That scary student has been reported again...

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I know some thought I was wrong in reporting him but I did and my instructor was glad I did. This past weekend he was paired with yet another student and things didn't go well at all.

I don't know all the details but I left at 2:00, the partner left at 2:30 and the scary student left after 3:00. The partner had to stay behind because of the other student even though we all left at 2:00.

Again this guy didn't do any assessments, he had issues with meds, he was forceful with the patient, he didn't know how to document and from what I gather that's just the basics. There's a girl in our group who had to deal with him the previous year and she said nothing has changed. These 2 are new to our class...he apparently failed a nursing class and she screwed up math which from what I gather last year was really rough. So they are with us now.

So yesterday the student who had to deal with the scary one went to speak with the instructor and had a very nice conversation. He said that she clearly wanted to hear what his thoughts were. It sounds like she made a comment a little earlier that was hinting that he should talk to her about any issues. I know she knows there are issues and I think she needs to hear it from us as well so they can do something. Our mid term clinical evals are coming out. I bet he's not getting a satisfactory.

The student who had him first told me she regrets not reporting him and may go have a conversation with the instructor.

It's just a bad situation. I'm sure he's a nice guy but he's a danger on the floor.

Heck she instructor had to spend most of her time with him this past weekend...which honestly is not fair to the other students. She really can't leave him for very long and she certainly can't trust him with meds.

So it continues and it's very clear the instructor wants and expects us to report to her serious issues like this. I wouldn't work with a nurse like him and turn my head so I can't do it as a student. In fact my instructor made a comment that pretty much suggested that she would be annoyed if we ignored these things.

So there's the update on that. For those who thought it was wrong to report...that's your choice, your opinion. I did what I had to do and based on the reaction of the instructor and the report being made by another student...I know I did the right thing. Nursing school isn't just about me...

Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..

The way I see it, the initial poster is just trying to work her way through this uncomfortable situation. When we "grow up" we should notice if a co-worker is dangerous, and report him/ her as appropriate. In the same way, I think reporting a fellow student is necessary when it's apparent the person is endangering patients.

I think it's ok to process this on this forum, because it's not cool for the OP to discuss this with other students. So it's a learning experience for this student and for those reading the thread.

As I mentioned, talking about the questionable student with your peers is NOT ok. This should be between you and the instructor. The instructor will then deal with the situation accordingly, and the outcome is none of our business. This is also as it should be when we become professionals - talking about your co-workers is a no no. And reporting someone should be based on facts and carefully considered.

I would have reported him too. But, I always like to treat others as I would like to be treated, so I would tell him about it first or have him come with me to talk to the instructor. I would pull him aside and explain my concerns, explain that I felt he was unsafe beyond the margin of mere student level mistakes and that I felt obligated to tell the teacher about it. I wouln't tell anyone else about what I had done except for my best nursing school friend b/c I know she wouldn't tell anyone else.

In an ideal world instructors have time to watch every student all the time.....but come on....this is hardly and ideal world. I have a clinical instructor who dissapears for a few hours out of each 8 hours of our shift (we have no idea where she goes). How would she know that Joe Shmoe was going to inject KCL directly into the vein of a patient until he was stopped at the last possible second? How would she know he called a demented pt a b*tch to her face and made her cry (although she of course forgot about it 3 seconds later)? How would she know he let a pt sit in feces for hours b/c he was waiting for the CNA to come on shift?

She wouldn't know. As a responsible human being I feel obligated to let those kinds of things be known. But, as mentioned above, I would tell the dangerous student about it....b/c I also feel obligated as a human being not to spring something on someone out of the blue.....even if I feel they are in the wrong.

And......anyone should be able to vent, gossip, b*tch, harp, compliment, sing the praises of, or cry about anything on this board. Lord knows we all need a place where we can talk, in anonymous terms of course, about the pts, students, and teachers who drive us crazy. If we didn't have that we'd be a sorry bunch indeed.

