I am so upset! I am going into my 3rd semester, and I have never had to worry about how I did in clinicals, and have always gotten positive evaluations.
Well, 2 days before the end of this last semester (dec. 2010), I was working with my clinical instructor in pediatrics and I had a patient that had a lot going on. She had a central and peripheral line, was on a tubefeeding and G-tube. I have never had the oportunity to start a tubefeeding or give meds through a g-tube. so, while I was giving meds through the tube, I asked how much normal saline I should flush with?; Then, I had to start a tubefeeding, which I have never done and told her this, and she had to walk me through it; I have never dealt with a central line, so I again asked her if we flush it with heparin or normal saline? I was very upfront with her and told her I had never done these skills before. The next day, I had the same patient and did everything on my own without asking a single question. The next morning after class, she said she wanted to go over my evaluation with me! She said, "I was going to tell you to go home and fail you this semester, but since you improved the next day, I am doing you a favor and olnly putting you on probation.:crying2: I asked why, and she said I should know all of my skills by second semster and she should only have to supervise me. What makes me so upset, is that the majority of the students only had to give out pain meds to their patient! I told her this too, and she said "well that is the luck of the draw!" My heart absolutely dropped. I pleaded with her not to do this, but of course she doesn't care.
I am so damn upset. In all of my clinical rotations, if we told our instructor that we had not had the opportunity to do a procedure on a patient, they would walk us through it. I always thought that people who got put on probation in their clinicals, were doing something that could endanger the patient ie. not washing their hands, leaving bedrails down, faliling to stay with the patient until they take all of their meds!!
I am just bummed, because my new clinical instructors will know I am on probation, and I feel like I will be walking on eggshells! I feel devastated!!!!
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Ok Question to some of the posters being a little hard on the OP.
You learn how to do a cath in lab the 7th week of school 1st semester. You get tested out on it and pass. A year later you finally get the opportunity to do one. You would remember every step you are supposed to take and you would feel comfortable doing it when all that time has passed and you have never actually done one outside of that one check off??
Most of the stuff we learn in lab are skills that get learned doing it first hand and get good as you improve and the more times you do it. It is completely normal to need a walk through when your doing it for your first time in a hospital setting after time has passed.
Just my opinion.
Our teachers have outright said that we won't remember any of this when it comes time to do it and that is why our Co-nurse or Instructor will be there to walk us through it. But they wanted to give us a run through so we can see the equipment and understand the concept basically. They never expected us to remember all the steps.
Ok Question to some of the posters being a little hard on the OP.
You learn how to do a cath in lab the 7th week of school 1st semester. You get tested out on it and pass. A year later you finally get the opportunity to do one. You would remember every step you are supposed to take and you would feel comfortable doing it when all that time has passed and you have never actually done one outside of that one check off??
Most of the stuff we learn in lab are skills that get learned doing it first hand and get good as you improve and the more times you do it. It is completely normal to need a walk through when your doing it for your first time in a hospital setting after time has passed.
Just my opinion.
Our teachers have outright said that we won't remember any of this when it comes time to do it and that is why our Co-nurse or Instructor will be there to walk us through it. But they wanted to give us a run through so we can see the equipment and understand the concept basically. They never expected us to remember all the steps.
Normally, we would get our patients the night before so I would be prepared, but we didn't get our patients until the morning, so that is why I was not sure about these skills.
Normally, we would get our patients the night before so I would be prepared, but we didn't get our patients until the morning, so that is why I was not sure about these skills.
Still, I can't see what was so wrong with your "double checking". Good luck with this situation!
final year student, and im sorry to hear of your experience...there is simply no way we can learn a skill in fundamentals and remember every step of the skills one year or even six months later..during my peds rotation, our clinical instructor would get us prepareD before we even went into the room...we would figure calculations, medications etc...thats the way its should be...and futher you stated the next day you did it all on your own...my school does NOT allow that...everything is with the clinical instructor right there w/us...in any event dont keep stressing about it anymore, next time, tell your instructor you want to review everything BEFORE you go in the room! and my school does not do clinical look up the day before...so no chance to prepare, review and get ready...
You would remember every step you are supposed to take and you would feel comfortable doing it when all that time has passed and you have never actually done one outside of that one check off??
Not being hard, but that's why they say collaborate with your classmates and have your skills book handy
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Not being hard, but that's why they say collaborate with your classmates and have your skills book handy
It doesn't matter, it's never the same on actual people in an actual hospital setting. We can practice IV's on the fake man arm a million times, we can not finally get the opportunity until months or even a year later and at least in my school, we would not be expected to remember it. In fact our instructors would do a walk through (refresher)with us before we went into the patient room and than still walk us through it. As far as a skills book, we don't have books to teach us the skill. We learn hands on in the lab. Well the teacher does a demo, than we get some practice time while the instructors watch, than depending on what it is we will get tested out on it. But it's never the same scenario or even equipment half the time as the hospital.
If I was a patient (and I have been and I have allowed students in) and I said a student could do whateverprocedure and the student came in and set the book down and started reading the book to do X procedure I would be a little worried. I would feel a heckuva lot better having another nurse or instructor there walking the student through hands on.
:crying2: I asked why, and she said I should know all of my skills by second semster and she should only have to supervise me. What makes me so upset, is that the majority of the students only had to give out pain meds to their patient! I told her this too, and she said "well that is the luck of the draw!" My heart absolutely dropped. I pleaded with her not to do this, but of course she doesn't care. 
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~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN
5,259 Posts
Ok Question to some of the posters being a little hard on the OP.
You learn how to do a cath in lab the 7th week of school 1st semester. You get tested out on it and pass. A year later you finally get the opportunity to do one. You would remember every step you are supposed to take and you would feel comfortable doing it when all that time has passed and you have never actually done one outside of that one check off??
Most of the stuff we learn in lab are skills that get learned doing it first hand and get good as you improve and the more times you do it. It is completely normal to need a walk through when your doing it for your first time in a hospital setting after time has passed.
Just my opinion.
Our teachers have outright said that we won't remember any of this when it comes time to do it and that is why our Co-nurse or Instructor will be there to walk us through it. But they wanted to give us a run through so we can see the equipment and understand the concept basically. They never expected us to remember all the steps.