Clinical failure for something I couldn't help?

[teachable]

I am in my second semester of an associates nursing program. My grades in lecture/class are ok, but I'm generally good in clinical. This semester we had new (to us) lecture AND clinical instructors and everything became much more accelerated very quickly. We had class the same days and clinical the same day with the same instructor every week first semester. This semester, we started clinical the first week and the expectations on everything including paperwork were way different. The first clinical day, I was marked late though I wasn't and there was no arguing it because I tried. I couldn't get one of the doors open even with the code to put my belongings in but I had been on the floor already and had to ask a classmate for the code again in case I had it wrong. I didn't, and was able to get it once I turned the knob the right way first. The instructor said that I should have already known the code...but I had. Then, same day, I didn't have one of my clinical papers and told her that I hadn't been able to get it since I had a major problem with my computer and couldn't access it, but was working on it. That day, I got 2 unsats.

fast forward a few weeks, I was scheduled in the OR rotation for the first time. Before the surgery, I walked in on staff speaking in a derogatory manner regarding students. I hate when this happens, but normally my instructor has been around. I get really anxious at this point already. I had been anxious already about the O.R. I feared this is where I would get queasy. My instructor wasn't on site. I did get nervous and a little woozy and while the staff was talking to each other, some of the conversation not entirely professional and didn't expect to be addressed and I was in a corner of the large OR room, I attempted to refocus and was praying a little as I did NOT want to pass out or anything, when I realized they were speaking to me. I said oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were talking to me. I did tell one of the nurses closest to me that I had been praying a little because I had never been in the OR at all and didn't want to get sick or pass out. Later, the surgeon kept asking me to touch the part of the organ that was removed and was insistent. Again, I felt woozy and again, closed my eyes momentarily when (I thought) no one was looking because I did NOT want to handle this organ and I didn't even know if I was allowed to, I didn't know if it was going to pathology, etc. I pulled it back together and went over to the container where this was located and did poke at it a little, but was mostly uncomfortable.

I followed my patient to PACU, then to the floor like we were supposed to and came back down to the O.R. Again hearing staff badmouth students/school. Was sent back to PACU and helped them with a patient, getting a patient to the floor etc. Then my day was over.

Two days later I was called into the office and wasn't told by another clinical instructor that they had received an email from the O.R. Director that I was reported to have been "nodding off" or "sleeping" on a couple of instances. I explained that I had become a little woozy and did close my eyes on two occasions, BRIEFLY to recenter so I didn't pass out during surgery, that I was across the room, not near the patient or the staff working on this patient, etc, that I wasn't st all sleepy on this morning and was actually excited and a little nervous. i received a clinical unsastisfactory for safety and was told that we were told what to do if we didn't feel well (report it to our clinical instructor????) and that it was my 3rd clinical unsat and that it was a clinical failure.

I am in disbelief and I feel terrible. Maybe I did it all wrong, but I feel like such a loser and what they wrote makes it sound like I was under the influence or something. I get an F in the class which may not even allow me to return when they said I can which is next spring, putting me out a lot of $ in tuition and putting me back an entire year. What do I do now?

[NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

The only thing you can do is wait until next spring. You could try another school but I don't think it would help with an F on your transcript. You could also request a meeting with the Dean, but I think that would be futile as well.

Being locked outside is no excuse because you should have arrived early enough to have overcome any obstacle before class began, and still be sitting in the classroom on time....even if it means arriving 30 minutes before class begins.

[klone, MSN, RN]

I agree with the previous poster. Also, getting an unsatisfactory on a paper that you did not turn in on time is also reasonable. Unless you had a death in the family or were in the hospital, instructors are not going to accept excuses for why a paper is not turned in on time. This is not high school - this is adult learning, and everyone needs to take personal responsibility for themselves and their obligations.

[Sour Lemon]

Get to your clinical site(s) early so that you have time for problem solving if need be. Arriving at the last minute leaves you no time for "bumps in the road". Back up important files on a jump drive so that you can access them on another computer if you have difficulty with your own.

