Could I fail clinicals for this?

[man23SN]

Hi everyone, I'm in the 2nd semester of my Junior year and I'm doing my OB rotation. Class is going decent and I'm doing just fine on the tests and all which is good. I also just completed my 5th clinical, which I thought that I was doing well during. Anyways, my clinical instructor just recently gave me back my care map that was from my 3rd clinical which was antepartum.

The lady had a TON of meds, pregnancy induced hypertension which i had to keep monitoring, etc. I got all her treatments done and charting was also done on time. However I ended up staying late so that I could get all of her information for my care map. The instructor stayed with me and I thought she was just being nice and wanting to help at the time.

Anyways, I checked my care map that she gave me back today and I had a good score on it, however she wrote something that really upset me. She left me a comment that said, "Kinda slow/laid back, not necessarily a bad thing unless you can't get everything completed during clinical". I am a laid back and relaxed guy, and it seems like I get flack for that from my instructors just because I'm not all excited and bouncing off the walls all the time.

I just had my 5th clinical today and it was my first out of 2 post-partum days and i had to stay afterward to get the mother's information for my care map - but if i had known she wrote that in my other care map i would have hurried my butt off to get out of there.

What do you think? Could she fail me just for staying late after clinicals to get the information that I need, for not using my time wisely or what? It just really made me mad because it seemed like she was saying that I'm slow or stupid or something in her comments. Does that comment sound blunt to you guys too, or am i blowing this way out of proportion??

[pinkiepie_RN]

Well hon, it sounds like your instructor gave you some constructive criticism. It hardly sounds like risk for failure to me, more like room to improve. It does sound kind of blunt but I think the best way to confront this issue is to talk to your instructor. Sometimes things don't always come out on paper as easy as they do in person. I know I just mid-term evaluations from my Med-Surg clinical instructor and was disappointed to see scores of 2/4 on some skills and practices where I thought I deserved 3/4 but it's all objective. Clinicals are one big learning experience and as long as you're not putting a patient in danger, I think it's okay to be a little slower sometimes as long as you're being thorough. Like I said, definitely talk to your instructor if she wrote something that upset you.

Good luck!

[StudentNurseAbby]

I doubt that would be a reason to fail you at this point. However, if she's letting you know that it bothers her, try to fix it asap. I had the same issue because I tend to be quiet. I'm not shy, I'm confident but she wrote that I wasn't assertive on my eval. This ****** me off but I fixed it and went out of my way to prove that I was assertive. Sometimes you don't agree with evaluations but don't fight it, just fix it and get through.:)

[RN1121]

Time management comes with practice.

I thought clinicals are for learning time management and organizational skills.

Where/how else are you supposed to gain experience?

Don't let constructive criticism let you down.

Maybe you could take a proactive approach and ask your instructor for suggestions on how you can manage your time better.

Showing initiative is likely to go a long way with your instructor.

:grn:

[shann106]

I do not think it would be a reason to fail you, however our handbooks specifically say that we cannot stay late to work on our careplans. If yours says something similar they may talk to you about it. I would look over your handbook about rules at clinical sites and see if there is anything specific about staying late. Good luck

[RN BSN 2009]

In our program, you have to do something unsafe in order to be failed. You were just being thorough! Speed will come with time. Good luck!

[elkpark]

Well, your instructor stayed with you when you stayed late because she has to; as a student, you can't be left unsupervised in the clinical site, at least not anywhere I've ever taught or practiced ... So, if a student is running behind, the instructor is obligated to remain, also.

Of course, I don't really know what either you or your instructor mean, exactly, by "slow" or "laid back" or "relaxed," but I can tell you that instructors do like to see students appear to be making an effort and showing a little "hustle" in clinical; looking like they're actually engaged and interested in what they're doing. That doesn't mean you need to be "bouncing off the walls," but you don't want to appear too relaxed and blasé about being there, either. You're supposed to be learning, after all -- if you knew it all, you wouldn't need to be there ... (I'm speaking about students in general, of course -- not you in particular).

It's hard to imagine you could get failed for what you describe here -- unless it became a pattern that didn't improve (even then, hard to justify failing you as opposed to just giving you a poor grade that was still passing). However, I agree with the others who suggest approaching your instructor for suggestions about how you can improve her "areas of concern." It always helps to look like you're making an effort to improve!

Best wishes :)

[WDWpixieRN, RN]

I'd hate to think she could "fail" you over this. This semester we were bumped up to 3 or 4 med/surg patients for clinicals. We hit the ground running as soon as she gave us our RN assignments and didn't stop until post-clinicals. There was NO downtime for collecting careplan info...luckily we didn't get "dinked" if we stayed after to collect patient info....and our CI never felt compelled to stick around with us, lol!!!

I think it's a little unfair to expect that this paperwork be done in addition to the nursing/learning time when we're caring for a patient. Depending on the patient load and the instructor's expectation, sometimes there really is no time for collecting this huge amount of date!!

Hang in there!!!

[llg, PhD, RN]

I agree with the others. It doesn't sound like you are on the verge of failing ... but it does sound like your instructor is trying to tell you to speed it up a bit. You'd be smart to pay attention. You might tell her that you hadn't realized that staying a little late to get the info you needed was a problem -- but now that you realize that, you will try to improve in that area. Ask her if she has any suggestions to help you do that.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Hi, man22nurse, and welcome to allnurses! :welcome:

Your instructor is nuts. That was only her opinion and a crummy one, if you ask me. Guess she forgot what it's like to be a student and spend a lot of time putting a really thorough care plan together. I tell students in a lot of posts to be really thorough about collecting assessment information from the medical record. You know what I would do? Take the patient charts to a break room or some other corner where she isn't likely to see you. An empty patient room, or a patient's room is another good place where she's not likely to find you. Or, ask the unit secretary if there is somewhere you can take the chart and read it in quiet privacy (always let the US know where the chart is). And if the instructor gave me grief again, I'd look at her, smile sweetly and tell her that you were doing this because you intended to get an "A" on your care map and you can't do it without extensive and thorough information from the medical record which you don't mind taking the time to get because it is a valuable learning experience that you don't want to miss. Tell her that you won't have this kind of time to peruse the charts when you start working, so you thought this was a good time to do it.

[amybethf]

You must be written up (3 times at my school) to fail, as there has to documentation showing reason for failure. It sounds as if she is giving constructive criticism. But I would talk with her to appease your psyche.

You are being thorough which in my opinion is a good thing but if you are being critiqued on time mgmt skills, this is definitely something you want to follow up on. But she would have had to write something up on your performance with your acknowledgment and signature. And if you have not improved, there has to also be more documentation. A school cannot just out of the blue fail you without your knowledge!

[mrs.captain.kangaroo]

I don't see how you could fail clinicals for that! I think it would be crazy to fail someone for that and I just can't imagine that a good student would be failed for that.

I would talk to the instructor to clarify what she meant and to ease your mind. That would show her you are reading what she says and respect her opinion. You'll never know exactly what she meant unless you ask her and in the meantime you are worrying.