Clinical instructor drunk or on something

moongirl · Jan 13, 2007

the main points being: pt safety- and- the fact that SHE is there to SUPERVISE THE STUDENTS, the students are NOT there to "watch" her.

she was impaired enough to not be able to make sure that the students were practicing safely, and impaired enough that SHE was not acting in the pts best interest

if you don't report her, you are as guilty as she is.

BTW- what if this was a " test" to see if your clinical group is ethical enough to do the right thing???

nurse4theplanet, RN · Jan 13, 2007

BTW- what if this was a " test" to see if your clinical group is ethical enough to do the right thing???

I doubt that.

Noryn · Jan 13, 2007

I also thought it could be a test, probably because I just couldnt believe someone would really show up for work like this. My advice is to be careful. I have said it many times, you can get in trouble for doing the right thing. I dont have a hard time believing this instructor could single a student out and state, "they are only making this accusation because I failed them in clinical."

Whenever I worked in direct care, I was the person ultimately responsible for my patients. Just because a nurse's pt is assigned a student, that nurse has the responsibility to make sure the pt is receiving adequate care. I did monitor and observe students as well as their instructors and what they were being taught. If they were doing something unsafe, they were gone.

What my recommendation would be is this, get everyone in your clinical group together, and make sure you are not alone and everyone go in as a group and present a written statement signed by everyone to the director of the program. Dont be singled out as there is power in numbers.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jan 13, 2007

Look at what was written:

Today was our first day of clinicals for the new semester. In the morning our instructor seemed a little "off". She was kind of unsteady on her feet. She said that she was very tired. We did not see her for the first two hours of clinical. When it was time to pull meds we went to find her. She was in the break room sleeping.

When she was pulling the meds she was very unsteady on her feet and it took her over a half hour to pull meds for 1 patient. When she went into the room with one of the students to give the medication, she fell asleep sitting in the patient's chair. The nurses on the floor and all the students kept asking her if she was feeling okay. She just kept saying that she was tired.

At post conference she was swaying back and forth, almost falling out of her chair. She kept nodding off and when she would wake back up she would make strange, unrelated comments.

Please report the ABOVE observations ASAP to the clinical instructer in change of this class. If you are unsure who that is, call the school secretary. Go to the Program Director if only this instructor in charge of class.

You are reporting observations and clinical concerns. Leave the judgement part "Clinical instructor drunk or on something" out of the report. Let

the school do its job of investigation and reasigning staff so you have adequate supervision during clinicals.

This is not "tatteling" but being a responsible prudent student reporting serious concern requiring followup at leavel above your head. It's what a good education consumer would do too: your education $$ paying their salary.

KungFuFtr · Jan 13, 2007

Reminds me of the time when I worked at Walmart. I was about 17 and I was at work HAMMERED! I was sooo drunk! I was leaning againt the cd rack in our department. Someone complained about intoxication to managment. They were so pissed! What a scene! I was taken back to their office and interrogated, I was almost sleeping during this. I tried to walk out and go to the coat rack. Nope, they wouldn't allow me to leave. I tried to explain; however, I was so drunk, I was only mumbling. Only when I was able to fumble for my medical alert tag...medical alert tag?! Wait, could it be? I was having an insulin reaction and I was only trying to get my glucose tabs.

Maybe you shouldn't assume that your instructor was drunk or high. I would have told some1 pronto WHILE the incident happened! No need to make assumptions and slander, based on observations alone.

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Jan 13, 2007

Reminds me of the time when I worked at Walmart. I was about 17 and I was at work HAMMERED! I was sooo drunk! I was leaning againt the cd rack in our department. Someone complained about intoxication to managment. They were so pissed! What a scene! I was taken back to their office and interrogated, I was almost sleeping during this. I tried to walk out and go to the coat rack. Nope, they wouldn't allow me to leave. I tried to explain; however, I was so drunk, I was only mumbling. Only when I was able to fumble for my medical alert tag...medical alert tag?! Wait, could it be? I was having an insulin reaction and I was only trying to get my glucose tabs.
Maybe you shouldn't assume that your instructor was drunk or high. I would have told some1 pronto WHILE the incident happened! No need to make assumptions and slander, based on observations alone.

Regardless of the reason, the instructor was obviously IMPAIRED and unable to do her job. The fact that she was there at the clinical site at all was ILLEGAL. Her duty to her patients and to her students was clear--get assessed in the ER or she should not have come in, in the first place.

