I failed my first clinical!

marie-francoise · Mar 22, 2008

My final grade WAS purely subjective. None of my procedures performed, injections/meds. administered, paperwork, careplans, case studies, Fundamentals class - which I had an A in, labs (completed and passed), etc. were taken into consideration.
I really don't know why she said that about not being able to take vitals; the broken thermometer was the only thing I could think of.
I bucked the teacher when I refused to take vitals while my constipated patient was finally going to be able to use the bathroom.
I know - it's insane.

Awful! All that energy expenditure, and to be dismissed out of hand by a clinical instructor on such measly grounds? To have taken all those pre-requisites, done all those homework assignments, passed all those exams, paid all that tuition, basically, spent all that time and energy - to be cast off so easily!? Unbelievable.

There must be an arbiter of some sort you can go to - how about the Dean? There IS a chain of command in nursing schools, or there is supposed to be.

amybethf · Mar 23, 2008

I am with the other posters - I am confused as to what exactly led to the failure but unless you put a patient in harm's way, there has to be a paper trail as to why you are failed. At my school, you have to be written up 3 times and you are given ample time to improve the skill(s) either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. I do not understand how not taking a BP could lead to being dismissed! But I would definitely not show up to clinicals sick. We are allowed 1 absence and it has to be made up on our own time. It seems there is more to the story....

missnurse1 · Mar 23, 2008

"We have folks in my previous class who are just plain stupid, take drugs in class and in clinical, drink heavily and come to clinical under the influence or hungover, are unable to communicate with others, are mean people, cheaters, some have been fired by their patients, have given meds unsafely and some who don't know the material or how to do basic skills, like taking BPs!! and THEY are going to graduate in 2 months".

Ummm... Scary to say the least! If that is happening it NEEDS to be reported! Unacceptable! :no: :no: :no: :no:

freegirl · Mar 23, 2008

If you feel so strongly about this maybe you should seek legal advice. The trial you mentioned sounds pretty dodgy you supplied evidence from your charting, you had people willing to stand up for you and this was disregarded.

This thread started almost two years ago. I wonder if anyone noticed. Anyway, wonder how the original poster is doing.

ORRocksRN · Mar 23, 2008

When you say that "SHE" kicked you out, do you mean that she kicked you out of class, or out of the nursing program? I am a bit confused. Was this the first time you were late? Also, again, curious...of course she would expect that you returned back to the class you were assigned to...please clarify...

She kicked me out of clinicals that night and completely out of the program the next day. I had 4 months to go to graduation. Yes, this was the first time i had ever been late. I have never missed a class (except one lab which i made up), never missed a clinical, and had never EVER been late to any class, ever. There were plenty of students who wandered in 5 or 10 minutes or up to a 1/2 hour late, and often! I realize there is traffic and kids get sick, etc, but persaonlly i was NEVER late.

I was with her (the instructor) at lunch, and I returned WITH her to my clinical floor. I was late coming back and my nurse called her to see where I was. Yes, i should have called my nurse to tell her I would be late returning, my mistake-I messed up there, but we are not allowed cell phones at clinical and i was anxious to hear what my instructor was discussing which concerned our immersion term which is a serious part of our program and really important to our futures. Its not like i was wandering the neighborhood or something, or down the street saddled up to the bar. I was WITH my clinical instructor and she was discussing something important related to our program which I wanted to hear. If they had given us this information we NEEDED at another time, in a timely fashion, maybe i wouldn't have been so desperate to hear it during our lunch time. They never tell us anything, its like we're expected to telepathically get the information or something. Or we just hear it through the grapevine, if we're lucky. I'm talking important stuff like what meds we;re allowed to give on the floor or not, skills were allowed to do or not. None of that is written down anywhere. I've seen other schools handbook of policies and they CLEARLY state what students are allowed to do in clinical settings, what they aren;t whats expected of them, the instructors and the nurses. Its all written down, there is a policy on everthing they can refer to, its all very clear. If theres any questions, you could take the book to the director and say, here, i followed this policy, its written down right here. But with our school, nobody knows anything about whats going on or what the policies are, because there aren't any! Nothing is written down excpt "the director or clinical instructor has final judgement on whether the student did the right thing or not" HOW DO WE KNOW that when it isnt written down and no one tells us????!!!!!

