College

[123Jos]

Hi,
I posted some time back about being forced to have treatments at college against my will. The college made it clear to me that their is no option to say no for anything unless there is a doctors note to say why I can’t have a treatment done. One of those is electrotherapy which interferes with a nerve condition I have which is included in my application and the other is waxing which causes me a lot of pain and was something I had never opted for before I started this course. I participated in everything else and showed willingness to allow people to practice on me during the class.
To cut a long story short I have had quite a lot of trouble with not being able to accept certain treatments being done on my body and the doctor has been a bit astonished as to why my saying no is not enough in this capacity. The college will not relent and say that to learn the treatments I have to receive them all myself this includes intimate waxing also by others in the classroom.
Can any one point me in the right direction of what to do as the situation has escalated now to involve the Dean of the college who wants a meeting with me to discuss my unwillingness to have certain things done to me. I am at breaking point and ready to leave the college now because I have never come against this and don’t know how to explain that these things cause me pain their response is that pain is part of it and everyone experiences it. I have idiopathic torsion dystonia and it does make pain worse. I also suffer from painful cysts which they want a doctors line to prove I have these even though they have physically seen them. I was called a wimp in the classroom by my tutor when my legs were bleeding after first time ever waxing at 34 and done my a student who ripped the strip the wrong way despite the fact I allowed them to do it to please the tutor and also draw less attention to myself. It’s been a horrible set of events and I have tried to stay upbeat as I love learning but I just can’t stay at the college anymore when this is the mentality. I understand fully that everyone has to participate but even I can see that if something causes a person discomfort or they don’t wish to be used as a model they should be allowed to say no to this as no one is going to be there when something goes wrong. I’ve worked as a support worker all of my days and never once have I been in a setting where we were told to experience the service users pain in order to know how to care for them.
Am I better to leave the course? I have no issues at all performing all of the treatments and I’m doing well on the course work this is the only hurdle I am facing.
Thanks for reading.

 

[TheDuchess]

Hi Jos

Firstly my sympathies, I’m really sorry to hear you are suffering so much. Have a read through this link

https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/discrimination-college-university-education/
If you scroll down you will find some suggestions of support outside of college including

https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/disabled-students-helpline
I’ve only googled your condition, so I don’t know the ins and outs. The question is whether you are classed as disabled under the equality act. This means that you have a substantial health impairment which is going to negatively affect your ability to do normal daily activities for at least 12 months (I’m paraphrasing).

A substantial impairment means that there is no way around a certain amount of difficulty or suffering in everyday life. You may have a disabling condition, but if you manage it very well the effect may be that you are not classed as disabled. You don’t need to be eligible for disabled benefits in order to be protected under the act, but it will help if you do receive some sort of “official” support besides medical appointments. Your doctor may be able to advise you whether your health problems would class you as disabled.

If you are very sure that you are entitled to protection against discrimination under the act your college has to provide you with reasonable adjustment and there will be a disabled student support team who can help you. You may have a bit of a fight to “prove” you should receive reasonable adjustment.

Unfortunately unless you are classed as disabled, your college can insist that you participate or leave. I know that sucks but the reason is that the college would be unable to run the course if they allowed students to excuse themselves without a specific medical note stating that they must not participate.. The average student is pretty reluctant to strip off in a communal situation. It would be impossible to run the course if every class had one or two abstainers.

Extreme discomfort is sadly part of the normal student experience - I pretty much had my underarms skinned by a rough student - I was really upset and my skin was quite badly damaged, I healed from that after 2 weeks but I’m scarred permanently with ice pick scars from electrolysis on my face. , I was horrified the college wouldn’t accept responsibility for inadequate supervision - I was basically told “we told you about aftercare” as if I’d picked at the blisters and I hadn’t.

You will have the occasional very sensitive and or anxious client who will bleed, develop an alarming histamine reaction, scream, cry or contort themselves into knots and you may wonder why on Earth they booked themselves a painful experience. It is very stressful having to deal with such a client and is at times like these that you will be grateful for the lessons learned in college in dealing with a client like yourself. It is a great learning experience and I’m sorry if feels so unkind to be told this.

If you are “just” unluckily sensitive you can discuss pain relievers or mild sedatives with your doctor and try CBT techniques to help you manage better. It is quite frightening submitting to a painful experience from an inexperienced learner but there are strategies which make it just about bearable. Your tutors will be used to tears and it is their job to get you through this. They wouldn’t be doing their job if they let you skip part of the curriculum without clear medical need and the involvement of the disabled support team.