Please go reread my post, especially the highlighted section.

rn/writer, RN · Jan 14, 2007

Impairment is impairment, whether it stems from illness, fatigue, medical issues, or any other cause.

No, it isn't the students' job to pass judgment on the instructor. Nor is it their role to determine the cause of the problem. It IS their responsibility to report the behavior and let those in charge investigate further.

Technically speaking, if this nurse was impaired for any reason, they were operating on their own and that puts patients, the hospital, the regular staff members, the school, the students, and the instructor herself at risk. Not to mention the people on the road as this person drove to and from the hospital.

Unforturnately, by letting the incident go when it ocurred, some opportunities have been lost. Perhaps, the nurse manager will provide some feedback to the school, so it won't just be the word of the students against the instructor.

I can understand the uncertainty and even fear that students might have in reporting an instructor for any kind of infraction. There is always the concern that retaliation might be a factor, and such a situation is not unheard of. Still, if the entire clinical group witnessed and reported examples of impairment, one hopes that they would be taken seriously and that the instructor (if she was allowed to continue) would be watched for any kind of punitive behavior.

There is no room for talk of "karma" in a discussion like this. These students don't "have it in for" their instructor. If she is ill, they could be instrumental in getting her help. It isn't for them to come up with the answers, but to say they shouldn't even ask the questions because the instructor might be a nice person who was just having a bad day is naive. Nice people have cause terrible traffic accidents, committed egregious medical mistakes, and made other errors in judgment that have caused serious harm and even death. We can feel bad for them as people, but they still have to answer for what they've done.

You don't cut someone slack or look the other way because "there, but for the grace of God go I," when patient safety is on the line. Yes, there are times when we look out for each other, but there are other times when you have to draw a line for the sake of everyone involved.

To the OP: please, let us know what happens.

KellieNurse06 · Jan 14, 2007

Also, we can bet if this situation was reversed and one of the students was doing what the instructor was doing.....you don't think that student would be booted out by the instructor, or at the very least on probation, having her butt ridden, and having a nice little chat with the dean of the nursing program??? Oh I can pretty much bet my life on that one....regardless i am right there with those of you who say regardless of the circumstances..she was impaired....end of story......

Soup Turtle · Jan 14, 2007

Let me assure some of you nursing students and new grads that want to hold on to the idea that this instructor might be getting a bum steer if she is reported that it is not the case! I was a nursing supervisor for a number of years and had to deal with this kind of situation quite a few times. I would get a page, "so-and-so doesn't seem right. Would you come down here and just take a look for yourself and see what you think?" It is not normal for people who are active and walking around in a hospital setting to sit down in a chair and just fall asleep during daylight hours--even when they were up all night. Something was wrong with this person and she was impaired in some way and needed to be checked out. To be fair, she needed to be examined by a doctor. She could have some serious illness. A stroke. A heart attack. Remember that denial is one of the symptoms of heart attack. Not all people having heart attacks have chest pain. And, women, in particular have odd symptoms. She could also be under the influence of some drug which she was prescribed or had taken legally or illegally. In any case, she needed attending to herself. Now, future nurses, put that way, would you still ignore her?

There are a lot of good posts in this thread, but yours made me change my mind about the situation.

KyRNBSN · Jan 14, 2007

If she was drunk of under the influence, there are programs out there that can help her. If someone reports her. It is in the CI's best interest that it be investigated. Could save her career.

DarciaMoonz, LPN · Jan 14, 2007

Wow! Has this CI had problems in the past that you know of? I don't know what I would have done. I would have probably called the school out of concern for the safety of the patients and for myself and classmates. I mean what if in the process of pouring those meds, she made an error. She could have very well been exhausted, but if that was the case the professional thing to do in my opinion would have been to just call out for the day to get some rest. She could lose her job, but I don't think that is likely to happen from just one incident. Definitely see how she is acting the next clinical/class day. Falling asleep in a patients room is embarrasssing to yourself and the school. I can't begin to imagine what the patient was thinking. He/she probably would not want to have a nursing student again. Good luck future nurse.

allnurses Guide · Jan 22, 2007

Did everyone miss the post where the floor director pulled the CI in as they were leaving? Sounds like somebody on staff was noticing what happened, no?

RN-in-Training, what came of it all?