent machine. I could only wave with one arm. Feeling like I was in nursing home/paralyzed crying for help and everyone would ignore me.

With lots of effort I almost got to sitting position since I wanted to go to bathroom very bad. Then this nurse rushes into my room with syringe in her hand shouting "Where do you think you are going?" Without saying anything else she injects my iv with some meds and I fall asleep for another 3 days. Those type of nurses that tell "this patient has been a pain since he got there".

You sure sound to me like you'd make a good nurse ten times over that one. A world needs BETTER nurses, BETTER human beings. Ignore what others say just try your hardest. You are almost there! Don't give up mid way now. Don't let them win! Keep it up! You can do it! A world needs nurses like you!