I hope this is helpful.

 

[ronray]

Hi,
I posted some time back about being forced to have treatments at college against my will. The college made it clear to me that their is no option to say no for anything unless there is a doctors note to say why I can’t have a treatment done. One of those is electrotherapy which interferes with a nerve condition I have which is included in my application and the other is waxing which causes me a lot of pain and was something I had never opted for before I started this course. I participated in everything else and showed willingness to allow people to practice on me during the class.
To cut a long story short I have had quite a lot of trouble with not being able to accept certain treatments being done on my body and the doctor has been a bit astonished as to why my saying no is not enough in this capacity. The college will not relent and say that to learn the treatments I have to receive them all myself this includes intimate waxing also by others in the classroom.
Can any one point me in the right direction of what to do as the situation has escalated now to involve the Dean of the college who wants a meeting with me to discuss my unwillingness to have certain things done to me. I am at breaking point and ready to leave the college now because I have never come against this and don’t know how to explain that these things cause me pain their response is that pain is part of it and everyone experiences it. I have idiopathic torsion dystonia and it does make pain worse. I also suffer from painful cysts which they want a doctors line to prove I have these even though they have physically seen them. I was called a wimp in the classroom by my tutor when my legs were bleeding after first time ever waxing at 34 and done my a student who ripped the strip the wrong way despite the fact I allowed them to do it to please the tutor and also draw less attention to myself. It’s been a horrible set of events and I have tried to stay upbeat as I love learning but I just can’t stay at the college anymore when this is the mentality. I understand fully that everyone has to participate but even I can see that if something causes a person discomfort or they don’t wish to be used as a model they should be allowed to say no to this as no one is going to be there when something goes wrong. I’ve worked as a support worker all of my days and never once have I been in a setting where we were told to experience the service users pain in order to know how to care for them.
Am I better to leave the course? I have no issues at all performing all of the treatments and I’m doing well on the course work this is the only hurdle I am facing.
Thanks for reading.

My friend is a qualified beautician and she said it was the same for their class. They had no option but to model for other classmates unless they had a medical reason that excluded them. The tutors principle was "if you're not willing to have it done on yourself you shouldn't be willing do it to others"
I'm not sure I 100% agree with that. But I do see where an issue could lie if several members of the class decided not to participate..... Because the same models would be used over and over and where would they get their practice in?
She also said that when I comes to the intimate waxing, it should only be your bikini line that you're expected to do. I know this may be difficult for you. So it would be worth having a chat to your doctor. Obviously it shouldn't be an issue for you to get an exclusion note for the conditions you have.
It would be a shame for you to quit because of this. If you really are enjoying the course I would definitely encourage you to stay. I used to be the first person to quit anything as soon as it challenged me, but for once I stuck something out and the feeling afterwards is great!

 

[Ashley Blakemore]

This is awful to read. It’s been a while since I was at college but I remember it being the same, it teaches you pain levels and when to be more gentle or when you can get on with it. You only learn when you experience it and it helps you out later on. I do find it a bit strange that they’re forcing you to do something when you have a medical condition. If they thought you were “faking” to get out of it you’re only cheating your self the experience and knowledge so to force you and put you under such pressure is wrong…you’re supposed to enjoy the course!

I have scars all over my forearms from practising electrolysis, and there was a few waxing incidents and battered nails. If you’re really not happy go see the Dean and explain, stay strong and say everything you’ve just said above. If they don’t accept that then it’s not right!

 

[Scissors]

That sounds horrible and I hope you get enough information and doctor's input to make them back off.
I'm surprised in this day and age that they can enforce doing that to you.

 

[Faust Vega]

This forum post raises important issues related to student autonomy and bodily autonomy in educational settings. The student is expressing their frustration with being forced to undergo certain treatments, such as electrotherapy and waxing, as part of their coursework, even though they have a medical condition that makes these treatments painful or dangerous for them.

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[Trinity]

AI generated text?

Interesting question. Lots of apparently new members commenting and posting recently, the tone and frequency feel 'odd'. I've been here 20 years the flow recently has been different

 

[Scissors]

Please keep reporting the odd ones, Especially if you find a link in the text so we can take care of them when necessary.
Thanks for reporting the above deleted posts.