Drunk and high students at clinical

Editorial Team / Admin · Dec 5, 2014

Do you have proof that these students were drunk or high? It would be most unwise for you to report people for something without any proof whatsoever. I also find it hard to believe that no one else, not the instructor, not the nurses who were most likely checking up on the nursing students caring for their patients, or anyone else picked up on these students being drunk or high.

This is a thread about someone who believed a nurse came into work drunk. You may find it of assistance.

https://allnurses.com/nurse-colleague-patient/nurse-coming-work-805362.html

Adding in your last line about grades plus your other posts regarding your grades, perhaps the time has come for you to concentrate on yourself and less on other people.

PerkyNurse55 · Dec 5, 2014

I don't have proof other than the fact that they told me they were and one girl couldn't even operate at clinical because she kept puking. I wasn't going to give their names, just give the chair a heads-up that this is going on and something needs to happen if its not already happening.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2014

If you go to the director, dean, etc. and tell him/her "there are students in my clinical group that were high or drunk," you narrow it down to only a few people; so it's not really going to matter if you name names or not. Since the event has passed, it might be difficult to prove these students guilty; so I'd say that if you are 100% certain they were impaired, go to the director and tell him or her about it face to face.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2014

None of the nurses on the floor noticed anything? Even with an oblivious clinic instructor, I'd expect SOMEONE to notice something. When I worked in the hospital there were definitely times when we told the clinical instructor that Student #3 had to be sent home because we noticed something that she didn't. Do you have overnight clinicals or something? Someone who shows up drunk to a 7AM clinical has an obvious problem...

genovese · Dec 5, 2014

. . . .I'm just upset because these girls are going to get passed along with better grades then me, when they are coming to clinical intoxicated. . . .

I'm curious as to why you only mentioned this at the end, but sometimes that's where people get down to the point. Is this your motivation? If so, and if you have no harder evidence, my Rx is to study harder, and you will eventually get the grades which you seem to believe you deserve. I have never witnessed a clinical environment where a student, let alone a bunch of them, would have a prayer of "flying high" with impunity right under the nose of an instructor, let alone the critical gazes of a nursing staff. That "assessment" would take a matter of seconds.

genovese · Dec 5, 2014

. . . .I wasn't going to give their names, just give the chair a heads-up. . . .

Unfortunately for you, that won't be at your discretion, unless you plan to tie a note to a rock. Read your student handbook or facility policies manual; you will likely discover that failure to disclose hard knowledge of malfeasance makes you as culpable as an actual transgressor. Think of it as a cliff: once you take that leap, you are all in.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Dec 6, 2014

you will likely discover that failure to disclose hard knowledge of malfeasance makes you as culpable as an actual transgressor.

That's a good point. If you say to the director/dean: "They told me they were drunk/high," how will you answer the dean's question "they told you they were high…why did you not report this immediately to your clinical instructor?" I understand why you might have been nervous to report it, but the higher-ups might see this as a lack of good judgment and/or a lack of intestinal fortitude.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Dec 6, 2014

We have a chain of command that must be adhered to. But I almost think in this instance, if the clinical instructor knew, but didn't care, I would go higher up. I cannot imagine that happening in a clinical setting where everyone but 2 came to clinicals that way and the instructor didn't care. If this indeed the situation, I would go straight to the program chair or dean of nursing. It is unsafe for students to be there that way and the instructor also needs to be fired. Students do perform assessments, showers, transferring, toileting, and it is unsafe and dangerous to have them there in that manner. I am surprised that none of the nurses on the floor noticed.

strawberryluv, BSN, RN · Dec 6, 2014

You should have told your clinical instructor before jumping right to speak to the chair. There are chains of commands

for situations like this for a reason.

One of the nursing code of ethics is to do no harm. If you had any fear for your patients' safety, you should have

reported your suspicion to your instructor not wait until after clinical.

It really sounds like to me that you are upset that there are students in your class that are performing better

than you and want to punish them for it. If you have legitimate proof that they are impaired at clinical then I

say tell someone but because you waited this long, there will likely be no conviction for these students because at this point

its just hearsay.

I hope you pass your class but feel like you should really evaluate your character and ethics. You need to think of this in a real-world scenario, if your classmates were your coworkers in the real-world...would you have kept quiet throughout your entire shift?

allnurses Guide · Dec 6, 2014

Honestly, your last paragraph is coming off as sour grapes. If you truly believed them to be impaired, you had a duty to report it. Instructors at my school can demand a urine test at any time, the student has to bring the results back before being allowed to complete the clinical. As others have said, if the impairment was so obvious you as a student noticed it, how would it have gotten by both the instructor and the staff?

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Dec 6, 2014

I wouldn't message the dean now because it will look bad on you since you did nothing about it at the time.

Next semester if you notice students are under the influence you need to speak up then. It may be tough but it will be worth it.