Are there any acceptable absences?

[parrothead36]

hello everyone,

i was just curious to know if while in the actual nursing program ( not taking prerequisites ), if there were acceptable excused absences? i have been in school taking my prerequisite classes since january 2008. i have not missed one day of class, this is simply because i believe if you miss class then you may miss some vital information. anyway, the problem that i face is my family has planned a very important cruise and i would need to miss two days of school. our cruise was carefully planned in 2009. because i am in school we initially planned the trip during our quarter break. well for my school, we are switching over to the semester system and that is going to really impact my decision to go on this trip with my family. oh not to mention that i am still waiting to see if i get accepted into the program. unfortunately we will not find out this vital information until the end of july, maybe. just wanted to know if all classtime and clinicals were mandatory?

thanks for any input on the situatioin.

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

My school itself does not say that you can have any days off without consequences. I suspect if there were "allowed" absences they would be used -- if you know what I mean.

No one in my program misses clinicals unless there are broken bones or hospitalization or both. Basically unless your a$& falls off you get to clinicals. They have sent people home who were too sick to be there. But by God they showed up :)

Ain't no school like nursing school.

[Izzy11, NP]

Our program has tried to accomodate people who had scheduling issues for similar things. But if you do end up with a clinical on a day you had something else scheduled, you're SOL - you go to clinical. For classes, we have some flexibility depending on the situation. My wife had surgery last semester so I had to miss a day (with a test) and the teacher let me take it the day before.

As others have said, wait to see if you get in and then address it at the beginning. They might be able to accomodate you or they might not.

[chickapea]

Maybe a little OT but if you are sick (flu, hacking cough etc.) Do they want you to show up for clinical's? I would have no problem doing so, but wonder about the risk of getting other patients sick.

It's nursing school, your expected to be super-human! My program says no, they don't want you in clinicals sick and you are allowed to miss one clinical day per semester. Don't come sick and don't miss! Haha luckily I have never missed a class nor been sick!! Knock on wood, thank goodness!

[noyesno, MSN, APRN, NP]

In my program:

Semesters 1 and 2 we can miss 1 clinical (we have clinical once a week these semesters).

Semesters 3 and 4 we can miss 2 clinicals (we have clinical twice a week these semesters).

Beyond those absences, we loose points.

Instructors usually were okay with you missing clinical for a variety of reasons (child sick, court date, wedding, sickness).

I didn't miss clinical at all during semester 1 or 2. This last semester (semester 3), I really wanted to miss a clinical and do something fun to preserve my mental health. So, I called in with a headache and played tennis for the afternoon.

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

In my program:

Semesters 1 and 2 we can miss 1 clinical (we have clinical once a week these semesters).

Semesters 3 and 4 we can miss 2 clinicals (we have clinical twice a week these semesters).

Beyond those absences, we loose points.

Instructors usually were okay with you missing clinical for a variety of reasons (child sick, court date, wedding, sickness).

I didn't miss clinical at all during semester 1 or 2. This last semester (semester 3), I really wanted to miss a clinical and do something fun to preserve my mental health. So, I called in with a headache and played tennis for the afternoon.

I think that is why my program doesn't state that you can miss any days.

OMG we have clinical 2-3 times every week every semester. I am a bit jealous but then again I like clinicals a lot.

[TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN]

I only called in once, from a hospital bed. They considered that "acceptable".

[HeartsOpenWide, RN]

I would find out from your school as soon as you can. You have some good excuses. 1) you planned your trip far in advance 2) your trip was planned before they decided to change to a quarter system. You might be able to work out making up clinical hours with your instructor. Had you tried to make these plans after school started I would have to say it is not a acceptable reason to skip; but in this situation, how were you to know the school was going to change it entire semester/quarter system?

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

I only called in once, from a hospital bed. They considered that "acceptable".

I would think so....

[caliotter3]

My father died. My mother's collapse and general inability to deal with anything necessitated me making the trip and getting involved with everything. While I was gone, school went on without me. I returned and all my instructors, except one, allowed me to make all work and exams up. The instructor who was going to give me an F on the midterm was the head of the nursing school. He angrily threw me out of his office. The door was open while he talked to me and you should have seen the looks on the faces of the office personnel as I left. Two weeks later he relented, otherwise I would have been out of the program. If death of one's father isn't a good enough reason to miss school, I really don't know what is. I would choose going to school. Avoid putting yourself in a compromised position.

[Sheepak]

Yes, unless it has to do with death and emergency.

[chuckz, BSN, RN]

Instead of assuming, just ask your teachers. Most nursing schools have specific teachers that teach a particular class. Call them, email them, find out what they think. Once you have gathered all your information, then make your decision.

[sneakymom2011]

Not excused at my school.

You can miss class- if you call in and say you aren't going to be there. But be careful. Because more absences than 3 without a REALLY good reason can mean you get 3 points taken off your final grade. Which can be the difference between failing and moving onto the next course. If you're late 5 times, that counts as an absence so you need to watch those too.

For clinical- you are allowed to miss no more than 10% of the hours. For this semester I think it's 180 hrs so you can miss 18. BUT- clinical days are 6 hours each so it's like 3 that you can miss for the semester. So far I've only missed 2 clinical days. One because I burnt my hand bad enough that it caused a blister that hadn't popped, and there was no way I was caring for pts with that (though looking back I could have- maybe I just wanted a "mental health" day b/c it was an oncology floor and I was DONE with oncology)

The 2nd one I missed b/c I was sick. And we were working on a peds floor. With sick babies.

Didn't miss any this semster so far. There have been days that I need a "mental health" day, but since they don't want us coming into clinical sick, I'd rather use those days when it's absolutly necessary.

Cheryl