I got removed from my clinical practice

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Feb 13, 2013

Hello, and welcome to Allnurses.com . . .

You might have problems transferring your credits to another school if you do not want to be readmitted to your current school of nursing. Ultimately, the choice is yours.

It would be difficult to advise you without having both sides of the story. You say you have a difficult relationship with your instructor. Are you the only student who has a difficult relationship with this particular instructor? Is there a reason he or she dislikes you?

i wanted to more tasks than just assessments and head to toe all day.

In nursing school you must learn to obey your instructors and conform to the crowd without standing out. Some people will disagree with me, but the students who stand out like a sore thumb are also frequently the first ones who get targeted by their instructors. You cannot do anything to annoy your instructors, especially clinical instructors, because they can fail you on subjective hogwash if you come across as too demanding or get on their nerves. It's unfair, but that's the way it is.

Even though you wanted to do more tasks at clinical, perhaps your clinical instructor felt irritated by this request. Remember, it is important to not make too many demands of your clinical instructors because they can fail students on a whim.

I felt the nursing staff didn't assist me.

The staff nurses are not there to assist you, as unfortunate as this may seem. It is always nice if they are helpful, but they are not obligated to assist nursing students. Be thankful that the facility is even allowing students to complete clinical rotations, because many hospitals do not want the liability.

LEN-RN · Feb 13, 2013

Refusing to return because it would be a hostile environment - why did you feel it would be hostile? Being on Facebook during clinicals or on your cell phone is not allowed. Going to the department head of the facility And complaining is never an option. A nursing student is not an employee. Any and all complaints are to be directed to your instructor or your school. Nursing students in the clinical setting of a hospital or any setting are to be seen. Not heard. Meaning they are to respect the staff that is there and to stay out of the way. It is a privilege to for nursing students to be in a real setting. Being aggressive for more responsibilities is sometimes good but it's the way one goes about it. Was this your first clinical rotation ? If so - learning the basics is vital. Many times instructors will give students what they can handle. If it was at a nursing home - there are times that there's not much more than head to toe assessments. Doing those over and over may seem boring - but it is the most important skill you will use over and over and over and over. No nurse is above it. It is a required skill

CrunchRN, ADN, RN · Feb 13, 2013

You need to find out exactly why they feel you need counseling.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Feb 13, 2013

I would endorse what the other posters have written and add this: What were the nature of your facebook posts? If they were in any way negative toward your instructor, your school or (worst) the facility you were doing your clinical instruction in - you're likely not going to get back in to this school. Or this facility as a student. Or possibly any other school.

Your behavior at the clinical site should mirror classroom behavior - be quiet, pay attention and do what you are asked to do. It sounds like you did not do this.

Crazed · Feb 13, 2013

You absolutely cannot bad mouth a facility or staff. Any student who causes waves at a facility is a risk to the program period.

If you feel like you weren't given enough to do then you make yourself available. Ask other students if they need help, ask the CNAs if they need help, and look at everything as learning. There have been times when I've had nothing left to do so I've enjoyed my time with one patient and just talked to them about their lives etc. The programs are designed to not let you get ahead of yourself and then cause harm to yourself or others.

Entitlement is an ugly thing. I've said that an instructors style and my own didn't mesh well but I've never blamed an instructor. My instructor has a reputation for being a little hard nosed but she has a professional reputation to uphold. What we do, or don't do, reflects upon her.

danny411 · Feb 13, 2013

hi

yes time and probably the last time

from what you were saying it doesn't seem like i would get re admittance

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from what everyone has said i guess the head of the department is actually helping me. I don't know why but she is. She told me that i have to keep my mouth shut, do what the instructor says to do and do not complaint. I am also surprised that the head of my department is actually getting me a job as a companion.

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maybe i was way too aggressive in pushing for more activities

i was told by a rca at the nursing home i use to volunteer at to push for more activities

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initially i did ask my instruct but my requests were never returned

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yes i did help the other student nurses. one was in her last semester so i did vitals.

