can a school do this?

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Hi there. I have a friend in my adn class that had cancer as a child. She still goes for a yrly physical and this time some tests came back questionable. A couple of wks ago, her doc told her that her cancer has likely come back.

We were in clinics this week and one morning she was told that her patient had been transferred because he has TB. She was scared because she was around him the day before with no protective gear. She asked the clinic instructor what needed to be done. THe instructor contacted the school and now she (my friend) has to pay for the TB CXR and whatever other things that need to be done. Niether the hospital or school helps with those expenses. This girl has no insurance, not unlike many other college students.

Now they are also thinking she needs to be removed from nursing altogether. Can they do this???

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why would she need to be removed from nursing?

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Specializes in Neuro ICU.

We have a young girl in our class with the same sort of scenario R/T Cancer but nothing has been said about her not finishing school. There are so many areas of nursing that she can not be exposed to anything. I do not believe they (meaning school faculty) can make the decision to not finish for her. She has a chance of catching something everyday just walking the halls at school, grocery store, family members etc.

She needs to take the measures to protect herself and also not let herself be bullied.

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If the school is worried about her immune system, I can see them questioning the wisdom of allowing her to continue, because of the very scare that this caused. They're looking at liability....if the student contracts something because she's being treated for cancer and is immunosuppressed, then what?

However, there should be some arrangement for cover students exposed to something like TB so that she can be tested. But why would she need a CXR? All she should need is a PPD.

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My thoughts are they don't want to be held liable for anything. Maybe that's the case?? I cannot see how they can possibly force her into quitting. I told her she needed to find out the legalities of this situation before they try to bully her around so that she knows the facts and they don't walk all over her.

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is there a student advocate?

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.

If you are asking if the school can make her pay for her own health, the answer is "Yes." If you are asking if the school can remove her from nursing, I don't think that will happen.

There are several nursing students in my class who have been exposed to TB and have popped positive on the TB test. In addition I have worked with Registered Nurses who come in contact with TB patients everyday because it is his/her job to treat them. And no, they do not wear protective gear since they work in an environment that is not conducive to the spread of TB. I think your staff is being cautious by asking her to receive treatment and being ridiculous if they wish to remove her from nursing.

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I'm asking more about the trying to kick her out of the program. She could care less about the cost of testing. She cares about being able to finish out her dream of being a nurse with only 1 semester left. Now she feels as though she should have said nothing because she wouldn't be dealing with this now. She thinks she should have said something only to her own doc.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Geri, Ortho, Telemetry, Psych.

Isn't there a available for nursing students? Not that she would be any more able to afford it than I could have, but just wondering.

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it's hard to make a judgement w/o a whole story. what exactly/ and who told her that she is in jeopardy.

i'm clueless to the situation, but i would ASSUME that i would have a straight answer from my dean as to on what grounds am i being removed and when. because this would give me hard facts to take up with a legal consultant. if it's a state school, it could be questioned with the board of Ed.

but i can't imagine why they would eject a student just for having cancer, i have a few students with illnesses, and their status has never been jeopardy.

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I think that she is probably covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

She should make an appointment with the Disabilities coordinator of the school. An accomodation plan should be designed and implemented.

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Isn't there a malpractice insurance available for nursing students? Not that she would be any more able to afford it than I could have, but just wondering.

How would help her?

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