- Refusing to help the novice nurse, a supervisor advising their co-workers not to answer any of their questions, not to help them at all- let them sink or swim!
- Refusing to take part in duties of the floor.
- Setting others up for failure.
- Administration mistreating the staff nurses when they need to be off for illness, surgeries, etc.
- Old fashion bullying.
- Condescending attitudes (Where did you go to school? You don’t know how to do that?)
- Retaliation (nurse calls in and will be given the most difficult patients upon return)
- Nursing faculty mistreating one another.
- Hazing of novice nurses or seasoned nurses new to the facility.
- Staff nurses mistreating nursing students.
- Nursing faculty mistreating nursing students, weeding out.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Some of you reading may think, "Oh those nurses just make this stuff up, really, the morale and atmosphere cannot be that bad". Well, folks, I hate to tell you but it is TRUE!!!!! In 2009, the Joint Commission issued a sentinel event in regard to the attitude in nursing and implemented standards that required accredited health care organizations to develop rules and regulations and put them in place. These regulations should specify what types of behavior were acceptable and to create a formal process to manage unacceptable actions. The Joint Commission did advise the health care facilities that cruel, rude, and socially unacceptable behavior among health care professionals places the patients served in an unsafe position and the quality of care is not top notch. Not only does it place the patient at risk, the nurse who is being bullied is at risk .
What type of horizontal violence am I speaking of?
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Throughout my entire life I had always wanted to be a nurse. I struggled to make great grades just so I could be accepted into a nursing program. I can honestly say it was one of the worst times of my life. The content is difficult, but it was the treatment by the faculty. I have had many college classes and I have never encountered such brutality as I did in nursing school. My instructors were rude and snide. It seemed as if they wanted you to fail. What really scares me is that these people are molding the minds of future nurses. I think a nursing instructor should be kind and compassionate. They should try understand their students because they have been in the exact same spot. People learn from these instructors and look up to these instructors for direction. I can honestly say that I hope that my loved ones are never cared for by some of the people that I encountered. Their sense of happiness that they get when they hurt their students is quite scary. The tests were never accurate and the instruction was vague. I even had an instructor administer a test with the information they taught in class, then marked the question wrong when I answered exactly what was discussed in class. When I questioned the instructor about it she denied that she even said it. She said that I shouldn't go by what she said in class, but by what the book said. Every teacher thought differently and what was right on one test was wrong on the other depending on the teacher. They all acted as if they were superior to one another and the information was always inconsistent. It is quite scary to know that there is such competition and difference in belief when it comes to caring for an individual. People pay these people to teach them. They act as if the students owe them something, when in all actuality the students are paying their bills. I have moved on since and have even switched my major. I get sick at the thought of ever becoming what some of those teachers are. Even though it had been my lifelong dream, I decided I was not going to partake in such a death match. The instructors I have now are professional and knowledgeable. They collaborate together so that they can guide and teach their students, not harm them. My professors act in a professional and rational way. This is a real problem that should be addressed. I cannot believe that they get away with this. It seems that the state board of nursing could go in and investigate. I know that I am not the only one who has encountered this. What is really sad is the fact that many people quit who would make good nurses. I wonder if some of the people who do graduate know this isn't the way to be? Or is this starting a vicious cycle of snide greediness and superiority over other human beings? Nurses are supposed to have kind and helping hands, not hurtful ones.
ReplyDeleteDear Rainbowdust1,
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry for the maltreatment and humiliation you received at the hands of a nursing faculty colleague. Your comments sadden me and break my heart. As nursing faculty we are NOT to weed out or attempt to make the lives of our students miserable. We are in a place to "grow a nurse". While we all can make a mistake from time to time, it is our job as nursing faculty to deliver content that is accurate and to provide the rationale for the content. When rationale is provided, the student understands the concept. Nursing faculty should be delivering content that all three types of learners may grasp (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic). I have found if I provide the material in the same manner of the nursing process (assess, plan, implement, and evaluate), the student seems to grasp the material. Critical thinking may be applied and the student can see the whole picture and help the client served to reach their highest level of wellness on the health continuum.
I have heard other nursing professors gloat that half of the class is not passing. This is nothing to gloat about! As a nursing professor, if half of my students are not passing, I have to evaluate my teaching style and look in the mirror. What am I not doing? How could I deliver the content in other ways? Have I tested on a higher level? Have I constructed test questions that are not clear?
Nursing is lifelong learning, seasoned nurses NEVER know everything. When a nurse boasts they know everything and do not need to learn anything new, I do not want that nurse caring for me or anyone I love. They will do harm and I do not want to be in harm's way (or anyone else for that matter)!
The State Board of Nursing has received complaints in the past in regard to the environment nursing faculty have created. Investigations have been performed and faculty were placed on probation and advised if the culture in their School of Nursing did not change, the doors would be closed. When addressing this issue with the State Board of Nursing, correct information (date, time, and specific incident) must be documented in order from them to correct the issue at hand.
It is NEVER too late to start your life dream of becoming a nurse, please give nursing another chance. I am so sorry that EVERY single one of the nursing faculty you encountered treated you in this manner.
If I can help you reach your dream, please do not hesitate to let me know and we will go on this journey together. Peace be with you and remember one person can make a difference, and that person is you! Sincerely, Jodi, the Civil Nurse
Thank you for your kind words. Even though nursing was what I thought I wanted to do, I have found my calling in psychology. Maybe one day I can counsel the poor nursing students. Ha! Horizontal violence is not only in schools but also the workplace. I wonder if the people learned this from their instructors? Could it be that this starts at school and carries over into the workplace? Instructors are supposed to set an example for their students. If students follow their instructors "bad" lead, then they might carry this type of behavior with them throughout their careers. I can only hope that one day this type of violence be stopped and the people who are responsible be held accountable. Nursing is a strict profession and it is understandable that the coursework has to be rigid. However; I think it takes respect to earn respect. I think the first step is a students' tuition. The student is paying thousands of dollars to learn and be guided into their future careers. As students, we do not owe the instructors anything, they owe us. The schools would not be able to pay staff without the students. We are the backbone to the school and it is only right to get the best education possible. I do not really blame the teachers for their inconsiderateness, I blame the school. The school is the one who hires and fires, and also keeps employing teachers who are not capable of doing their jobs. If I were a teacher I would be thrilled to see my students succeed. It is not funny to see a student be disrespected and/or fail. Some teachers think this is fun, but really it is a reflection upon them. One day that nursing student who they terrorized will be taking care of them. I can only hope that the nurse that is taking care of them shows them the same compassion that they taught to them long ago. Which would be none. The high and mighty attitude has to be eradicated for people to be successful in nursing school. I can remember the dread when I would have to go to school each morning and be treated unkind. I feel so free now that I do not have to do that any longer. I make the Deans list every semester. I am comfortable asking questions and I feel confident that they will be answered honestly and intelligently. What the instructors that I used to have don't know is that everyone knows how they are. Friends, family, student, colleagues, and everyone else knows that they are community college instructors that cannot get along with real instructors at universities. I kind of look at them like people who cut hair. You have hair dressers that have their own salons, and then you have Fantastic Sams. That is how I feel about where I used to attend school, those teachers are the Fantastic Sams of the nursing school business. It's definitely their loss. Mrs. Henderson, I have heard very good things about you and none of this is intended for you. The nursing world is small and I am sure you do not have to think too hard to know exactly what I am talking about. Thank you for setting up this blog, I think it is a nice place to tell the truth about what really goes on behind closed doors.
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