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mostly i spent the last day talking to all the patients in the room, but i felt i could do alot more

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ok thnx

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Feb 13, 2013

Talking to patients is a great way to develop your therapeutic communication skills and assessment skills. When I was in school a patient was having a casual conversation with me about their family & situation and admitted he was so depressed he was nearly suicidal. Something that was never mentioned to the nursing staff or even his family. I went to my instructor who in turn went to the patient's primary nurse who had suspected he was severely depressed but never said anything concrete for them to take action even when asked directly if he was sad and thought about harming himself. I was requested to go with the primary nurse to speak with the patient. He was relieved that someone had listened to what he was saying and the nursing staff was able to intervene and get the patient the help he so desperately needed. His mental state that he hid so well was actually impeding his recovery. When we returned to the facility for our next rotation a few weeks later, the nursing staff with the patient's permission was able to inform us that because of our therapeutic listening skills he was happily discharged in the care of his family and swiftly on the road to recovery from his medical condition.

So for the first six weeks of clinical rotations we were interviewing patients, obtaining vital signs, completing assessments, and doing whatever "small" tasks (getting blankets, pillows, water, snacks, tissues whatever the patient needed as directed by our clinical instructor or the nursing staff). Any questions about a patient's care or help with an assessment were always directed to our clinical instructors.

Doing assessments is the baseline of nursing skills. If you cannot assess you will never be able to develop a care plan. You will never be successful with clinical skills & procedures. You can easily miss clues to a patient's condition if you don't know their baseline assessment and what "should be"....

As far as unprofessional conduct, this may not necessarily relate to your clinical performance but what you decided to publicly post on FaceBook or other public venues or even perhaps comments made in the clinical environment within earshot of facility staff. Students are not an asset to a facility but a liability. If they are going to bad mouth their own program, facility staff or worse skirt privacy laws and discuss their clinical education experience, their is a high risk of release of inappropriate information. I've seen facilities only agree to a second rotation if a particular student was not permitted to work there due to their behavior and indiscretions.

The counseling may not be mental health counseling but could also be counseling as to how to properly behave in a clinical rotation and what is appropriate to be shared in a public forum.

Keeping your mouth shut and do what is asked of you is necessary while in school. (obviously not if it is a potential harm to a patient then you follow the proper chain of command...i.e. a staff member tells you that it's no big deal when you see a parent berating and hitting their child as it happens all the time, and don't file an incident report. In that case go to your instructor for advice and assistance right away.)

ElizaW · Feb 13, 2013

If you really are a brilliant student, please understand that brilliance is a liability for nurses. It may be valued in other professions, but nurses just need to get things done. MDs are expected to be brilliant. Nurses are expected to gather pertinent information for the MD and then do what the MD tells them to do. Your instructors aren't looking for enthusiastic students who want to take on more responsibility. You are working under their license. Mistakes you make can bite them in the rear. They expect you to zip it and follow instructions. When you get out in the working world your employers will want you to make no waves and follow protocol.

Nursing school is about keeping your head down, drawing as little attention to yourself as possible, and following instructions. It's not about proving how smart you are. It's also about becoming aculturated as a nurse. This means you must get along with all sorts of difficult people, show up on time even when your street is a raging river or a snow covered slope, follow all instructions, and keep your opinions to yourself. You may have a hard time doing those things. (I know I did.) You have to learn how to do them though, because you won't be able to keep a job if you don't.

Or skip nursing school and go to med school. The choice is yours.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Feb 14, 2013

hi
i got removed from my clinical practice
i didn't think i could pass the clinical cause i had missed 24 hours of clinical time and would have to return to what i perceived a hostile environment
so i withdrew

I'm confused. Did you get removed from clinical or did you voluntarily withdraw because you didn't want to return to a "hostile environment"? While you can quit your job in the real world and seek employment elsewhere if you feel the environment is hostile, nursing school is not the real world and you need to suck it up and complete your clinicals to finish the program.

originally they said i was a danger to the clients

Why did they say this? What happened that led them to make this assessment?

however, i have a very difficult relationship with my instructor. I had to clarify my assignments 3 times cause they were very unclear.

