Hello I am in my second semester of nursing school, taking only pharmacology this summer. I was wondering if anyone has advice on how to do well in/ pass clinical. I failed my fundamentals clinical and passed all my nursing classes with 1A, 2B's and one C (Fundamentals class (78%.) So, I have to retake my fundamentals clinical in the fall, and I can't progress with my intended graduating class (my peers) after this summer, and I will have to meet new friends, ect. because they will be moving on without me. My peers are taking pharmacology too, in addition to Ob/Maternal-Newborn, OB/Maternal clinical and Informatics this summer.
Because I failed my clinical, I can't fail anything else for the remaining six semesters,which has 7 clinicals coming up. If I fail anything else, I can't progress in the program. Please help me.
The reason I failed is because of, I feel, a personality conflict with my instructor.
I felt that I really didn't get along with my clinical instructor, and often felt that she singled me out.I didn't make a good impression on her early on because I forgot my name pin the first day (had my photo ID, but not the name pin which basically reiterated everything that was on the uniform seal and my photo id), and she sent me home. From that point on, I was basically peddling upstream, and it was an uphill battle with her. When I went to meet with her in her office,after the name-pin incident, she told me she never met a student so below the standard. It was my first day. (How does someone determine that someone is "below standard" on the first day based on one incident?) Anyway, I did my best to prepare prior to clinical. Had all my medications finished, tried to perfect my care plans, I even met with her at the end of clinical to talk with her one-on-one to pinpoint things she wanted to me to improve on.
So, how did you succeed in clinical? Have you been in a similar situation? How did you succeed? If you have been fortunate enough to ace clinicals with flying colors, what would you do if you were in my situation?
Our clinicals are Pass/Fail. There is no point system. We are left to the discretion of the clinical instructor to pass us. And I feel that it's a subjective/ favorites decision.
This phrase of "fake it till you make it" sacred me. I know it's used a lot in nursing education, but I think people misunderstand it. It does not mean pretend that you know what to do when you don't. If your preceptor sends you into a room to do an IV bag change (or a bone marrow biopsy or wherever you are in your scope), if you don't know how to do it properly you need to speak up. I also don't think it's ok to mislead pts about your experience.
I do think it's ok to act confident about something you know how to do but are nervous about.
I don't think anyone is advocating to outright lie about your abilities by saying, "Fake it till you make it." At least when I said it, the intention was that if you display confidence, you will be more successful.
I don't think anyone is advocating to outright lie about your abilities by saying, "Fake it till you make it." At least when I said it, the intention was that if you display confidence, you will be more successful.
I am not saying you mean that or think it, I just worry that people will read it and infer it as there are some inexperience members in the audience.
There is no way to know what went on in that instructor's mind... she may have been 'out to get you', or she may have seen deficiencies in your work. I know that students want to believe the instructors are evil and suffer from OCD, especially when the student suffered a failure. It's a defense mechanism--and a pretty effective one--to blame someone else, something else.
But, let's just say your instructor WAS out to get you. Even if this is 100% true, it will serve you no purpose to dwell on it, or even think about it. In fact, believing that she was out to get you will only convince you that you don't need to change anything. This won't lead you to success in the future. What you are going to need are some strategies to increase your chances of success.
Instructors talk (just like students talk to each other) they share stories, compare notes, discuss student's strengths and weaknesses. They do this in a very professional way, it's not gossipy or with any negative tone (I can't promise that every single instructor at every school doesn't gossip; but let's hope yours is above that). There is a good chance your instructor will talk to the instructor who had you last semester. So, the first thing you do is ask your new instructor for a few minutes of her time. Tell her this is your second attempt at fundamentals (she probably already knows this) and you realize you made some mistakes, otherwise you wouldn't be retaking this course (yes, it's going to be really hard to say this...) Tell her that you got off on the wrong foot, that you forgot your name badge on the first day and it seemed to be downhill from there. Now, say that you're determined to make it in the program, you're going to do everything asked of you, know your meds, have your care plans perfected, and be prepared for each clinical day. You will gain her respect by making this effort. You don't have to grovel, but you really should make a point to explain yourself and express your desire to succeed. If you can't do this with genuine humility and sincerity, don't bother.
The way instructors see the students is entirely different than the way the student's see themselves or see each other. Pretending to be prepared isn't going to fool an instructor--you might fool your fellow students, but if you don't know your meds, aren't prepared for whatever procedure you're doing in the patient's room, you will look like you're unprepared. Make a check-list for each procedure you're doing: if it's an insulin injection, know the type of insulin, the onset, duration, etc. Know what kind of syringe you need and have one and a spare, have a pocket full of alcohol wipes, a band aide--anything you might need. You don't want to say, "wait a sec while I go back to the supply room..."
You probably know that first impressions are lasting, and that unfair judgments can be made. Don't do anything that might reflect badly on you... don't gossip, make sure your appearance is neat and polished, don't break any rules no matter how seemingly ridiculous or insignificant (if the rule is one small ear stud, don't wear little hoops).
This time around should be easier for you, and as long as you're making a sincere effort, you should be fine.
BostonFNP, APRN
2 Articles; 5,584 Posts
This phrase of "fake it till you make it" sacred me. I know it's used a lot in nursing education, but I think people misunderstand it. It does not mean pretend that you know what to do when you don't. If your preceptor sends you into a room to do an IV bag change (or a bone marrow biopsy or wherever you are in your scope), if you don't know how to do it properly you need to speak up. I also don't think it's ok to mislead pts about your experience.
I do think it's ok to act confident about something you know how to do but are nervous about.