I found out yesterday that its state law in my state that the only person on our entire campus who is allowed to make a decision about a students future is the nursing director. she/he has the ultimate authority, even over the head of the health dept, her boss, or the president of the school. ONE PERSON gets to decide our fate. Thats just plain wrong. I haven't found a single person at my school who is willing to advocate for me or help me in any way. Not the president, not the dean of student services, not the councelors, no one. I can't believe they really treat students this way. I have family members who work for the media and I'm on the verge of reporting some of this to the local news. Something is broken with this system and eventually its the patients who are going to pay because they are dismissing the people who will be good nurses and graduating some really unsafe individuals. I hope I never have to be a patient in a local hospital, I would rather die than have some of my previous classmates be my caregivers. This is so unfair, so unsafe and so sad for the nursing profession.

ORRocksRN · Mar 23, 2008

Ummm... Scary to say the least! If that is happening it NEEDS to be reported! Unacceptable! :no::no:

whos going to report it and WHO would we report it to??? I'm not even in the program anymore. The director of the nursing program should be able to SEE some of this, but apprently all of that power she has has made her blind to whats really going on. The president of the school probably wouldn't do anything anyway, there is no one to replace the nursing instructors here, they get paid so little that nobody wants to work here, and the nursing program is what keeps our school in business, enrollment in all other areas is dropping, people are getting laid off, on the verge of strike. No one cares about us, they have bigger problems. The drug addicted and alcoholic and cheating students keep paying tuition, and if they can make them repeat the program for some reason, the school gets paid twice. Until i get into and FINISH another nursing program, I would be reluctant to saying anything, although I think its the RIGHT thing to do!!! But I currently have bigger problems myself, like getting in somewere and finishing my degree with a big fat scarlet letter D on my chest that stands for Dismissed.. Its a small town and vindictive nurses get around and can ruin things for you elsewhere. the current students are too scared to say anything since they are so close to finishing and they see what happened to me. everyone has their head down and are just trying to finish. yes, its crazy and dangrous, but what can we do?

angelchick · Mar 23, 2008

I relate to this topic very well! And feel for all that have mistreated by those so called medical nursing professionals! My advice is, if you KNOW you are in the right and have been truely untreated unfairly, Stand up for yourself! Go public, go to the newspapers! Do what you need to do to get what you so passionately believe in! It's a hard road, but it makes one so much stronger and many lessons will be learnt. I fought and won. I today have decided to jump when they say jump and do exactly everything and question everything and be a demure quiet lass in class, MUCH against who I actually am!!!! LOL BUT I want to be a RN so I will do what it takes!

Best of luck to all of you who may be struggling with a difficult instructor or preceptor, unfortunately they are out there and CAN make your life hell!

Go get um Girls!! :nurse:

missnurse1 · Mar 23, 2008

whos going to report it and WHO would we report it to??? I'm not even in the program anymore. The director of the nursing program should be able to SEE some of this, but apprently all of that power she has has made her blind to whats really going on. The president of the school probably wouldn't do anything anyway, there is no one to replace the nursing instructors here, they get paid so little that nobody wants to work here, and the nursing program is what keeps our school in business, enrollment in all other areas is dropping, people are getting laid off, on the verge of strike. No one cares about us, they have bigger problems. The drug addicted and alcoholic and cheating students keep paying tuition, and if they can make them repeat the program for some reason, the school gets paid twice. Until i get into and FINISH another nursing program, I would be reluctant to saying anything, although I think its the RIGHT thing to do!!! But I currently have bigger problems myself, like getting in somewere and finishing my degree with a big fat scarlet letter D on my chest that stands for Dismissed.. Its a small town and vindictive nurses get around and can ruin things for you elsewhere. the current students are too scared to say anything since they are so close to finishing and they see what happened to me. everyone has their head down and are just trying to finish. yes, its crazy and dangrous, but what can we do?

