What happens if you are injured on your way to clinical due to weather?

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Jun 19, 2018

And don't even say to us 'I'm a student, paying good money to be there, and I expect my school work to be easy and appease to my time I'm spending'" cause if they won't, I would.

What does that even mean???

NurseJamillah, MSN, NP · Jun 19, 2018

I'm in the northeast US as well and this situation did arise when I was in nursing school. Long post:

It was our first clinical day at that particular clinical site, which was 40 minutes away from campus with good weather. We are near the ocean, so that is enough of a distance to have variations in weather. Classes on campus were NOT cancelled, however, the roads for a mile or two around the hospital were a sheet of ice. The salt trucks were just getting on the roads. Our clinical started at 6:30 am, but it was requested of us that we get there at 6-6:15 to do our patient prep. Because of the weather, many of us left home at 5am or earlier, and the snow/ice started around 5:30. Our school routinely released closings/delays at 6:30 am. I spun in circles right outside of the hospital for about 15 minutes until giving up. I waited another 30 minutes before the salt truck got to me. Prior to that, I notified my instructor of what was going on and she said ok, just be safe, don't risk your safety to get here (although I was technically already there).

At 6:30, a school delay was announced. When I was finally able to get into the hospital, we were there for about an hour before the instructor decided to let us go early because there was a larger storm coming. Although there was a technical delay, the instructor told any students that had not arrived yet not to come, and said they would need to do a makeup assignment. This became a larger argument, because an instructor at the next site over (same school) had cancelled her clinical at 5:30 am and told her students that they did not have to do a makeup assignment. The students in my group ended up not having to do the assignment, but were very upset that they needed to take the risk to come out or it would be considered 1 unexcused absence (which at that school, could have been made up for with a written assignment)

So, several questions became of this day for us: 1) Should I leave home if I believe it is unsafe to do so? In our case, NO. 2) Will you be marked absent if you don't come? Maybe. It depends on your school. 3) Can I sue if I lose life or limb getting there? As said earlier, we are not attorneys. 4) What if my school does not release school closing info early? We had this issue escalated and the school agreed to TRY and get the notices out earlier to accommodate programs with early a.m. clinicals. All you can do is ask.

Lastly, in reading other responses, I agree that asking about potential litigation is an unhealthy mindset to have. However, I don't think it is an unreasonable expectation to want to be "kept safe" at school. That expectation doesn't erase the need for you to do your due diligence in protecting your own safety either, though!

RRRNNN · Jun 20, 2018

My nursing school says that weather is not a valid reason to miss clinicals. Well, if it's snowing heavily and there's a big storm, and I get into an accident because they're forcing me to come in, are they legally responsible? I'm talking about damage to my car and any medical bills. I go to a public school in NY state. I'm a student, paying good money to be there, and I expect my school to keep me safe. This is unnecessarily putting me in harm's way. I'm not a paid nurse, going to my shift, whose terms I accepted and receive compensation for. I see no reason to put myself in danger. If they tell me I'll fail or won't finish my necessary hours, and I brave the storm and I get hurt, are they liable? Can I sue?

You seem to be having anxiety over the requirements of nursing school. Are you over the age of 18, or are you a minor? Is somebody forcing you to go to nursing school? Are you sure you want to make the commitment to becoming a nurse, driving to work every day and most likely working 12 hour night shifts until you get seniority, working very hard until your back and your feet hurt, and then driving home after a long shift? Do you think you would be able to sue your employer if you got in an accident on the way home after work? Have you considered the possibility of finding a job that does not require driving, or does not require you to come to work if the weather is bad?

TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN · Jun 22, 2018

I just want to add a few things:

First off, being a nurse tends to pay enough that she can move close to where she works, and it's in such a high demand that she can work near where she lives. That's a lot easier than having to make a 45 minute drive for classes and clinicals. Also, demanding that they stay close to the clinical site doesn't really hold any value. When you're making 60,000 a year, yeah, you can get a hotel room. When you're making barely over minimum wage, and living paycheck to paycheck, like most college students (remember, all you nurses who had your husband help with the bills so that you can cut back on work, you're NOT the typical college student), a hotel room usually just isn't possible. And most schools make you sign off that they have no liability in your safety, if you get hurt turning a heavy patient... too bad. And most clinical sites have the same policy (but if it's from their negligence, like not warning you about a wet floor, or not blocking off a freshly waxed floor and you fall, you can still typically sue, or more realistically, they'll just pay for your care). But luckily, NOBODY is forced to go to clinicals. If you miss more than what your school allows, you'll fail, but that's all that happens. You fail. Then you just go through your school's readmittance policy or apply to new schools, or just make a career in a different field, or take a different direction in healthcare. It's only school.

That out of the way, as long as you're responsible and treat it like a job, meaning you show up on time, every time, a quick google search would show you that pretty much every school in the country has a makeup policy on clinicals. And most times that they're cancelled, either you're in such an excess over the state minimum, that the school can just cancel it, or your makeup date is scheduled. What this means for you is that if you're responsible, your school most likely gives you the freedom to miss a couple days (but classes, labs, and clinicals tend to be combined, because this is state mandated minimum times, not school). So most likely, if the weather is THAT bad that it's just not safe to make the drive at all and your school hasn't cancelled the clinical for that day, your school very likely has a policy that will allow you to miss that day and make it up later. But remember, what I said in my last post, there's a huge difference between driving down a salted highway that's getting a dusting of snow and driving down a 1 lane road that's winding around the side of a mountain that hasn't seen a plow or salt truck once in the 100 years that road has existed. Before missing that day, you have to really think about if it's really that unsafe, or if it's just that you're uncomfortable.

stockmanjr, BSN · Jun 23, 2018

A good school that actually cares about their students would cancel clinical in severe weather. Also a lot of hospitals wouldn't want students around during a severe weather event as they're probably scrambling short-handed, and the last thing you need is some first or second semester student. One of the other points that's being missed at least here in NYC when there's a major snowstorm the hospital will make you come in before the event starts, and find somewhere to sleep in-house thus avoiding having staff members drive in dangerous conditions.