I don't see why having to clarify an assignment would lead to a "very difficult relationship" with your instructor. There's got to be more to it than this.

but yesterday i emailed and this is what i got: i was removed for unprofessional conduct spamming fb, and wanting to log a complaint with the presidents office about not receiving sufficient opportunities or support from the nursing staff. I felt the nursing staff didn't assist me. i wanted to more tasks than just assessments and head to toe all day. at the time my patient was fully independent and had pseudo seizures. my instructor said they worked with me well enough. they greeted me at the beginning and end of the shift.

Guess what? It's not the floor nurses' job to assist you or to find tasks for you to do. They are not being paid to teach you- that's what your instructor is being paid to do. To be perfectly honest, while I enjoyed working with students, I hated the days when there were clinical groups on the floor. They hogged all the computers and got in the way and created more work for me. It's not the staff nurses' fault nor is it their concern that you don't feel busy enough with your assigned patient. They've got more important things to worry about.

i had a meeting with the head of the department. The head of the department also said i was a brilliant student, the other students liked me and the patients and family really liked me.
but i'am a little confused, i was removed and they have subsequently sent me to counselling. I'm not really sure why they sent me to counselling?
I was asked right after the first meeting to see a doctor and get a mental and physical status exam. I sent them the letter confirming that i don't have a mental illness.
obviously the issue seems bigger than unprofessional conduct ? why would they send me to counselling ?

Did you ask them why they made this requirement? I doubt that any of us would be able to answer that question for you as we were not involved in making this decision.

Your OP reeks of entitlement- the nursing staff didn't help me enough, I get to lodge a complaint against the staff because they weren't catering to me, I wanted more to do and they didn't pay attention to me. Perhaps your school feels it would be good to work through these issues before you attempt to return to clinical.

allnurses Guide · Feb 14, 2013

First off, OP, I am sorry you are going through this, it must be an awful stress.

That being said, I suspect there is a whole different side to this story that we aren't hearing.

DeBerham · Feb 14, 2013

I strongly suspect something is missing as the original post seems to be INCREDIBLY one sided. Are you brilliant? Perhaps, but at the end of the day that will not keep you from being terminated from a nursing program or a job because you have poor interpersonal skills or judgement.

Protips:

NEVER post anything negative about another student/coworker, boss/instructor, or school/facility on a social networking site. You are getting ready to become a professional and your rantings reflect poorly on you and your profession

You are never as brilliant as you think and you are EASILY replaced. Keep this in mind and be humble when dealing with others.

If your boss/instructor tells you to do or not do something it is probably in your best interest to follow their instructions. In this case you are a STUDENT. This means you have just enough knowledge to be dangerous and are in no position to be dictating the terms of your education.

There is a heirarcy in every job and it is your responsibility to learn and properly utilize your chain of command. Going directly to the president of the institution was a pretty big faux pas. I'm not sure who you think you are, but this is NEVER tollerated in any organization (open door policy? It's a trap!)

As another poster stated, the nursing staff are not there to help you. I mean, seriously... really? Did you really think that's why they were there? I would suggest you think carefully about your opinion on this because it is patently wrong. The nursing staff on the floor are there to take care of patients. Your presence there is at the discretion of the facility and if it appears you are interfering with that mission you will be removed. Worse than this though, your school may be asked to not return. Depending on your area and the number of hospitals vs number of schools this may be a very difficult thing for a school to deal with.

You WILL deal with difficult people, and especially in this field, some of those people will either be directly or indirectly in charge of you. Learn how to work with them because you will fail if you believe that someone who is your superior will bend to your wants/desires.