So I accidentally fell asleep during OB clinical. The nurse reported me to the director and I met with my professors and they gave me a 30 minute lecture and I said I was sorry which I truly am sorry. I have no excuse for my actions and I really am so stupid for doing this and am a true embarrassment to my program. I promised this would not happen again and I have to meet with the director tomorrow. What can I expect out of this? Will I get kicked off the program? Also, I have an internship with this hospital in a different unit a medical surgical unit. Will I get kicked off of this internship?
Were you just nodding off or like kicked back in a patients bed, shoes off, snoring and drowling? In NC only the latter is punishable by state board. While it is frowned upon school is a learning experience. Your director should be cognizant of that. Probably a write up but i doubt it will affect your internship. And be careful of nurses that will immediately go to the top to report you instead of sitting down and talking to you. That was a messed up move and you shouldnt follow that nurse again.
Specializes in Cardiology, School Nursing, General.
We had a student with narcolepsy and she would fall asleep all the time. Our teacher told her she may not be able to work in this field if she has this problem, but she would get mad at her and call her "mean", even though I did agree with our teacher on this. She was extremely childish, (she almost stabbed me with a needle once, excitedly jumping up and down for getting a stick in.) and would complain about our teacher (even though she was very strict and mean, but still.) At the end, she got kicked out for missing too much class (Had the flu). I last heard she was the one that cheated with the online homework (Long story short, we had an online teacher who became paranoid at the end saying we were all cheating but never could prove anyone did.). I feel that she would of not been able to pass any of this program anyway, but who knows.
But if you fell asleep because of something small, like feeling tired. I'm sure you'll be fine, it only happened once. But something chronic like Narcolepsy, I wouldn't know. That would be extreme, unless you get help for that.
It's possible. I once fell asleep standing up and leaning on the code cart. .
One of the tidbits I remember from a WWI history class I took, was in a book of primary sources (like journal entries): soldiers on night trench-watch duty, with wet semi-frozen socks, falling asleep standing up.
That's an extreme circumstance obviously, and if the OP is really that exhausted she needs help, hence the encouragement to get a medical eval to rule anything out. If it's a lifestyle issue, clearly that needs adjustments too.
I kind of think it wasn't pure carelessness, based on the OP's attitude. She's not exhibiting any special snowflake indignation...she sounds like she gets that this was serious.
If the preceptor assumed OP was caring for patients during the nap, it could have had very serious consequences. It's impossible to care for your patients when you are sleeping. That's why my state BON equates sleeping on the job with patient abandonment.
I hope you had a good speech to give. What happened?
I would think you'd fail the clinical course and therefore wouldn't be able to continue on in the program. Or, perhaps worse, you get blacklisted from that hospital, which means you wouldn't be able to work there nor complete your clinical courses there. Sleeping on the job or during class is one of those professional behavior things; you might be smart, know your nursing content and have competent skills, but nobody wants to hire someone who falls asleep on the job, or is always late to work, or is rude to others, etc.
So what happened? I hope it wasn't more than a write up at most. All I can picture is you standing and falling asleep but I highly doubt that's what happened as you could've played that one off somehow. Well I hope you let us all know everything worked out. Good luck to you.
So I accidentally fell asleep during OB clinical. The nurse reported me to the director and I met with my professors and they gave me a 30 minute lecture and I said I was sorry which I truly am sorry. I have no excuse for my actions and I really am so stupid for doing this and am a true embarrassment to my program. I promised this would not happen again and I have to meet with the director tomorrow. What can I expect out of this? Will I get kicked off the program? Also, I have an internship with this hospital in a different unit a medical surgical unit. Will I get kicked off of this internship?
Thanks guys I appreciate the feed back.
No one can say for sure if you'll be kicked out of school or if you'll lose your internship. I honestly doubt you would get kicked out of school or lose your internship but I have no way of saying for sure. I suppose it depends on the circumstances of you falling asleep and the administrators of your program. By circumstances, I mean falling asleep sitting up while charting or grabbing a spot in a recliner next to a patient and going to sleep. I know nursing duties are exhausting at times, emotionally and physically. Just do what you can to keep yourself up. Walk around the unit and do arm and leg stretches, drink coffee, eat a balanced meal, get up and get moving if you get sleepy. Make sure to get plenty of rest when not on the floor. Based on your post, I can assume this is an isolated incident. Forgive yourself, move on, and make it a point to never do it again.
It is school. You are PAYING them for your school. Let me repeat: YOU ARE PAYING THEM TO PROVIDE YOU AN EDUCATION. You should have no repercussions for being tired in CLASS (clinicals) one day. You are not responsible for patients at this point. This is not the real world. But apparently your program, like many nursing programs, treats you like a elementary kid. I'd just forget it and if they give you any grief about it, I'd ask for them to cite the academic policy that shows they can discipline you for being tired in class. However, in the future when you are that tired, go home and get some sleep. Don't let the nursing instructors treat you as anything other than a paying customer!
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
It is school. You are PAYING them for your school. Let me repeat: YOU ARE PAYING THEM TO PROVIDE YOU AN EDUCATION. You should have no repercussions for being tired in CLASS (clinicals) one day. You are not responsible for patients at this point. This is not the real world. But apparently your program, like many nursing programs, treats you like a elementary kid. I'd just forget it and if they give you any grief about it, I'd ask for them to cite the academic policy that shows they can discipline you for being tired in class. However, in the future when you are that tired, go home and get some sleep. Don't let the nursing instructors treat you as anything other than a paying customer!
According to the header, the OP fell asleep in clinical. That's not class.
It is school. You are PAYING them for your school. Let me repeat: YOU ARE PAYING THEM TO PROVIDE YOU AN EDUCATION. You should have no repercussions for being tired in CLASS (clinicals) one day. You are not responsible for patients at this point. This is not the real world. But apparently your program, like many nursing programs, treats you like a elementary kid. I'd just forget it and if they give you any grief about it, I'd ask for them to cite the academic policy that shows they can discipline you for being tired in class. However, in the future when you are that tired, go home and get some sleep. Don't let the nursing instructors treat you as anything other than a paying customer!
Being "tired in class" and SLEEPING in CLINICALS are two different things. I have no idea what the consequences, if any, there will be for the OP, but it's disingenuous to imply that the OP is being prosecuted for simply being "tired in class."
Mdobson01
1 Post
Were you just nodding off or like kicked back in a patients bed, shoes off, snoring and drowling? In NC only the latter is punishable by state board. While it is frowned upon school is a learning experience. Your director should be cognizant of that. Probably a write up but i doubt it will affect your internship. And be careful of nurses that will immediately go to the top to report you instead of sitting down and talking to you. That was a messed up move and you shouldnt follow that nurse again.