Avoid clouding issues. What people were talking about in the OR is not the problem. The problem is that you were perceived to be sleeping (whether you were or not). Evading responsibility and making excuses tends to annoy most instructors. I've found it's better to acknowledge fault with no explanation beyond my intention to NEVER allow it to happen again.

I wish you luck and hope you're able to get back in the program. I wouldn't consider other possibilities unless you're sure it's not possible to continue in your current program.

[teachable]

I have no intention of making excuses, good or bad, right or wrong this is what happened. The first clinical day, they are things I could have helped, but I don't believe the third unsat was entirely fair considering they took only the word of others, particularly those in an environment that clearly wasn't student-friendly to begin with. When they called me in to ask me about the clinical day, they had already made up their minds about the unsat, so nothing I said mattered, and I don't feel like that was appropriate. I can't change it, do anything about it. They said I could redo the semester "if I still qualify" and the F might make that impossible.

[Jules A, MSN]

I have no intention of making excuses, good or bad, right or wrong this is what happened. The first clinical day, they are things I could have helped, but I don't believe the third unsat was entirely fair considering they took only the word of others, particularly those in an environment that clearly wasn't student-friendly to begin with. .

But the problem as I see it is you painted yourself in a corner by allowing the first two avoidable things happen. If you didn't have those strikes against you the third would have only been a warning. Unfortunately this is a very hard learned lesson but one that might save you some grief as you move into adulthood. Best wishes in getting back in and finishing up nursing school.

[Jolie, BSN]

Having precepted students in the OR, I can assure you that no one expected you to be involved in patient care, but they DID expect you to be aware of safety issues. When you felt ill and woozy, it was your immediate responsibility to alert someone and/or remove yourself from the room. Remaining in the room, closing your eyes and trying to compose yourself may have resulted in you falling, fainting, vomiting or who-knows-what else, compromising safety and infection control. The last thing the OR staff needs is to be forced to attend to an observing student who failed to take responsibility for him/herself.

Feeling ill may have been unavoidable. Remaining in the room was your choice, and it was one you should not have made. You were correctly criticized for that.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I was called into the office and wasn't told by another clinical instructor that they had received an email from the O.R. Director that I was reported to have been "nodding off" or "sleeping" on a couple of instances.

I will not repeat the other respondents' suggestions...

Nonetheless, you should have outright denied that you were nodding off or sleeping instead of attempting to explain that you were trying to "re-center" or "refocus." in general, school officials do not like hearing unique explanations.

This is a tough lesson. Some people can get away with bloody murder while others are punished for lesser infractions. Good luck to you.

[caliotter3]

This is a tough lesson. Some people can get away with bloody murder while others are punished for lesser infractions. Good luck to you.

A hard life lesson for many of us to learn.

[teachable]

Nonetheless, you should have outright denied that you were nodding off or sleeping instead of attempting to explain that you were trying to "re-center" or "refocus." in general, school officials do not like hearing unique explanations.

i was under the mistaken impression that honesty would be the best policy, which is why I told the only things I could think of that they could have been referring to. At least then there's an explanation even if their assumption about what is going on is inaccurate.

I'm one of the (much) older students and I know they've expected more of me in some ways and I realize that getting two unsats from the same clinical day on the first week put me in a terrible position. My regular clinical instructor even said that I am very good in clinicals and can perform any of the tasks proficiently, had never seen me exhibit behavior such as what they are alleging, etc.

i don't blame anyone but myself. I do think that the surgeon was a bit of a jerk insisting over and over that I handle and touch the organ just for the experience when it's clear I was trying to learn not to be woozy from the sight of surgery for the very first time ever. We hadn't even covered this material, so I didn't know what to expect.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

i was under the mistaken impression that honesty would be the best policy

There's a difference between honesty and radical honesty. Honesty is the best policy, whereas radical honesty is off-putting because it goes too far.

A firm denial that you were sleeping or nodding off is an example of honesty. An elaborate, creative explanation that delves into the deeper truth of the matter (e.g., "re-centering," "refocusing," "praying") is radical honesty. At times people talk so much that the unadulterated truth may sound too incredulous to be true.

