Ceased placement due to not taking vital signs properly

[Kirsten Kurian]

Hi Everyone 👋 

I'm Kirsten, a second year nursing student, and I was recently on my 1st semester placement in cardiology. Well like the topic says I was taking the vitals of all my patients with the vital signs monitor for the 1st week of my placement and recorded the correct and accurate vitals. During my second week of placement my educator told me the she wants to do a set of vitals with me and told me to take the vitals manually, I was confused and panicked as she was looking over me and I took the wrong vitals and did tell her that I don't think I took it correctly, she came and checked the patients pulse and blood pressure and and patient had a very high heart rate and there was a met call. My educator told me to leave the premise as what I did was unsafe practice and she doesn't trust that I took the correct vitals during the my first week of placement. I told her I don't have much practise taking manual obs and asked her to give me a chance and that I can prove to her that I can take my vitals correctly but she said no and that my university will contact me. My university stated the same reason and my placements where ceased. Do you guys think this was the right decision? Like would it hurt to give me another chance?

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

What school are you going to?  From what you said, the placement site completely over-reacted.  You are a student!  Of course you are not going to know everything.  Your school should have assigned someone from the school to be the liason between you and the placement site; also that faculty member should be ensuring that you are getting what you need from the placement.  Contact that person.  You should also have an advisor; contact that person.  If that doesn't work, then go up the chain to the Dean, if necessary.  If the school won't help you, demand another clinical placement site.  Let us know what happens. 

It is important to know how to do VS manually, but if that is something you are struggling with, then the proper course of action is to give you more practice with that.

Good luck!

[ponderingDNP]

It was much easier to blame the trainee instead of the trainer. This facility sounds like a punitive one. Non-punitive organizations do not allow such behavior. Someone failed to evaluate your training to ensure skills competency prior to delegating unsupervised tasks.

If there's any justice, the cardiologist would point that out to Miss Make-No-Mistakes-Or-Else. Your school made the same failure prior to sending a sheep to walk amongst wolves. It reminds me of the local school systems here in that they no longer teach writing in primary education curriculum, yet expect students to be able to later sign their names. Where do these people come from? Common sense is no longer common at all. 🤔

[Anne RN BSPA]

This sounds unfair. Based on my past experience as a nursing instructor, I do not believe this was handled properly. I recommend you retain an attorney to help you with this, the sooner the better. 

[Tomascz, ASN, RN]

Subjective assessments like the one you apparently failed can be used unfairly to eliminate students from nursing programs who the instructors or others "feel" are not up to some unwritten standard in their performance or aptitude for the job. 
A core part of instruction is making sure your student has had a reasonable opportunity to learn the skill being taught. You, OP, are after all, being charged a fee for this service and, should your instructor, or their contractor, not exercise due diligence in making sure you have had a reasonable opportunity to learn the skill, can be found liable for fraud.
If you decide to contact a lawyer (and you probably should) try to find an RN who has gone into the legal business. There are a few and there need to be more, IMO.
Good luck.

[londonflo]

Tomascz said:

A core part of instruction is making sure your student has had a reasonable opportunity to learn the skill being taught.

Was it required that you be a CNA prior to enrolling? Were the manual assessment skills taught in a previous skills lab? Were you required to do a return demonstration?

Did you sign out a BP cuff to practice outside of lab if you were hesitant with competency on the skill (s)? I would propose a plan citing everything you want to do now to become proficient with manual VS under all conditions. It might be in your best interests to write out a remediation plan for continuing in this cardiac rotation and all further rotations. 

Tomascz said:

You, OP, are after all, being charged a fee for this service and, should your instructor, or their contractor, not exercise due diligence in making sure you have had a reasonable opportunity to learn the skill, can be found liable for fraud.

I have never heard of a fraud liability. If indeed, manual vital signs were never taught or the CNA skills were not required before matriculating,  the student can note that in an appeal to the school. (the appeals process should be in the student handbook)

Please do not feel that I am pushing the blame on you. I sincerely hope that you can resume your studies. 

[ComeTogether, LPN]

Would it hurt?  
 

maybe not you but it could hurt someone!