failed my clinical rotation? very worried..

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Specializes in School Nursing.
you make very good points. thanks. i guess it comes down to how generous the dean will be. is there anything more than i can do?? i'm considering sending an apology email to the dean before meeting..but what if thats not even the issue? very very stressful.

At the very least written apologies to the dean, the clinical instructor, and the school (clinical site) is in order. Be sure to also write an essay acknowledging the mistakes you made, the possible consequences, and what you are going to do in the future. Whatever you do, make no excuses. Even if you have a good excuse, don't use it. Admit you were out of line and careless and how this was a valuable learning experience for you.

I think if you do that, show remorse, and behave professionally (dress professional at the meeting!) you have a good chance to turn this around. In addition to the things I mentioned above, ask if there is any assignment, extra work, hours, volunteer hours, or ANYTHING you can do to help make this better.

I think school is for learning. If they saw you on the phone, they should have addressed you immediately and told you it was inappropriate. I don't like how they waiting until you had already done several things they disapproved of, and got you to the point of failing, before telling you that there were issues. Had they addressed them immediately, you would have had the opportunity to do better.. That's the point of school- the instructor should have been giving you this feedback all along.

Good luck.

AOx1

961 Posts

Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.

As an instructor, I set my ground rules and expectations up front. Students know how they can succeed, and what could lead to failure. I give them specific guidelines, and what to do on slow days. If those expectations are not met, I document & discuss with the student. Failure results after repeated warnings OR serious safety concerns.

However, at clinicals, you should begin to act as the nurse would. Sitting, studying, or gossiping is not appropriate. If you are sitting, then all the following must be met in my clinicals:

No nurses, CNAs, or fellow students need help.

No patients/clients have unmet needs (physical, spiritual, or for education).

You know everything about the patho, treatment course, care plan, and meds.

You've performed and documented all daily care and assessments.

All supplies are stocked.

You get the idea. Homework is not your priority at clinical.

mursetudent25

43 Posts

As an instructor, I set my ground rules and expectations up front. Students know how they can succeed, and what could lead to failure. I give them specific guidelines, and what to do on slow days. If those expectations are not met, I document & discuss with the student. Failure results after repeated warnings OR serious safety concerns.

However, at clinicals, you should begin to act as the nurse would. Sitting, studying, or gossiping is not appropriate. If you are sitting, then all the following must be met in my clinicals:

No nurses, CNAs, or fellow students need help.

No patients/clients have unmet needs (physical, spiritual, or for education).

You know everything about the patho, treatment course, care plan, and meds.

You've performed and documented all daily care and assessments.

All supplies are stocked.

You get the idea. Homework is not your priority at clinical.

specific guidelines of what i need to do to pass would have been good. the teacher said i'm very good at meeting requirements but not do much above that..i'm not sure if thats a good/bad thing. i'm sure this will be brought up at the meeting.

Specializes in School Nursing.
specific guidelines of what i need to do to pass would have been good. the teacher said i'm very good at meeting requirements but not do much above that..i'm not sure if thats a good/bad thing. i'm sure this will be brought up at the meeting.

It sounds to me like she's saying that you don't go above and beyond. There are people in the world that will do the minimum required of them, and little more. There are other people that will do their job to the maximum potential they can at the same time helping others and figuring out ways to do more.

Do you want to be a person who does just what is required, or do you want to be the person who goes above and beyond the call of duty every day you report to work?

The good thing is that you seem very open to criticism and show a willingness to fix what needs fixing. Ask questions. When you're at work, always look like you have a purpose. Even when using the ladies room, walk with a purpose. Be on high alert, always.

A lot of this stuff comes with job experience.. you just need to hone your skills.

mursetudent25

43 Posts

It sounds to me like she's saying that you don't go above and beyond. There are people in the world that will do the minimum required of them, and little more. There are other people that will do their job to the maximum potential they can at the same time helping others and figuring out ways to do more.

Do you want to be a person who does just what is required, or do you want to be the person who goes above and beyond the call of duty every day you report to work?

The good thing is that you seem very open to criticism and show a willingness to fix what needs fixing. Ask questions. When you're at work, always look like you have a purpose. Even when using the ladies room, walk with a purpose. Be on high alert, always.

A lot of this stuff comes with job experience.. you just need to hone your skills.

yeah, thats exactly what i want to do..but i dont know if i've passed this clinical or not..very frustrating..and i'm looking forward to the clinical next semester..ugh

ashesxo

2 Posts

Okay, so I read this as well as all the comments made my other members. Honestly (being a student myself) feel that the instructor(s) should have brought this forward before waiting for the last straw per say. I mean, every school/teacher has different clinical expectations. I have had 3 clinicals thus far and every instructor was different. I mean, I never studied on the floor but I have seen other students do it and some instructors were fine with it, meaning, if they had taken care of all their duties for the day, they really could spend time studying while other instructors would not be too thrilled. As a student, its hard to know what is allowed, especially when some instructors don't exactly put it out there for you - which they should. I mean, we are paying THEM - and it's their job to tell us - beforehand what is permitted and what is not because if they don't, how will we know? So many students are coming straight out of high school and even I, have studied in one class for another class. I hate cellphone use in the classroom but again, so many students do it and its usually because they don't know the rules because the instructor did not tell them. Heck, I have seen profs use their cellphone in class.

Bottom-line here is that NOW you know the expectations and now you know what is allowed and what is not. They really should not fail you for this if they truly hadn't told you previously what is allowed and what is not. You are not a registered nurse, yet and you do not receive any compensation for clinical besides the experience. The instructors on the other hand, are being paid and they have no right to fail you for something you truly thought was ok because they failed to tell you the rules prior. Clinical is supposed to be a learning experience (to an extent - you should never put a pt. at risk for harm) but what you did was not harming anyone and seemed pretty innocent to me. I wish you luck and I hope they didn't fail you, because the instructor failed by not being informative and they *technically* are working for you ... Good luck :)

mursetudent25

43 Posts

update: I did fail this clinical. Appealing it on Monday. 2 weeks until exams. :speechless:

Kimynurse

376 Posts

I'm sorry, good luck

Sounds like you have learned a valuable lesson

When you know better you do better.

― Maya Angelou

Sadala, ADN, RN

356 Posts

Specializes in Med Surg.

I am a bit confused about the assignment of watching five yr old autistic children. Sounds very much like an education or social work type assignment but not so much nursing, unless they just want you to be able to do assessments on kids with developmental issues?

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