Very bad clinical evaluation from my instructor

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Mar 11, 2006

My classmates judged me on the evaluation also because that is part of it.

I really don't think that classmates should have this ability.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Mar 11, 2006

My instructor told me that, that not everyone is going to like me so he kind of agreed with me on the patient but still, he said, your evaluation is weak because of what a patient told me and what your classmates told me.............Having a patient tell the instructor that I am not doing well..Yikes, and all I did was take her blood pressure and blood sugar without any complications..

Well, this is what I was talking about: it's not that you did it correctly, "without any complications", so she SHOULD have liked you. Where I was going was that it was HOW you interact with that patient that makes her think you don't like her already, or are aloof, or indifferent, or bored, or--you get the idea. Of course not every human is going to be fond of every other human, but I'm thinking that there should not have been a reason for her to specifically not like you if you were interacting with her well. Particularly since you were probably in there for all of 5-7 minutes, tops.

Smile at every patient. Ask how they are feeling (you should be doing this anyway before taking vitals) and look as though you are really interested in their answer. Make them feel as if they are the most important part of your morning, even if you are really trying to figure out how to get all your meds done on time. Don't rush, or at least don't let ON that you're rushing, if you are. If a patient feels like a 'job', or something that just has to be dealt with before you can leave, she's not going to like you no matter how efficiently you do that job.

I just want you to stop and do some self-reflection, rather than try to figure out what the other people's problems are ("why are they so hard on me?"). Asking yourself what YOU can do to improve the interactions will give you the answers you need to improve! :)

AtlantaRN, RN · Mar 11, 2006

Sometimes we just don't mesh with out patients, i'm usually really chatty, and i've had patients ask me to just be quiet and leave them alone...hurt my feelings a bit, but if I was getting on their nerves...it's their right.

We do peer evaluations at my facility because it tends to give us a more favorable review (when just the manager does our reviews they don't hardly even know the nurses on the floor so how can they evaluate us),

school is hard but hang in there!

linda

GrnHonu99, RN · Mar 11, 2006

Today, I recieved a very bad evaluation..I passed with a satisfactory thou because it is unsatisfactory and satisfactory..My classmates judged me on the evaluation also because that is part of it..Sometimes, you are not friends with all your classmates because of a lot of issues, like being in their "clique" or just not liking the other person in general because of things that they said or did to you in the past that made you not want to associate with them....I mean, you dont have to get along with your classmates to be a good nurse in the real world..Also, I did not chart some information down that my instructor wanted me to and I guess it went all downhill after that..Also, a patient did not like me and all I did was take her vital signs and I took her blood sugar..The patient told my
instructor that she did not like me..I did not do anything wrong in taking her blood pressure or the finger stick.Everything was routine..The thing about it, this is my very last semester and I suppose to graduate in June..I was defending myself, about my classmates evaluation and how I dont belong in their clique and the patient that I had trouble with..Everything was so defensive like how I had to prove my point..I just have 2.5 months left until I graduate and my instrutor from the previous semesters, did not give me such a harsh rating..He even gave me a warning to improve or else fail..And that was mostly on communicating with my classmates..I feel very bad..I do not know if this was a fair rating or not..

Clinical evals are hard. You feel like you do your best and then to hear that you havent is very hard. My best advice is to take the advice that has been given to you and not to get defensive. If a clinical instructor tells you something it is usually to help you become a better nurse. So what can you do to improve your communication skills? What went wrong in the patient's room? How could you have done it differently? those are all questions to consider. Don't beat yourself down over a bad clincal eval. Evals are really there so that you can learn from them and improve!

When I encounter a difficult patient I see them as a challange. I always think, what can I do or change in this situation that will help me figure out what the real problem is with the patient. Normally when patient's have issues with you there is something more going on..its our job to figure it out and help the patient work through it. Keep in mind that sometimes frustration and anger can be displaced on the nurse also...its our job to understand that and help the patient work through their issues.l..

good luck, I have a feeling you will do great on your next eval!

GrnHonu99, RN · Mar 11, 2006

I really don't think that classmates should have this ability.

I agree. My school does not do this. Another student might be able to give insight on your communication skills with them but how can they comment on your skills with your patients? This seems unfair to me.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Mar 11, 2006

Not to mention, it's a friggin popularity contest.

mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP · Mar 12, 2006

I really don't think that classmates should have this ability.

All of our "projects" are peer evaulated - which total is around 25% of our final grade. However, clinicals are not subjected to peer evaulation because how can someone "grade" you on something they may or may not have seen you do? That is your CI's job anyway, not your peers.

Nemhain · Mar 13, 2006

I don't think classmates should be able to evaluate their fellow student's performance in clinical. I was too busy with my patients to know what the other students were doing.

allthingsbright · Mar 13, 2006

Not to mention, it's a friggin popularity contest.

LOL!!!

Ya know, I think you're right on this one! Some people just get type-cast from day one by the instructor as a "bad student" and thats it for them for the semester! *sigh*

hope3456, ASN, RN · Mar 13, 2006

I agree with the previous post. Nsg school can be cutthroat. When I was in nsg school, a friend of mine (not a nsg student) told me she was in the bathroom one time and overheard a couple of the nsg instructors talking about which students would fail and who they wanted dropped from the program.....it freaked me out!

I also had problems with a couple clinical instructors, and my saving grace was that I worked with RN's who were really great nurses and they told me that they also had problems in school and with clinicals.....they told me just to bite my tongue and get thru them, so I did, and now I have my license! I think my biggest problem with my med surg CI's, we just had personality differences - it happens.

firstyearstudent · Mar 13, 2006

I wonder why you are operating from the assumption that the comments of the other students reflect their personal feelings about you and your lack of popularity. Perhaps they have given you as objective of an evaluation as they are able. I would take their comments in good faith. It is a rare opportunity to get this kind of frank feedback.

LandDRN · Mar 13, 2006

I can sort of relate. I had very good clinical reveiws until my last semester. My instructor bluntly told me " I don't like young nurses. They don't take the profession seriously. ( I was 20 at the time and one of two students under 30 in my class.) I pushed through, did well on my tests and scored the next highest on our mock NCLEX that was required for our graduation. I really chalk it up to a personality conflict. She also sat on another student who she wrote up for violating our 20hr/week work limit outside for school. She stated that she needed to be more "nurse focused". She had been making good grades and never missed a clinical.( this was a mom of 4 whose husband went into renal failure mid nursing school due to diabetes complications and was unable at that time to work.) She could teach the academic part of nursing but not the compassion.