This is a very well-written submission from “smack.” She cites several examples of intolerance and unhelpfulness from her instructors and the nurses she’s supposed to be learning from:

I am a “non-traditional” nursing student. Nursing is not my first career. Like many others in my generation, in our restless quest to find deeper meaning in our lives, I have chosen to pursue an emotionally fulfilling life rather than to continue to pursue the Holy Grail of financial success. My former preoccupation with my career and financial success cost me a marriage, caused major burnout, left me feeling hollow and unfulfilled, and contributed to my becoming a grandmother before I was 40.

Not for the first time in nursing school, I am wondering if I am cut out to be a nurse. Do not get me wrong, I love the art and science of nursing.. I have worked as both a “tech” and a unit secretary on a medical-surgical floor for over a year now. The small hospital where I work has become a second home and the nurses I work with, a second family. I love the rich mix of skills needed to provide care for patients. I enjoy the challenge of giving a smile or laugh to a grumpy or blue patient. I love caring for people.

Where I begin to question my ability to fit in has come beyond the safe cocoon of the hospital floor where I work. I have witnessed other students struggle with some of the same issues as I have. I just do not know if I can work with some of the nurses who care for clients but lack the capacity for caring for anyone else. My first experience with this type of behavior came from one of my instructors.

At the time, my daughter was a 15-year old high school student and a new mother without a car. We had just recently moved to the state. I was saddled with the responsibility of transporting both my daughter and grandson to wherever they needed to go. During class, I received a desperate call from the babysitter saying that she thought that my grandson was having an allergic reaction to something he ate. I pulled my instructor aside, explained the situation, and apologized for my having to leave. She tersely advised me not to allow my family situation to interfere with my education. By the way, the class I was missing was intended to teach us how to “care” for patients in the non-traditional emotional and spiritual sense.

The next experience came from a registered nurse who I was to assist during an obstetrics rotation. When I arrived at the clinical site, she was in hysterics and crying over her assignment for that evening. She told my instructor that she did not want a student following her. My instructor forced the issue and the nurse spent the rest of the evening literally sneaking behind me into the patient’s room and coming back out and reporting that she had “already taken care of things”. I was assigned to follow her on two different occasions. I have had the misfortune to be assigned to two other nurses in two other hospitals who have had the same type of “stay out of my way” attitude. Some have been downright rude and condescending. I wonder how it is that these particular nurses, who do such a wonderful job teaching their patients, are so awful at helping to teach the next generation of nurses.

My most recent experience of this behavior came in a one-two punch. It is the first semester of my senior year. In my one clinical class this semester, we are learning about community nursing. I am learning about what community nursing is and am finding that I like it a lot. My first clinical experience as a visiting nurse was great success and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

However, the instructors of this class are grappling with a heavy clinical schedule and more students than they are used to. There have been several mix-ups in the dates posted for clinical assignments. Like several other students, I am struggling to make sense of the various assignments and where I am to go and when.

Nevertheless, I am excited about my clinical assignments for the next day.. In the morning, I am to follow a school nurse and learn about what she does. I will have the opportunity to follow this nurse several times during this semester. In the afternoon, I will travel to a local elementary school and participate in a grant program that teaches the children there about nutrition. The program is exciting because I get to orchestrate a physical activity along with teaching. I even get to give the kids a taste-test of some unusual good for you foods. I had chosen the lessons carefully and practiced them with my three-year old over the past week and a half. I was ready to rock and roll!

About 1:30 a.m. the night before my clinical, my three year old woke up coughing, gagging, and crying. I ran in to check on her and in my half-sleep panic, I tripped over an electrical wire and wrenched my back. As I hobbled in to calm her down, I thought that maybe she had had a bad dream. Fifteen minutes after tucking her back in, I was changing bed sheets and cleaning up vomit. I did this about every fifteen minutes until almost four a.m. because, apparently my daughter has failed to develop good vomit aiming skills. I was very disappointed because I knew there was no way I could take my daughter to preschool in the morning. I was going to miss the clinicals. All that preparation was for naught.

I called my instructor’s office sometime after three a.m. and left a message explaining the situation. She had instructed us to use her cell phone over her office phone, but I was hesitant to call her at that hour, lest I wake her and her family, so I called her cell phone later in the morning before the clinical and explained the situation. The news of my impending absence was met with stony silence. Next was the question of “Are you going to miss the afternoon clinical too?!” I was sleep-deprived and frustrated. I wanted to tell her that I felt sorry for her kids if she ships them exhausted, miserable, vomiting, fever, and all, to daycare when she has a big day planned. After all, that is just what a good nurse would advise a patient to do?

The second punch occurred during my call to the school nurse who was organizing the grant program teaching I was to do. After I explained why I would not be able to come in, she said mildly, that nursing school sure had changed since she was a student. They were not allowed to be married or have children. If they missed a clinical, they were met with fire and brimstone not to mention possible expulsion from the program. She lamented how things had changed. I wanted to tell this nurse that preventing women with children from learning or working is called discrimination, and is immoral and illegal.

I want to point out that the majority of nurses I have had the opportunity to work with have been supportive, kind, wonderful, and great teachers. Many of my professors have children too and are mindful of the challenges parenthood provides to those trying to better themselves. I have the pleasure work with one of the best nurses in the state. This amazing woman has all the virtues that a good nurse aspires to have: patience, expert skill, ever-expanding knowledge, kindness, and empathy. She has love in her heart for all people but is strong enough not to be taken advantage of.

In the end, what I am hoping for are the nurses who exhibit this type of behavior to question the reasons for it. When you are in a position of power, you are teaching student nurses whether or not you intend to. What you have to decide is whether the lessons you are teaching are worthy of a professional nurse. Your attitude toward students teaches them what behavior is expected of professional nurses toward patients as well as others.. Utilize those caring skills not only for patients, but also in interactions with those you have to work with. It may be useful to keep in mind that the student who is shadowing you now may soon be your co-worker or may even eventually be your nurse. My professionalism professor gave a quote at the beginning of the class, “nurses like to eat their young”. I am hoping my writing will help some of those nurses lose their taste for us.

I don’t remember ever calling in sick for a clinical during nursing school, but I know of others who did and were met with the same stony silence. There are only so many clinical opportunities to be had in school and skipping one for almost any but the most dire of reasons was frowned upon.