I would check with your nursing board and see what they say. I believe they would would be very interested in students going to clinical under the influence! Although the students are not licensed yet, the program is definetly in their ballpark. If that doesn't yeild results you could always go to the director of nursing at the hospital in which they are attending clinical when they are in this condition. Just some idea's... Good luck to you and I can feel how frustrating this must be for you! Keep your head up!

breakin_moon · Mar 29, 2008

Hello all - I chose another school awhile back - I'm graduating May 15. Getting into another program was no problem - my grades were good, and the credits transferred. It's impossible to keep me down - I just looked at the source. I knew then, as well as I know now, what I have to offer this field. :heartbeat

breakin_moon · Mar 29, 2008

can you tell us how you managed to get into another program if you failed out due to clinical performance? any trouble with the new school?

Do not give up! I had no problem getting into another program; in fact, I applied to three, and was accepted by all. I was more selective with my next choice in programs. Do everything you can, and then move on - considering the source. Don't allow anyone to get you down. I am graduating May 15. I am a very persistent person, but, I also know what I have to offer this field. :heartbeat

BrokenRNheart · Mar 29, 2008

Wow, I typed all of it out and it's gone!! (I don't know how to do this.)
The clinical instructor said that I didn't know how to do vitals (I made an A in my CNA class - I have been doing vitals for a while. A thermometer was broken once; the nurse couldn't get it working either??) She said that I refused to participate in treating a 3rd degree burn patient. I had bronchitis, and was running a temp.; I only came to turn in my case study. I explained to her that I was really sick. I shouldn't have been in the same room with the patient. I stood at the door, hacking with kleenex in my hand. I shouldn't have been there. We couldn't miss. I had a doctor's excuse.
I didn't think I should take my patient's vitals when she was finally going to move her bowels (she had been constipated for 3 days).
She said that I wasn't a team player (because I didn't sit around and gossip with other students).
I know - do what ever they tell you, and don't tell anyone anything.

Unfortunately some of the same people that can make a nursing job "miserable" can turn up as instructors.

My nickname in school was "star" because I aced tests and was experienced in clinicals. I was a tech. I was tutor for many in study groups.

All the instructors were very respectful to me and I was treated well. The last of my happy days before nursing :cry: .

I had an instructor who was "different." Come to find out on one of our rotations that she worked that floor and had a bad reputation. Won't go into it. My 4 year old son developed pneumonia. We had foley check offs and I was in the hospital with my son and couldn't get anyone down there in time to sit with him for the check offs. The ONLY thing I didn't get to on time. Not like it couldn't be made up. If I left my son, he would have had to go in a "cage" because a 4 year old couldn't be left alone in the room. I was NOT traumatizing him. When I called to tell her I couldn't make it she had the nerve to say that I didn't have my priorities straight. Luckily I had support from all the other instructors and the head of the program. When I went to her she said I didn't need an excuse my son was in the hospital. I told that instructor to do whatever she had to do but make sure she did it right because I would fight it. I never had another problem with her.

Oh ya, let me add that I "taught" other students how to insert foleys! Not like we were even inserting it, just the set up.

Sorry to hear about your frustration and it sounds like you were trying to be rational when you made your choice. Even if you made her mad, her allegations aren't right. This is nursing. Get used to it, chances are you will see it again somewhere.

I think going elsewhere was a good idea. Hope it goes better. Also, I had friends that failed their first year because they couldn't make the grades. They did fine the following year. I'm sure you will be fine especially since it wasn't grades.

One of my other friends was harassed by the instructors all of the time. Hmmmm, she got an award from the hospital she is at now. Go figure.

ORRocksRN · Mar 30, 2008

Do not give up! I had no problem getting into another program; in fact, I applied to three, and was accepted by all. I was more selective with my next choice in programs. Do everything you can, and then move on - considering the source. Don't allow anyone to get you down. I am graduating May 15. I am a very persistent person, but, I also know what I have to offer this field. :heartbeat

Can you tell us what state you're in or what schools accepted you? Did they ask for letters of reference from previous faculty members? how many of your credits transferred? all? how much of the program did you need to finish at the new school? maybe I'm in the wrong state.