GN who fails boards and is still on orientation with RN

elthia · Aug 31, 2005

I was curious if anyone here has worked with a GN that failed their nursing boards and is still on a nursing orientation. I work in a Emergency Dept that hired 6 GN's this past year. One of them failed his boards and is technically considered nurses aide, but our nurse manager has him following a RN so that he will get nursing experience. She has said that it is ok he start IV's and assess the patient with the nurse in the patient's room and the nurse is to sign it off. A few of my co-worker's and I are upset about this. Has this happened with anyone else?

Dependent upon the state, this might be illegal, check your BON

brazuca · Aug 31, 2005

I was curious if anyone here has worked with a GN that failed their nursing boards and is still on a nursing orientation. I work in a Emergency Dept that hired 6 GN's this past year. One of them failed his boards and is technically considered nurses aide, but our nurse manager has him following a RN so that he will get nursing experience. She has said that it is ok he start IV's and assess the patient with the nurse in the patient's room and the nurse is to sign it off. A few of my co-worker's and I are upset about this. Has this happened with anyone else?

Why are you upset with this? Is it affecting you in any way? If the nurse manager says its OK, shouldnt you feel happy that a fellow co-worker is having the chance to continue training under supervision while he is preparing to re-take the boards AND PASS!!!

Frankie

ckh23, BSN, RN · Aug 31, 2005

I would check hopital policy about the duties and responsibilities a GN can perform in your institution. I can see why this might upset you because this orientee is practacing under your license since he does not have one of his own. On the flip side, it can still be a good thing for him to get the experience so when he does pass boards he will be more up to speed and will be on his own soon after that. From the facilities POV, it doesn't make sense to stop the learning process because he failed boards because soooo much money is invested in new grads. I say give him a break, just because he did not pass boards doesn't mean he is going to be a bad nurse. Don't you remember what it was like when you took your boards?

hrtprncss · Aug 31, 2005

maybe the time frame where he can retake his board exams falls within the the orientation period. where i work it's not unheard when we orient new grads for about six months. maybe by the time he passess the boards then he'll be ready to be off orientation. anyways maybe he made a commitment to stay a minimum a mount of time if he passess the second time. then i dont see anything wrong with that, alot of new grads who comes through and goes through long orientation lasting months, ends up quitting just after about one or two months after orientation. besides he failed the boards, nurses should be more sympathetic as oppose to being ticked off by this particular orientee. i've seen new grads cry and quit because they're so scared how the unit nurses will treat them if and when they find out that they failed the boards.

Vanfnp · Aug 31, 2005

The above posts are all good advice. At our facility, GN's who fail the NCLEX remain on orientation but technically work as nurse tech's until they retake the exam and of course duties of tech's vary among states and institutions. Remember, it's possible a person may fail the NCLEX reasons other than their nursing competency-for example, many people have test anxiety. Nurses should not eat their young and neither should the young eat the old. My advice? Focus on teamwork!

Blackcat99 · Aug 31, 2005

When I worked at LTC we had a nurse from another country fail the state board. When she failed, they hired her as a physical therapy aide. They said she would not have any more "nursing orientation" until after she passed the state board. I felt sorry for her. I could tell she was totally humiliated after failing the boards. :crying2:

EdieRN · Aug 31, 2005

Why are you upset with this? Is it affecting you in any way? If the nurse manager says its OK, shouldnt you feel happy that a fellow co-worker is having the chance to continue training under supervision while he is preparing to re-take the boards AND PASS!!!
Frankie

I guess I should have made what we are upset about a little more clear. It is not that he failed his boards, it is because we are being asked to sign off for the iv's and assessment. I was wondering if anyone else had this happen.

nicunana · Aug 31, 2005

I guess I should have made what we are upset about a little more clear. It is not that he failed his boards, it is because we are being asked to sign off for the iv's and assessment. I was wondering if anyone else had this happen.

In our state our Scope of Practice is clearly defined by the Board of Nursing. A GN is only considered a GN until the 1st time they take the exam. After that they are considered either an RN or a Nursing Assistant. According to our Scope of Practice, at no time is a Nursing assistant EVER allowed to start an IV or administer medications. This is strictly enforced and could cause a hospital to be censured at the very least! I would definitely check this with your BON, as you could also be held liable for going outside your own scope of practice by allowing a nursing assistant to perform these skills on your license. Rest assured that your nurse manager would disavow all knowledge of your actions if the BON came after you. If she is so sure that she is within her own scope of practice to allow a nursing assistant to perforn RN or GN tasks, let her accept that reposibility under her own license. Under those conditions, I'm willing to bet that she will research that decision a little more thoroughly.

Leda · Aug 31, 2005

Each state board of registration in nursing sets the standards/requirements for the practice of nursing. Therefore, it is essential that the appropriateness of this situation be verified with the rules and regulations as set forth by your states board of registration in nursing.

I'm not saying this to be nonsupportive of new nurses. In fact I support the institutions efforts to provide this person with employment that fosters their success. However, it is important that you do this according to the rules and regulations of your state BORN.

hafsa44 · Sep 1, 2005

I failed my boards the first time and it wasn't because I of my competency as a nurse I suffer from bad test anxiety to the point where I thought that I would pass out. I took the Kaplan course for test taking skills and confidence. I had to wait 45 days to retake. I pass the second time my manager offered me a job as a Nurse tech but I turned it down. I feel that as Nurses we need to be more sympathetic towards our follow nurses. We all need someone to understand how we feel and who could understand us more than our fellow nurses. Please !

BETSRN · Sep 1, 2005

I was curious if anyone here has worked with a GN that failed their nursing boards and is still on a nursing orientation. I work in a Emergency Dept that hired 6 GN's this past year. One of them failed his boards and is technically considered nurses aide, but our nurse manager has him following a RN so that he will get nursing experience. She has said that it is ok he start IV's and assess the patient with the nurse in the patient's room and the nurse is to sign it off. A few of my co-worker's and I are upset about this. Has this happened with anyone else?

At my hospital, GN's are not even allowed to practice as such. They remain aides until they pass the bards.

I think the nurse manager is wrong to do that. I can see that she wants him to get confidence and experience, but I'm not sure that is good from a liability aspect.