To be fair and objective, this supervisor was genius with patient-care strategies. She was amazingly intuitive with the patients. When listening to her in report, I became stronger and more respectful of her ‘no nonsense’ approach with staff, as patients were her only priority. “Be kind. Be firm. Be consistent. You may never know the positive impact you have on others. Keep steady in doing the best for your patients and leave your personal troubles at the gate.” And I learned, the hard way, that personal troubles included a random downpour from Mother Nature. As a clinical nursing instructor, I remain grateful for the experiences I’ve had in the field. I have been forever influenced by the very best and the very worst I have encountered along the way. Working with students in the area of behavioral health nursing can cause lots of anxiety, usually due to a fear of the unknown. “Be kind. Be firm. Be consistent. You may never know the positive impact you have on others. Keep steady in doing the best for your students and leave your personal troubles at the gate.” Sometimes, when I’m really lucky, a student will tell me how I may have influenced a decision or a crossroads in their education/career before and after graduation. This type of feedback is golden to me. It reminds me of why I truly love my work. Here are some examples of my ‘you never know’ emails from a couple former students... I wanted to take a moment and thank you for everything you have taught me about nursing. Behavioral Health was something I have always been interested in, but you made me have more of an interest in it. You taught me so much in our time together. You gave me the inspiration to continue to become a nurse. Last year, I failed one of my classes. I felt like I couldn't become a nurse because I wasn't smart enough. Even when I felt like giving up I continued on my path to become a nurse, because you had given me such kind words during clinical. You told me how much nursing was the career for me. I ended up getting my minor in psychology. And now a year later I am retaking the course I failed and am loving it this time. I am still unsure if I will do psych nursing, but it is on my options list. Thank you so much for being an amazing clinical instructor. I miss spending clinical rotations with you! I know I was a nervous wreck, but I want to thank you for helping me and guiding me through. You truly are an amazing teacher and that is something so special to students, and you have inspired me. The thought of not being a nursing student has been on my mind for a long time now, and after talking everything through, with you and a few others I trust, I have made a decision. It was certainly tough, especially because I worked so hard to get to where I am today, but I have officially withdrawn from the nursing program. I will, however, start up soon as a psychology major. While this has been a difficult decision to make, I truly feel that in the end it will be best for me. My mindset is to take everything I have learned, and apply it to a new perspective. Thank you SO much for everything. I am very happy to have met you, because seeing you as a teacher has greatly inspired me. You see the best in people no matter what, and the world needs more of that. During this season of Thanksgiving, I am grateful to my students - both former and current. I continue to learn so much from these hopeful, creative and inspiring young minds. In closing I want to share a song that gives me a boost whenever I need to call upon my inner strength, especially in times of uncertainty. ShoutOutsUntil next week, sending you peace and hugs, mar
20 Comments
Randi Benlulu
11/29/2017 09:36:30 am
Love this, Maria! In a time of uncertainty it is so comforting to see someone who can guide, teach and lead with compassion and by example. How lucky your students are to have such a shining example! Love the song choixe, as always! 💜
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Mike
11/29/2017 10:08:45 am
Good Wednesday morning Maria - Your students are truly lucky to have someone (you) that has maintained her interest in imparting the knowledge they need with enthusiasm. It is good that you receive positive feedback from some of them as you go along your chosen path. Even those students that change course are grateful. Wonderful. You inspire, so many forget that is part of the job.
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Barbara Jones
11/30/2017 12:46:09 pm
Hi Maria, talking about a street! My family and I traveled to Cranford, NJ for Thanksgiving. When we arrived, my sister who is non-weight bearing on her right leg, was frightened regarding how she would get into the house especially because there was no banister. God is good, our host for the Thanksgiving feast, whom none of us had met previously as he is a friend of the family, announced that he was a physical therapist and that there would be no problem ascending and descending the stairs. See! A path was made and all was well.
Lauren
11/29/2017 11:45:14 am
As a student who was blessed with the opportunity to have you as a clinical instructor, you will NEVER get enough recognition for all you do. It is hard to walk into a behavior health unit and not drag in the stigmas with you, but you teach us to leave them at the door. You are protective but teach, you encourage us but you understand our feelings. You may see yourself as lucky to be an instructor but students are lucky to be touched by you in even the slightest way.
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This enjoyable insight to your career and student appreciation was really interesting. I found the story of your one-time tardiness to be a familiar happening in the workplace and truly unjustified.Yet, you looked for the bright side and saw the qualities of the supervisor. How like you. Hugs and cheer and thanks for sharing these great stories.
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Dear Maria,
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Sweet Maria - what a delightful post to read! I kept all the notes students would write me when I was teaching. Though I no longer feel called to teach, those notes were golden nuggets that would keep my motivation to make a difference quite high. I love that you shared some of what your students said to you. It just goes to show your big heart, and how compassionate you are. I'm not one of those "no-nonsense" types of people. (I'm sure you've probably picked up on that, lol). But, I CAN tell you that those types of people, when I have encountered them, they definitely add value to our lives. It's not always comfortable, or fun to deal with them. But I have learned the most from those types of people. All those personality types: life gets interesting, no? I hope you've had a wonderful birthday, and I enjoyed this read. I hope you have a wonderful rest-of-your-week! xoxo
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Dear Maria,
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