Nrsging School-What was your worst error?

susanna · Jul 9, 2004

This sounds awful. How can they kick you out and deprive you of all your past efforts if you have a promising heart? They don't kick out medical residents so easily for making errors, do they? Aren't you supposed to make errors when you're a student?

I'm sorry but this thread depresses me. It makes nursing instructors sound horrible and self-serving. Why does it seem more and more that medical school professors do everything they can to make you pass and nursing intructors do everything they can to get you to fail?

wannabemw · Jul 10, 2004

im waiting to see what is going to happen, as the president of the college returns from vacation monday. they are not going to get away with it...guaranteed.

AWESOME!!!

FIGHT THIS!!!!

You sound like you are well w/in your rights!

RXconnecticut · Jul 10, 2004

i just managed to catch the staff in the same kind of malarkey. they altered my final evaluation. knowing the enemy, and predicting a forgery, i kept sending emails asking where was the one i signed (they appended my signature page to a new evaluation). but i was also asking for another document about 8 times. when i was on clinical the instructor was making up errors. when she did it, i wrote it down. and wouldnt you know it, they destroyed that document as well. so after asking for it, i finally told them "we" were never going to see it. because i believed it to be destroyed. gottem'.
sorry to hear you had the same kind of snakes. im waiting to see what is going to happen, as the president of the college returns from vacation monday. they are not going to get away with it...guaranteed.

to the both of you w/ all ths b.s. going on...i just can't believe that there are so many &^(%^#$^$$ people in this world. but, believe me that if this is all true & both of you were just acting out of "innocense",no "out-of-scope-of-practice for a student...then shame on them & this happened to you for good reason...your day to shine will come & god will someday let them realize what they did was "aweful"...keep fighting for youself & the more of a "scene" & "stink" you make than,the more quickly you shall win. most universities & c.c. don't like "poor" publicity,especially this time of year when they are recruiting....if i was in your situation..i would write a very "nice" letter to the dean or instructor in charge..letting them know you mean business & that you were wrongfully dismissed from the program & that you don't intend to back down. straight out tell them you are offering one more chance for reconcideration and to resume your past position ...if they choose to be "unfair" than you will have to address to the public you feelings on the school & that they obviously have a very poorly run nursing program. call your local news paper & your tv news chanel....they just might change their minds. just curious,are they trying to get rid of you so they can "cover-up"something? :nono:

if thats the case & you know what it is than you might want to suggest to them that you possibly aren't the only one that viewed this....if thats the case...i hate to use the words threaten ,bribe ,blackmale..etc. but this is your life and future on the line & letting them know you will not be played with is a very brave start. good luck

p.s. i really done have a "natural' evil streak...but i do believe that you don't lie,cheat or steal ...if you do the law punishes you so they are no different!!!! hotcoffee1 let me know how you do on monday(pm me if you like). i will be praying for both of you though!!!!

merricat · Sep 7, 2004

the question was, what was your worst error? i know someone who was a nursing student. she wanted to get along and be liked and she was intimidated by the RNs she was training with. an RN was running all over and trying to get things done and she handed the student a syringe of insulin. "Give this to the guy in 3B!" The student went to give it to the guy in 3B because she had been ordered to. The RN came back and said, "Did I say 3B? I meant 3A!" luckily they told the truth--both of them--and nobody got in real trouble and the guy who got the insulin just had to drink milkshakes all night. another error: a CNA was in the habit of faking vitals, especially BPs. the supervisor asked him to do a BP on someone. the CNA came back with the BP. the supervisor said, "this does not look right. can you check it again?" the guy went back in the room and came back with a different BP. this happened one more time before the supervisor told him that the pt, although still on a vent, was dead.

jannecdote · Sep 8, 2004

This is a tricky question. Unless you realize you made the error or somebody points your error out to you..one could make mistakes over and over and never even know it! My classmates and I made a lot of errors in school, but that is why we were in school, to learn how not to make those errors once we were out practicing in our field. It is human nature to err. Anyone that says they don't make mistakes need to have a reality check. My Nursing school instructor use to say to our class that a nurse who states that they never make mistakes, is one of the most dangerous nurses out there. :)

I totally agree. A nurse that feels he/she is above error is a very dangerous nurse indeed.

Snoopd · Sep 8, 2004

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I agree, there are some mean sociopathic nursing instructors out there who don't care how long you've been in the program or how much money you have spent on tuition and books. They also seem to have a great deal of power (as you've unfortunately found out) and don't seem to be accountable to anyone. If you feel you have been mistreated, you should consult with an attorney and seek money damages. Nursing classes are practically untransferable, so you may have to repeat your first year and repay tuition. Also "they" are delaying your entry into the work world of nursing by probably at least a year (if you can even enter another program, most have 2-3 year waiting lists. That's $50,000 -$60,000 of potential future income lost in one year. Add that to your tuition (I don't know your tuition - maybe $5000 to $12,000 depending on school, and you are out a lot of money because of their "decision". Sue them and make them accountable if you truly feel you were wronged.

i just got kicked out of school. i was days away from finishing first year. the instructor/director appeared threatened by me (not to mention that i believe that many people in nursing-teaching have an inherent need to inflict pain). That's two masters and fortune 50 management talking. Also a vietnam era vet.
at any rate, what error did you make AND was your preceptor supportive? Is it important to have support as a student? or were you, like i, left to fend for yourself?

cabbage patch rn · Sep 8, 2004

I don't remember making any serious errors while in nursing school. I did make a med error right after graduation, while working in oncology, I gave morphine instead of dilaudid IV push to one of my patients. I felt horrible, called the doc and told him what I did and he was so nice to me. The patient's outcome was okay, thank the Lord he wasn't allergic! I remember in school always feeling very tense and stressed, especially in clinicals and I did a lot of airhead things, like leaving the siderail down or the bed up (you know the obivous things you should know better than to do). Of course I would always feel like an idiot when that was the first thing my instructor would see upon entering my patient's room. In my last semester of school, I accidentally found our clinical instructor's "naughty list" in the med room at the hospital. I didn't know such a thing existed. I was so shocked and dissapointed. It went something like this "Angela-lazy, Lisa-sloppy, Betty, know-it-all" You get the picture. Of course I was relieved when I didn't find my name on the list, but thought it was very unfair to the ones that were, and then wondered how many times one of them had something bad about me behind my back. I put it in my pocket and for weeks I wanted to take it to someone over her head, but I never did. I wanted to graduate and didn't want to cause a huge confrontation and like someone has already mentioned, it would have been her word against mine. Nursing school bs at it's finest. :uhoh3:

To the OP, any word from the President about your re-entry into the program? I'm crossing my fingers for you!