in DANGER of FAILING senior clinical

Nursing Students General Students

Published

I am freaking out. I am in a my 2nd year of a 2 year program and all has gone well up till now. I have passed every course with a B and have always received satisfactory evals for clinicals. I have only 3 weeks left in an 8 week clinical, and I am failing. The instructor had harsh words on my eval. At first she was encouraging saying "you can do this" and "you are a smart man," but all of a sudden she has changed her tone. Her mid clinical eval was so harsh that I think there is nothing I can do to recover. She wrote that I couldn't perform nursing care independently and needed a lot of guidance and direction in all aspects of care. She wrote that I have tunnel vision and can't see a overall plan of care for clients; that I can focus on only one client at a time.

I am ready to drop out. I am at wits end. I am thinking I shouldn't have started this if I am this bad, but I am also mad that I got this far without the school letting me know there may be problems or deficits in my abilities. What should I do???

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Dialysis.

wow. talk to the instructor and see why this drastic change in evals has occurred. surely s/he hasn't given up on you, and you shouldn't either. you've come too far!

good luck man

Up Vote Up Vote ×

well, she wrote that she has given direction several times, but i haven't taken it...she wrote that i am coming to the floor not prepared...some of this is true...but i hope it is not too late to save my current education...the basic problem is this: i have been better in lecture than clinical, and i was expecting more guidance in this clinical session...but she was expecting more independence...and i don't hide it when i have questions...and unfortunately this is turning around and biting me...

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Does your school have open lab time where there is an instructor available to help students with whatever procedures they need to practice? Or is it a matter of figuring out how to prioritize and plan out care?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatrics.
I am freaking out. I am in a my 2nd year of a 2 year program and all has gone well up till now. I have passed every course with a B and have always received satisfactory evals for clinicals. I have only 3 weeks left in an 8 week clinical, and I am failing.

I am also mad that I got this far without the school letting me know there may be problems or deficits in my abilities. What should I do???

As someone who has been on the other side of the coin, I'll give you a bit of insight. You are in your last semester, as you stated. Each semester builds on the previous one. What is expected from you in your final semester of clinical is much more than what your fundamentals clinical instructor expects. I have passed students in the second semester, and they have moved forward and ended up failing third semester. Should I have failed them.... not necessarily. They met the objectives for my clinical. This is why I enjoy teaching first year students....the expectations are lower, and I can teach more than guide :nuke:

Back to your dilemma: Granted, you will not walk out of nursing school and be functioning 100% independently. But by now, you should be able to perform many aspects of patient care without guidance and prompting. Unless it is something you have never done, you should be able to perform skills, assessments and provide care with only gentle prompting.

It sounds like your instructor was trying to gently push you at the beginning, and now sees that you need more than a gentle push. Assessing a students ability is not always easy. Sometimes there are circumstances behind a 'bad clinical day'. But when the bad clinical days start to outweigh the good ones, this becomes a pattern and is problematic.

she wrote that i am coming to the floor not prepared...some of this is true...

There's no excuse for this by fourth semester. Did she mean physically, or educationally (like not knowing info about your patient).

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Psychiatric.

I have been where you are before but when your back is against the wall, you can do some of your best work. Take a day to get organized. Do all your research before you go to clinical and be ready to answer any questions your instructor may have. Plan your day (care) ahead of time before you go to clinical so that you can be prepared. Don't give up. You can do it!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Don't give up! Your instructor is just feeding off your weakness trying to make you a stronger person. A similar thing happened to me last semester. My clinical instructor sent me home for something completely stupid and partially her fault. She said that I needed to work on my assertiveness and asked if I really was even interested in nursing. I worked harder and she apologized for what had happened and wound up giving me an excellent evaluation the last day of clinical. That was only my first semester though, and I'm partially glad she called me out on my weakness then instead of the last semester like what's going on with you. Don't give up, though! I'm sure you're going to make an amazing nurse in the future.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Don't you dare give up. You have it within you to punch through this. Turn yourself inside out to be the best you can be.

Do you have an ally in your clinical group that may see things you're not doing correctly that can be honest with you?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

you are saying things i guess i have to hear...but it is a hard pill to swallow anyhow...ironically, it seems as though i have learned more as a "failing" student than in all previous clinicals put together...

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg.

Sterlink: Hey, I did just flunk out of my senior clinical...:cry:...The reason was that I tried to do TOO much (carrying 16 credit hours, trying to finish microbiology as well as Med/Surg II and Clinical Decision Making).

At my school, you're allowed 3 unsatisfactories in one area, or 5 unsatisfactories total in clinical, and you receive an 'F' for clinical, and are not allowed to continue in theory, either. However, I worked it out privately with our class instructors that I can come to lectures and take notes; just won't be present during the test-taking times. I'm finishing out Clinical Decision Making (which is a glorified senior-level fundamentals-lab course); and of course Micro.

I'm sort of glad that I did flunk out because now I've got the pressure off of me where before I was doing well in none of the classes, now my grades in CDM and Micro have improved exponentially!

Advice? Well, take time for you first of all. See your clinical instructor privately. Sometimes it takes a private conversation with her/him to find out why they're acting like one of the nurses who eat their young :angryfire. If you don't make it through, then use the extra time before the next semester to work out the issues that you're having (assertiveness, organization skills, assessment skills, etc.), and work with a nurse who's a friend that can give you some pointers while out of school. This is what I'm planning to do, and waiting to find out whether I'm going to get a job with any of several different hospitals where I've applied to be a nursing extern. That, I believe, or being a CNT, will help me more than anything else.

Good luck to you, and I hope all goes well for you. But remember, a setback doesn't mean you're a failure; your goal is just deferred for awhile.

Just my :twocents: worth.

------------------

Cheers,

Mary~

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.

I'm so sorry to hear this....it's very frightening to be this close to the end and worrying about not passing.

That being said, if the worst should happen, I think what victoria mentions is a terrific idea if you are able to repeat your final semester. Pull ALL the stops out and look for an internship or even a tech job somewhere in a hospital for the summer. Really spend the time watching and learning and trying to pull it all together.

Meet with your instructor, talk to fellow clinical students, maybe even talk to the nurses on the floor where you are now to gather critical information on what your strengths and weaknesses are. Evaluate all the info and work with that over the summer to be prepared for your next, and final, semester in the fall!!

Where there's a will, there's a way.

I wish you the best!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment