Should I appeal?

[aaronadams92]

A few weeks ago, I was informed that I would fail Med-Surg clinical. At the time the semester was still ongoing, although clinical had ended by then. At the time, I was also passing the theory section of that same course. However, since I failed the clinical, that failure counted towards the second failure for me in that program, and the program's policy is to typically dismiss someone after two failures.

I have two main gripes with clinical. First, clinical ended two days before the withdrawal deadline, and while I had struggled early on, I did improve, and my clinical instructor acknowledged as much. Apparently, however, it wasn't enough to her liking, but what I don't get is why she couldn't have given me a heads-up about my pending failure before the deadline, if I was indeed to be failed. Secondly, I disagree with the reasons she gave for failing me. She used errors I had made through the semester as reasons, although I had gone to remediation for those errors. Also, I was out of school for five months prior due to needing to retake a course which wasn't offered in the Fall, so I was rusty in some regards to clinical skills, which contributed to the errors I made. In my time off, I tried and failed to find work, and I also contacted my school to see if I could come in for some sort of remediation so that I wouldn't forget things, but that went nowhere.

Continuing with my clinical experience, there were situations in which there either wasn't an ideal solution obvious to me at the time or in which unforeseen circumstances led me to ultimately look bad in front of my instructor. Also, she claimed that I didn't talk to my nurse or my peers, and while I probably could have asked more questions or interacted more in retrospect, she wasn't following me around the whole shift for her to possibly know that. She claimed that I didn't ask for help, yet I once called a tech to help me turn a patient, so maybe I didn't ask for help as much as she thought I should have. In hindsight, I know the things that I could have improved on, and interacting more with others was probably a major one, but she drew the conclusion that I wouldn't be able to do well in the next semester because of the errors I made (which were all situational, brain farts, and/or addressed by remediation). At times, it was almost like I was penalized for learning, or as if the concept of learning from one's mistakes (AS A STUDENT) was foreign to her. All in all, I feel her evaluation was subjective, and based mainly on what she saw, and on her accentuating the negative.

After failing clinical, as well as having my theory instructor (who also sat in on the evaluation) suggest that maybe being a nurse wasn't for me, despite her only ever seeing me in a classroom with sixty other people, there were about five days that followed in which I was so bummed out and conflicted that I didn't study or really do anything. It was the worst time for me to fall out of the groove that I had established throughout the semester. As a result, I did significantly worse on my third Med-Surg theory exam than on my first two, and while I still managed to pass Pharmacology (which I was retaking), and while I did a little better on the Med-Surg final than I did on the third exam, it still wasn't enough to help me pass the Med-Surg theory portion (I failed it by about a percentage point).

My question is, do I have a case at all for appealing my grade? If I had passed the theory portion, I would have appealed the clinical grade without question, but my failing the theory portion obviously gives me less of a leg to stand on. However, while there was no ideal time to learn that I was going to fail clinical, it also didn't seem fair for my clinical instructor to spring that on me less than a week before an exam (if only for my transcript's sake). I would have rather have found that out either after my finals or before the drop deadline (which, again, is when the last clinical day was). As it turned out, the revelation of my clinical failure, and the uncertainty that came with it, took the wind out of me in the final weeks of the semester, which left me with lower grades on the last two exams than I had on the first two, and lower than what I believe I would have had on them otherwise.

[aaronadams92]

emmjayy, did he file grievances pertaining to the grades he received? Or how did he go about it? Unlike what some of the other commenters seem to think, I already know where I personally came up short, and I'm already taking the steps I need towards rectifying those things. However, while I was planning on trying to find a job as a tech to gain experience in the event of my dismissal (which I should have done before Nursing school), if I can somehow remain in school, I'd probably prefer that. So any details about how he went about staying in school would be appreciated.

[TruvyNurse]

Sure you can appeal, however I don't think it will go anywhere. It sounds like you were fairly failed. You know where you messed up. Do some soul searching and go from there.

[Gentleman_nurse, MSN]

I don't know you and you don't know me so I'm going to give the benefit of doubt what you posted is true and complete. Unfairness is not a valid defense. Review your institution and department student handbook, academic guidelines, and policies. Faculty have a lot of discretion in how they teach. To win an appeal, you must prove there was an infraction outside those guidelines.

[Lilnursie1030]

Contact the Dean and ask how to start the appeals process. You would have to have have all your reasons concretely stated. Students have sought legal advice about these matters. I have read all the posts and some advised for you to start a new career but if your heart and soul is in this and if you truly feel as if there was a true injustice pursue an appeal.

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

In my nursing school, people who were humble, faced their flaws and had a plan for improvement won their appeals no matter how badly they did. Many times in fact. People who were hysterical or blameful did not, even if they had more aptitude.

So I do not suggest that you try to prove how the faculty failed you.

Also, at my school folks did not fail clinical unless they did something inappropriate. We.were not expected to master technical skills. We were expected to get a feel for the RN role on the unit and start to grasp critical thinking, prioritizing, etc.

Why exactly did you fail clinical?

[adreamdeferred, MSN, RN, APRN, NP]

Hello,

First, I want to encourage you to pursue nursing if that is where your heart truly is. Second, I wanted to add students are not graded as if they should be on par with a working RN. None of us would make it out of nursing school if we were judged based on our skills. There is a certain level you should be at as a student by the time you make it to that particular part of the program, with your thought process. The big deal is safety, did you do something unsafe? When you did mess up, did you make the same comments as in your post? You have to give the perception that you are owning up to your mistakes vs blaming or making excuses. Perception is everything. Especially when someone else is grading you and holding all the cards. We had to look up our patients the night before. You should make sure you are familiar with every drug and procedure in that patient's care plan. Also, the communication piece is important because your instructor cannot be in multiple places at one time so you need to speak with the nurses around you so that can vouch for you. If you operate like you are on an island you will find yourself left all alone. I am introverted and a loner, I learned this the hard way. Also, make relevant comments to show you are putting things together. If the only interaction anyone gets from you is when they are observing or maybe fixing a mistake there will be nothing else to base your progress on. It's a stretch to appeal, but do so humbly. Best wishes on your journey.

[imhorsemackerel, LPN]

In my program, you can fail if your unweighted test average is below a 74.5. One of my classmates got ( I believe) a 73.5. She was dropped from the program. She knew the material, she never missed class, she always had the answers and clearly did all of the work. She just wasn't a good test taker.

She could file an appeal for the test questions, but they require "evidence-based reasoning as to why another answer is correct. She really wants to become an RN. So she signed up for the TEAS and is planning to reapply for the program. If becoming an RN is really what you desire, then I think you should reapply to the program. You can file an appeal if you want to, but look at your options and don't just focus all of your attention on the appeal.

I'm in an LPN-RN program. Many of my classmates were in the same boat as I was. The last time we performed a bed bath on a patient was in LPN school. The whole time this past semester we were told, "You're LPNs. You should know this." Or, "Don't you do this at work?"

So many of us were rusty with the "information gathering" and various topics learned in fundamentals. And I agree that instructors aren't always the most helpful when guiding you. But like I said before, if you want to become an RN, don't let this defeat you.