Next time, keep the explanations short and sweet.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I am in my second semester of an associates nursing program. My grades in lecture/class are ok, but I'm generally good in clinical. This semester we had new (to us) lecture AND clinical instructors and everything became much more accelerated very quickly. We had class the same days and clinical the same day with the same instructor every week first semester. This semester, we started clinical the first week and the expectations on everything including paperwork were way different. The first clinical day, I was marked late though I wasn't and there was no arguing it because I tried. I couldn't get one of the doors open even with the code to put my belongings in but I had been on the floor already and had to ask a classmate for the code again in case I had it wrong. I didn't, and was able to get it once I turned the knob the right way first. The instructor said that I should have already known the code...but I had. Then, same day, I didn't have one of my clinical papers and told her that I hadn't been able to get it since I had a major problem with my computer and couldn't access it, but was working on it. That day, I got 2 unsats.

fast forward a few weeks, I was scheduled in the OR rotation for the first time. Before the surgery, I walked in on staff speaking in a derogatory manner regarding students. I hate when this happens, but normally my instructor has been around. I get really anxious at this point already. I had been anxious already about the O.R. I feared this is where I would get queasy. My instructor wasn't on site. I did get nervous and a little woozy and while the staff was talking to each other, some of the conversation not entirely professional and didn't expect to be addressed and I was in a corner of the large OR room, I attempted to refocus and was praying a little as I did NOT want to pass out or anything, when I realized they were speaking to me. I said oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were talking to me. I did tell one of the nurses closest to me that I had been praying a little because I had never been in the OR at all and didn't want to get sick or pass out. Later, the surgeon kept asking me to touch the part of the organ that was removed and was insistent. Again, I felt woozy and again, closed my eyes momentarily when (I thought) no one was looking because I did NOT want to handle this organ and I didn't even know if I was allowed to, I didn't know if it was going to pathology, etc. I pulled it back together and went over to the container where this was located and did poke at it a little, but was mostly uncomfortable.

I followed my patient to PACU, then to the floor like we were supposed to and came back down to the O.R. Again hearing staff badmouth students/school. Was sent back to PACU and helped them with a patient, getting a patient to the floor etc. Then my day was over.

Two days later I was called into the office and wasn't told by another clinical instructor that they had received an email from the O.R. Director that I was reported to have been "nodding off" or "sleeping" on a couple of instances. I explained that I had become a little woozy and did close my eyes on two occasions, BRIEFLY to recenter so I didn't pass out during surgery, that I was across the room, not near the patient or the staff working on this patient, etc, that I wasn't st all sleepy on this morning and was actually excited and a little nervous. i received a clinical unsastisfactory for safety and was told that we were told what to do if we didn't feel well (report it to our clinical instructor????) and that it was my 3rd clinical unsat and that it was a clinical failure.

I am in disbelief and I feel terrible. Maybe I did it all wrong, but I feel like such a loser and what they wrote makes it sound like I was under the influence or something. I get an F in the class which may not even allow me to return when they said I can which is next spring, putting me out a lot of $ in tuition and putting me back an entire year. What do I do now?

Your header says you failed clinical for something you couldn't help. I'm sorry, but I don't see anything in your long post about an issue that was truly unavoidable. You should have been at the clinical site early enough to have put your things away -- 30 minutes early, and you would have had time to deal with the issue of the code for the break room. Failing that, you probably should have presented to your instructor with your things in tow so that she knew you were there on time.

"Computer issues" is really no excuse for not turning in your paper on time. Again, I would have been up all night trying to resolve the issue with my computer or printing out my paper from another computer. I would have stored such an important assignment on iCloud or Dropbox or on a thumb drive that I could then take to another computer for printing.

Those two unsatisfactorily on the same day set you up -- the third issue was just the final straw. You write a lot about how the OR had "a bad attitude toward students" and how the chitchat between OR personnel was "not entirely professional." Guess what -- those people have been working together for a long time and probably know each other well. Two people who work together and know each other may have conversations that are "not entirely professional". Perhaps your judginess was coming across to the OR staff. And then rather than telling anyone that you felt queasy and needed to take a moment, you just closed your eyes and ignored everyone. No wonder they reported you.

I'm very sorry that this happened to you, but I don't see that any of it was someone's fault other than your own. What you do next is hope you can repeat the class next spring and do better.