I don't agree with the way the OP handled the details of the situation, but if things were dangerous then the lives, dignity, and comfort of the patients have to take precedence over the unwritten code of never complaining about a fellow nurse.

*All of the examples I gave above actually happened......would YOU let that go?

Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..
I would have reported him too. But, I always like to treat others as I would like to be treated, so I would tell him about it first or have him come with me to talk to the instructor. I would pull him aside and explain my concerns, explain that I felt he was unsafe beyond the margin of mere student level mistakes and that I felt obligated to tell the teacher about it. I wouln't tell anyone else about what I had done except for my best nursing school friend b/c I know she wouldn't tell anyone else.

In an ideal world instructors have time to watch every student all the time.....but come on....this is hardly and ideal world. I have a clinical instructor who dissapears for a few hours out of each 8 hours of our shift (we have no idea where she goes). How would she know that Joe Shmoe was going to inject KCL directly into the vein of a patient until he was stopped at the last possible second? How would she know he called a demented pt a b*tch to her face and made her cry (although she of course forgot about it 3 seconds later)? How would she know he let a pt sit in feces for hours b/c he was waiting for the CNA to come on shift?

She wouldn't know. As a responsible human being I feel obligated to let those kinds of things be known. But, as mentioned above, I would tell the dangerous student about it....b/c I also feel obligated as a human being not to spring something on someone out of the blue.....even if I feel they are in the wrong.

And......anyone should be able to vent, gossip, b*tch, harp, compliment, sing the praises of, or cry about anything on this board. Lord knows we all need a place where we can talk, in anonymous terms of course, about the pts, students, and teachers who drive us crazy. If we didn't have that we'd be a sorry bunch indeed.

I don't agree with the way the OP handled the details of the situation, but if things were dangerous then the lives, dignity, and comfort of the patients have to take precedence over the unwritten code of never complaining about a fellow nurse.

*All of the examples I gave above actually happened......would YOU let that go?

GOOD POST! and the EXAMPLES ARE REAL!

I especially go along with this part: In an ideal world instructors have time to watch every student all the time.....but come on....this is hardly and ideal world. I have a clinical instructor who dissapears for a few hours out of each 8 hours of our shift ... When I had students on my respiratory floor they became my OWN responsibility, on top of the patients I was already assigned. When students had questions, the instructors were nowhere around. And I think they should have been. I don't think it was the instructors' faults. I think it's the way the instructors are spread so thin...

Specializes in NICU/L&D, Hospice.

I don't know how much some of you lurk on these boards, but there are a HECK of a lot of threads talking about co-worker problems, manager problems, instructor problems, other students cheating, group presentation problems, etc, etc. Actually, I find those the most fun to read!!:lol_hitti

If you don't like the Days of Our Lives threads, then be careful when you click on a thread that clearly states it is about someone other than the poster themself.

Hey...the more abnormal people I hear about, the more normal I feel!!:smokin:

And to Sarah M, um...ok. So, when will it become our duty to begin reporting unsafe practices we are witness to? Last test I took was testing my education for NURSING. All parts of it.

I thought this site was to vent our frustrations!

I started my first day ever of clinicals yesterday. Each of us had our own patient so I don't know how the others did. The instructors generally do walk around but they also visit with the nursing staff and do paperwork. It's virtually impossible for them to see everything. So it maybe that this instructor is completely clueless about this individual. It wouldn't surprise me!

If I did see a classmate doing or not doing something serious to a patient, however, I would report it to my instructor. Not knowing how to do an assessment is a pretty basic thing and it's a mystery why that hasn't caught up with him yet. (Except that he always partners w/ someone else.)

I think a lot of times schools just don't want to deal w/ kicking students out. It's easiest for them if the students flunk out via exams rather than say they didn't pass clinicals. I've heard of students at my school getting kicked out for giving meds w/out prior instructor consent and not being "therapeutic" with patients. Not everyone is meant to be an RN!

And even if this is termed "gossip", SAHStudent is trying to do it in a forum where no one knows this individual.

Good luck SAHStudent, and I hope you don't get stuck w/ him again!

Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..

I just had a thought (yes you smelled something burning). Perhaps (and not necessarily in this case) we have a hard time getting along with people at work is because of the root problem: rapidly declining health care, increasing apathy on the part of admin and gov't, poor staffing, etc. There is not a whole lot we can do about the above - SOME we can do but not a whole lot. Playing "musical hospitals" just means "same stuff different badge".

So anyway - maybe we are taking out on each other our bad feelings, our anger and frustration, and looking to blame others instead of what is in our faces. Similar to an alcoholic family, where the kid acts out to distract from the actual problem of alcoholism.

I also think that as someone suggested we need to make sure we examine our own motives for reporting someone, and are WE up to snuff? DO we need to pay more attention to our own practice? Or, are there family issues or issues of transferance that we're bringing to work?

So, all of this, plus the fact that there are times when there are legitimate concerns about whether someone's practice is safe or not. And it does sound like the male student we're talking about is a person of concern.

Zoeboboey has a good point. I think it's important to try to understand our own motivations for reporting someone. I know that in the past I alerted an instructor to a potential cheating situation.....I really had to think long and hard about why I had done that. It wasn't a black and white situation, there was a lot of gray involved, a teacher's assisstant was complicit in what was going on.

I had benefit from what was going on....I told the professor that part too. I don't think that in that situation that my motivations were entirely pure.

However, thinking about that situation helped me later on when a fellow student was found to be cheating by myself and a few other students. I wrote her an e-mail telling her about the reputation she was getting among her classmates, about how these classmates would be her co-workers in a few years and that she wouldn't want this reputation to follow her around. I told her to take my e-mail not as a criticism, but as an opportunity to change for the better and to grow as a human being.

I think it solved the situation in the best possible way. She knows that others are keeping an eye on her, but it also gave her a chance to redeem herself without having the professor become involved right away. Only the 3 of us involved in the situation know about it.

My motivation in that case were pure, but I learned form my previous experiences. The OP has now had the opportunity to learn from her experiences. And next time she runs into a similar situation she will consider her actions more seriously I'm sure.......such is life!

Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..

double post

Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..
... I alerted an instructor to a potential cheating situation..... I had benefit from what was going on....I told the professor that part too. I don't think that in that situation that my motivations were entirely pure...

However, thinking about that situation helped me later on when a fellow student was found to be cheating by myself and a few other students. I wrote her an e-mail

Sounds great :)

Of course there are those who would get angry and defensive in response to the email, at least you would have tried. It's a brave thing to do ...

Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.

If I ever run across somebody who is down right not safe I will report them again.

There are people in the class that I can't stand. There are 2 that know it all...literally they know everything. They drive me (and many others) nuts...but I would never report them unless they did something grossly negligent. I have no bad intentions against this other student. I have no reason to dislike him...hence why I always start with "I'm sure he's a really nice guy but...". My intentions reporting him were solely due to his actions.

In all likelihood I would probably still discuss things with those that I'm really close with. I have not announced to the class what has happened. I have spoken with those I'm really close with. There are a lot of people who have no idea what is going on. I consider these people my friends and I feel safe going to them as I believe they feel safe going to me.

So does this mean when you eventually graduate from nursing school and are on the floor and you see another nurse doing very wrong to a patient, you will not report it. It obviously isn't your job because after all there is a charge nurse? As fas as i know we are obligated by law to tell if we saw wrong doing to a patietn. If you don't you could be just as guilty as that person. Just trying to get you to see it from a different point of view.

Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
So does this mean when you eventually graduate from nursing school and are on the floor and you see another nurse doing very wrong to a patient, you will not report it. It obviously isn't your job because after all there is a charge nurse? As fas as i know we are obligated by law to tell if we saw wrong doing to a patietn. If you don't you could be just as guilty as that person. Just trying to get you to see it from a different point of view.

Ah I think you misread my post. I said if I found somebody not safe I would report. I have always said I would report. There are many others who said I shouldn't have reported this student.

I would always report a nurse that is clearly not safe.

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