Friendly neighborhood nursing professor here (the type that isn't forced to shape my course around ATI/Kaplan because NCLEX doesn't prioritize research, nor innovation): Every semester we(nursing education) literally *break* students. I literally watch it unfold in realtime. And-

As other wise folks like @magenta173 @Dr_Whomever @ClairePVW etc have said, over & over again: It doesn't have to be this way. We could CHOOSE to do something different. We could normalize compassion, rest, justice for nursing students. We could fight cultures of oppression. But-

One way institutional oppression operates is to rob folks of the time & space to think, to be in community, to empathize, to humanize the other in relationships. So the grind goes on...and on...and on...and on... So normalized that NOT to break folks is somehow extraordinary...

Survivor bias means the ones who struggled through to the other side - and then somehow got themselves to the top of the hierarchy of nursing ed (e.g. profs/board folx)-are the ones who decide how we proceed. And too many figure,"If I did it, how hard could it be?" So we continue

And just watch how quickly those who break from the culture of bystanderism in nursing ed, where folks who've also been complicit in this system, for years (incl me!), maybe call out the problems & seek to do something different - just WATCH how fast those folks are taken down...

Disinvited from speaking engagements or leadership positions. Labeled troublemakers or dangerous or one of my favorites "uncivil". Impolite. How impolite to point out that no amount of resilience workshops on 'self-care' is gonna change structures literally built on exploitation.

But we can't speak too loud because someone on a board somewhere might hear of it and then there will be punishment not just for the person speaking up, but maybe for the entire school. Maybe that accreditation won't get renewed. Maybe the board will find demerits. Etc.

Which is why we're gonna need COLLECTIVE action if this culture is ever gonna change. A chorus of voices. ALL the Deans. Everybody. At once.

The last two years have been the first time I've been actively warned against speaking up along the lines of, "That's a nice nursing program you have there...would be a shame if anything happened to it." Which only reveals my privilege that such warnings didn't come sooner.

This year is the first time I've ever been forced to look into legal representation to defend myself against folks with way more power and funding who don't like what I say because it upsets their system. Again, my privilege is showing.

Last year was the first time I had someone blatantly censor something I'd written only because the content made them uncomfortable & threatened power. My privilege shows once again - some folks are never allowed even to get to the starting line. And it has opened my eyes.

And to folks who are reading this & can't even begin to identify with it, this may sound paranoid or like I'm exaggerating for dramatic effect.

But trust me, this is the tip o' the iceberg compared to what so many unsung colleagues & students have come up against.

I'm lucky.

And to be perfectly honest, I'm also angry. Extremely angry. Energy I hope to put to good use, as long as I have it.

Not that anger is the only response, or always useful or helpful, but wow does it motivate.

And now I see why only certain folks are ever "allowed" in the proverbial club

Because anyone else is a threat. How are threats dealt with? Isolated & cut off. Made to feel alone.

So if this is how you're feeling right now, know this:
You are not alone.
We'll do this together