Tidewater Community College - Portsmouth Campus — Local services in Portsmouth

Thinking about going to nursing school here? Think again! Since attending nursing school at TCC, myself and other students were subjected to bullying by instructors. One girl quit after the first class stating, "You can't treat me like this. Nobody at work talks to me like that."

I was written up for calling an instructor by her first name, written up for reporting another instructor who gave me an attitude all day long on my first clinical simply for asking questions such as, "If he is having trouble breathing, why isn't he on a pulse ox?", which got me the repeated response of the instructor sighing, rolling her eyes at me, and giving me an attitude while telling me to stop asking questions. Another student and another nurse commented to me that day, "Boy, your instructor is sure being mean to you today." That's two people who witnessed the way I was treated.

How incredibly unprofessional! It is ridiculous that instructor thinks it's okay to behave like that. And this nursing instructor was 70 years old, which just makes it 10 times worse because you would think everyone eventually matures past this "high school-type" behavior, but I guess not.

On the subject of being written up - when you go to another instructor for help and you are retaliated against instead, the message they are sending is that they have a "club" going on where all the instructors have each others backs. Therefore, it does a student no good to report malicious behavior from other instructors. Lastly, I was failed for a course for a policy that doesn't exist. I even asked for this policy and they produced multiple policies at my request, but none of which were the one they failed me for! I have already talked to several attorneys and been told I have a case, but it's not worth it because it would cost more to litigate and take them to court than it would to get my money back for this course.

I would equate my experience at TCC with the following: it felt like high school and the mean girls club all over again where nursing instructors and students talk bad about other students AND patients behind their backs, create drama, and gossip.

I can't help but think to myself that these are the type of women who wonder at the end of the day why they can't get any respect, yet they don't stop to think, "Maybe it's my unprofessional behavior! Maybe because I think it's okay to behave like this."

When students invest their time and money in TCC's services, they have a right not to be subjected to a hostile environment and to not have maximum punishment enforced for minor mistakes. However, this is what is considered acceptable within the system of like-minded instructors at this school. It seems the hiring standards are so low at TCC that they will hire low-quality people who think having the title "Instructor" means they can treat students how ever they want.

Since I am an older student and I already have my bachelor's degree, I can tell you that their behavior is not normal, it's not the standard and you as a student should not accept being treated like this. I never dealt with this while getting my bachelor's and I also don't get treated like this at work. It is unacceptable. The environment a student should be in is one of nurturing and support, but the reality in this school is the nursing instructors find ways to tear you down while at the same time saying, "We're in this together! We want to see you succeed!" Yea, but actions speak louder than words.

If you want to pick a nursing school, I strongly suggest you go with a company that hires better...

UPDATED!!!!! Our experience so far has been great. Today was my child's 1st day as a First College Participant (Duel Enrollment), and of course, some things were lost in communication between my child's school and TCC. However, the staff at TCC was super helpful to us and showed a willingness to assist. My child is a little shy in new environments, so after every class, I received a call/text from my child, and I was so happy to hear how well it went. So far, I believe we have made the right decision for my child to participate in First College at TCC. I will update my review as my new college student gets more acclimated to TCC.

UPDATE 05/02/23: I am so thankful that my child is coming to close with Duel Enrollment this week, and I must say this experience has been very challenging. The first thing I want to point out is that communicating with anyone at TCC Portsmouth is extremely difficult. I was told that transportation would be provided to and from school - my child was left stranded after classes at TCC several times & there wasn't anyone available at the "after hours" number. Transportation to TCC in the morning was extremely difficult for the students because they often arrived thirty minutes after class started. So, this made me responsible for getting my child back and forth to school. The professors, for the most part, that my child had were somewhat understanding and willing to work with all students to assist them with learning. My child did have an issue with one professor who absolutely refused to "slow down" or pause during their lecture so students could take notes or ask questions. There were a lot of complaints from many students during the semester, and they were completely unheard by the admin staff. Every student, YES, EVERY student in this professors class, failed. I don't think that's a coincidence. My child was considering signing up for more classes instead of going directly to a university to save money and planned to transfer those credits over to a university at a later date, but I'm not so sure that's going to happen. Finding a counselor to assist with signing up for classes necessary for your degree of interest is absolutely impossible. Thankfully, my child has received several offers from universities offering funding if chosen. At this point, I think this will be the best option- the stress and headaches that come with TCC are not...

The atmosphere inside this building has changed, within the last 12 years I have attended school on this campus, and always been created with a friendly attitude, and the willingness to find common ground between the staff and not just me, but the student body. Today I needed something as simple as my student number, and was met at the door with complete resistance, and at a certain point I felt like I was going to be turned away empty handed; I feel no need to dive into the subject of accommodation for people with disabilities, which was the whole point that I raised while I was standing at the door, at bare minimum you could just attempt to accommodate me, Due to a disability that prevents me from wearing a mask, but in fact I’d like to remind everyone that once upon a time, this college campus encouraged the idea of speaking your mind, and being different, today when I walked in those doors, I was met with a tribalistic mob, that basically explained we live in a new world, and they have absolute authority over my person, with in this public facility, which is no longer publicly owned, this is now according to them public property, something comparable to a civilians home; to which id respond with whom does this building belong to, I’d love to speak to the person or people that fund this establishment, because to my understanding a community college is paid for by the community, that property in which you are firmly standing on and insist is in some way shape or form private property under the domain of the state, actually belongs to me and the rest of the residents of Portsmouth, and at bare minimum, you could accommodate me with what ever issues...