Do you think I could get kicked out?

[w.ross1990]

So I went to clinical prep yesterday and my husband accompanied me up to the unit. As I did my prep he sat by me playing on his iPhone. Anyway someone(s) told my instructor that he was there and that I was supposedly showing him stuff on the chart ( which I was not, I repeat I WAS NOT!!!!) I did not know that I was not allowed to have someone with me. So I now have to go in front of the professional conduct board and I am terrified they will kick me out of the program. I have been an AB nursing student And have never done anything unprofessional!! I am freaking out...and crying a lot because I didnt know I was Breaking the rules. Any advice or anything would help!!

[Sparrowhawk]

I'm not bashing...I repeat I'm not bashing..I just wanna ask as I read this thread, isn't he a big boy and can take care of himself?

Anyway, good luck...but I wouldn't make the excuses ya did here..just saying. I mean granted it was logical to swing by on the way home bringing him from work, but why did he have to be right by you on the same floor?? Anyway. I'm done.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I'm sure you were acting in all innocence and weren't showing your spouse anything he shouldn't have seen. However, it's understandable that OTHERS looking him next to you fiddling with an iPhone while you pore over confidential information could get the wrong impression.

It's not what you think about the situation that matters to the school, but what the school and hospital think. And let's face it: more often than not, they think the worst of nursing students. Excuses will not help your case...all you can do is be honest with the board about why he was there, and hope for the best.

Not going to say it was right or wrong to take him with you, but the important lesson to take away from this is: as a student, avoid doing anything that even remotely may cause someone to question your actions. Even if you're doing nothing wrong, take a minute to think about how it could appear to others. Don't assume that they will think you're innocent...because as you have learned, they won't.

Best of luck dealing with this.

[crazytonurse]

Very poor judgement, I wish you the best!

We also go the day/night before and pick up prep work... no instructor either. We are required to dress appropriately and have our ID's visible.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

"it's not like i meant to do it" (paraphrasing here, not going back to the beginning to find it exactly)

you almost had my sympathy until i read this. it comes off as petulant, whiny, and immature...and so, since we do not ever want to say anything to a disciplinary board that would make us sound like that, we will put that out of our minds immediately.

i agree with most of the posters above, and i just want to stress one teeny little thing in summary:

no excuses. none. don't offer them one single excuse, because i am here to tell you right now, they don't think there is one, and since they hold all the cards, they are absolutely right about that.

if they ask you for an excuse, say, "i am so very sorry, i don't have one." really. because you don't, and your sole goal at the moment is to keep yourself from being severed from the program.

good luck. do let us know.

[Seas]

You are making excuses. If you go in the meeting with anything you state here, no wonder they will want to get rid of you. Not only because of this very case, but the things you may do in the future with this mindset.

[dettle]

i am curious how this will play out!

the bigger picture is- your program director should informthe clinical location of the possible breach. which in turn--- the board of directors and legal department shouldbe notified. there is a possible hippa breach- and they have to inform the appropriate authorities. this could cost the clinicallocation money . i believe the starting amount for any breach is $5,000. now ifthey are fined or not , you have placed your clinical coordinator and collegein a difficult spot. clinical locationstrust them to insure that all rules are followed. i don't think you'll hearquickly it may take a week. but the clinical location now is in a position ofnot being able to trust your current program. this may cost you, you may not bewelcomed back there, which in my current program means - i'm gone. if they can' trust you atclinical site - you can't in the program. (when you're in an unsecure locationwith people walking around you have to be really careful about privacy--it isyour responsibility to maintain patient confidentially at all time. )hardlesson to learn either way. god luck!! i hope it works out for you! i know you have work so hard to get to this point and if you lost your spot you may never see another one-- bad marks could effect you getting in somewhere else if you had to reapply. let us know how it plays out.

[jennys77]

Don't worry about all the critiquing going on here and focus on your meeting. When is it? Have you done any remediation with HIPAA review? Have you prepared your case, as in writing down what you will say when you admit fault etc? Good luck!

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

Go in admit what you did without excuse most important offer a remediation plan what to do to make certain it doesn't happen again, apologize, how to help others to not make the sme mistake you did and if they observe something improper how they should handle it (I.e. education)The site won't get fined if they mitigate the situation, prevent future potential breeches. Unfortunately this may include banning you and your school from the clinical site if their legal team are a bit More extreme. A good article to read: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/answer-hipaa-violation-693686.html

[hanasea]

Thank you, you are the only one to not chastise me. I realize I made a mistake. I brought him to the hospital because we have one car and I had to pick him up from work and then go to prep before going home I live almost 20 minutes away from my clinical area and we pass right by it on the way home.

I am so sorry. You have all my sympathy.

I want to tell you something.

When I was a nursing student, we went clinical site for nursing internship. One of my classmate made a mistake. She put her lunch sandwich in a refrigerator. It looks like pretty normal thing to do, isn’t it? But the problem is the refrigerator was for medicine. Our nursing school kicked out from that hospital for 3 years from this incident. She accepted her grade… (the unit manager gave her zero grade…) she had to take one more additional clinical course (In my school it was 2 more week- each day 8 hour shift) but she survived that mistake and became a nurse.

Of course, It is very different with your situation.

Everybody makes mistake, including me. And other nurses. Making a mistake is fine. But making excuse of the mistake considers very bad.

I know you are trying to explain your situation, want to get sympathy, warm response. I also think you need some sympathy. But your explaining could be misunderstood. Do NOT try to explain thing to them, just said sorry and you will never do it again.

I hope you do not kicked out from your program, and became a nurse someday J

Hana,

Seoul, Korea.

[GadgetRN71, ASN, RN]

You are making excuses. If you go in the meeting with anything you state here, no wonder they will want to get rid of you. Not only because of this very case, but the things you may do in the future with this mindset.

Agree 100%. They will want to see that the OP can take ownership of her mistakes and learn from them.

[mangopeach]

That was another question I had---just where WAS some kind of instructor for these students? (I use plural b/c OP says another student "turned her in") When I was in school ANYTHING you did in a clinical site was under direct supervision of one of our instructors. No WAY were we allowed to show up and "review" charts on our own!

I believe this is common practice for many programs, including mine. First and Second Semester we had to go pick up our patient and do research on their conditions, do the patho, write up drug cards, etc.

As long as you were not interacting with the patient, we did not need a CI to be there.

[OCNRN63, RN]

Oh I totally believe it. My old hospital, the only place they would look at you twice L&D/postpartum. I've been there since I quit working there and been in back hallways, front hallways, nobody looks at you twice.

That said, just because it's something one CAN do, doesn't mean that it's a good idea, and definitely doesn't mean that it's a good idea if you're a guest of the facility being allowed to do your clinicals there.

It really shouldn't have to be said. Don't take your spouse to work with you. Or school. Don't take your kid with you. Don't take your mommy with you. If one of those people MUST go with you, leave them in the lobby. Or the ED waiting room. Or cafeteria.

No way, don't leave him in the ED waiting room! They might mistake him for a patient. Next thing you know, when you go back to meet up with him, he'll be back in the trauma room getting chest tubes and God knows what else!