Was my professor out of line?

[kimmyanne02]

My professor told me some things during a discussion that has really bothered me and I just wanted to get others' opinions on this. I had a meeting with her because I was struggling in class. She asked me what my priorities are and I said #1 is my husband and kids and #2 is nursing school. She was not happy with my answer and said I need to move nursing up on my priority list, meaning nursing school should come first and not my family. I have 2 young kids and they and my husband will always be number one no matter what, and I told her that. She seemed displeased with my answer and said school will only be 2 years of my life. Anyways, ever since I went against what she thought my priorities should be, she has treated me differently. Should I be putting nursing ahead of my family? Nursing is a very high priority to me, but nothing is more important than being there for my family. I don't know if she started treating me differently because she thinks I don't care or the fact that I did not budge on something I feel very strongly about.

Another thing that has been bothering me. I had a discussion with her about how I was having difficulty balancing my family life with nursing and that I felt guilty about not spending as much time with my kids. After I said that she asked if I was Catholic. I said no, why do you ask. She said she asked that because I seem to carry around a lot guilt. I was really shocked by this. I don't understand why she would ask me about my religion in the first place and how does it have anything to do with being Catholic?! Am I looking at this wrong or were her remarks inappropriate?

[JustVicky899]

OP, ignore these negative comments from these miserable, "RN's" I bet they couldn't even obtain their CNA license. They're more bitter than any normal individual and what's sad it that some claim to have experience in the medical field. Lets just hope that they'll NEVER be one of our nurses one day. LOL;)

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

OP, ignore these negative comments from these miserable, "RN's" I bet they couldn't even obtain their CNA license. They're more bitter than any normal individual and what's sad it that some claim to have experience in the medical field. Lets just hope that they'll NEVER be one of our nurses one day. LOL;)

Was this even for real?

[Eru Ilúvatar]

Was this even for real?

I think the post is sarcastic... I hope so.

[lissy1214, BSN, RN]

Ultimately, your professor telling you that "nursing school should be your number one priority" is just her opinion - an opinion that should have no bearing on the way that she treats you.

It's fine if that's how she feels about nursing school but it's unfair to impose that opinion upon you.

She is crossing the line as your professor if she grades your assignments/test unfairly or embarrasses you in a class/clinical setting.

Otherwise, I would ignore her differing opinion and continue to do the best that you can with balancing family and school.

I think it's important to just keep on doing you and staying true to yourself - there are always going to be people that would love to impose their opinions upon you.

As for the Catholic guilt comment, it sounds like she used the term jokingly.

"Catholic guilt" is a very common phrase / stereotype because for whatever reason, it seems like Catholics carry a lot of guilt with them. It's similar to the whole "Wasps don't talk about their feelings" cultural stereotype. You feeling guilty made your professor wonder if you were Catholic.

I don't see a need to be offended here but I also don't want to invalidate your feelings.

[Mavrick, BSN, RN]

Quick question. (I haven't read all 159 comments so if it's already been asked just refer me on)

Why did the OP do so poorly on her test?

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

In all my nursing school education, the mantra "nursing school is your LIFE!" was the mantra-through PN school and even a BSN program geared towards people who worked; the expectation was that we had to arrange our lives around nursing school, not the other way around.

I scoffed at this sentiment and NEVER disclosed my personal life-ever, even if I didn't do as well on a test, I sought the teacher out and headed off at the pass-they didn't need to know I worked overtime to pay my bills; the onus was to be responsible and accountable for what I did in school and made sure to keep it separate.

OP, at this point, the only thing you can do is focus on what YOU need to succeed in nursing school; whether it be introducing another learning style to help, finding tutor times that help with your schedule, and starting over with the instructor(s)-focus on your scholarly needs and don't fall into the trap of the questioning of priorities, focus on what you need to be successful for school and school only.

Best wishes.

[Hollyhocks720, MSN, NP]

That Catholic comment is completely inappropriate. She should be reported but my experience with that is the dept will stand behind the staff so to take a complaint like that to the dept, you will need a recording or a witness.

[Eru Ilúvatar]

That Catholic comment is completely inappropriate. She should be reported but my experience with that is the dept will stand behind the staff so to take a complaint like that to the dept, you will need a recording or a witness.

Hold your horses, most likely it was a joke that didnt came up the right way. Remember we are getting a one sided view of the story here.