Yesterday I left a patients bed up to go grab some wipes. My instructor walked in and saw that the bed was in the high position while I was gone. This was what got me kicked out of nursing school.
I always thought that school was a place to learn, and to grow. To make mistakes.
There were other incidences like putting nystatin cream on a patient after report, leaving colace at the bedside because I needed a liquid preparation because my patient wouldn't swallow (d/t confusion), for answering a patients friends question (knowing the patient knew him for 20+ years, but since I did not directly ask permission it was violating hippa, and lastly, for the whole bed incident.
I don't want to blame my clinical instructor for my failure. But I just wish I didn't make those mistakes.
"fundamental mistakes"? yep, and they are called fundamental for a reason. they are the foundation of what nursing is. fundamental mistakes are not trivial, are not minor, are not something that should be easily overlooked or breezily forgiven. you say you made a pretty impressive series of them. these were careless in the broadest sense of the word-- you did not think enough about caring for vulnerable people to internalize the most basic rules of patient safety we have. not your instructor, not somebody else. you.
i am sorry you had a bad experience but this is sometimes how we have to learn. as to being corrected in front of other students, my grandmother used to say, "some of us are put on this earth to be examples to others." your bitterness and hyperbole about perfection aside, you have, at least for now, fulfilled that role.
now you can take some time away, think about it, and grow a bit from the experience. it is my guess that with time and maturity you will realize this is all true, own your responsibility, and perhaps resume your nursing education. if not, then bear in mind that every career has moments like this, with similar antecedents; if you can't avoid making careless fundamental mistakes and take responsibility for your failures at the fundamentals, you will not advance in the profession, whatever it is.
How will you get accepted into PA school if you are expelled from a Nursing School?
I don't think you can make "careless" mistakes as a physician assistant. For example, write a script for 300 mgs when you really mean 30 mgs, twice daily.
How will you get accepted into PA school if you are expelled from a Nursing School?
I don't think you can make "careless" mistakes as a physician assistant. For example, write a script for 300 mgs when you really mean 30 mgs, twice daily.
The PA programs in my area are far more competitive than nursing school. I doubt this will be an option at this point.
I say PA because it is within the health care field, but it is not involved with direct patient care (e.g., wiping @$$ while raising beds). And I do have more than a half a brain somewhere. But now that I am being kicked while I'm down, maybe I'll consider hairdressing, or waitressing. Or wait, maybe since I may drop a steaming hot bowl of soup on somebody or nick someones head, I'll just remain jobless, stay home and make it safer for everyone.
Thank you LVN and a few others for giving me some hope.
Not one person who has posted is perfect. I hope that you are able to keep your head up and not let anyone deter you from reaching your goals. I think that you are learning from your mistakes or you wouldn't be so upset about this. I really wish you the best in whatever you decide. Never give up, learn and move forward.:hug::hug::hug::hug:
My aunt is a military nurse, and I went to her for advice on what I should do. She had a similar experience in Nsg school with an Instructor who would embarrass her, blow off everything she said, everything she did was wrong, and said that she would never let her take care of her patients. She left clinical early because she could not deal with it anymore. And the instructor tried to count it as a clinical absence and kick her out of the program. So she went to BON and her clinical buddies stood up for her and said she was competent, and that she would never do anything to hurt a patient.
She was reinstated and re-did the rotation.
Maybe it was all her fault that she couldn't handle the pressure. Maybe that's what makes us stronger. She is a nurse in the army as well as out now and she is the strongest person I know. That is what gives me strength to know that I am not the only one.
I don't think I will go to the BON. But I still want to fight for staying in the profession I feel so strongly about.
That makes no sense. The BON doesn't have anything to do with students.
It has been something I have been interested in and passionate for for a while. I work as an LNA on a medsurg floor and I see these things being done all the time. I even found a used needle left in a patients bed one time! And nobody gets fired for it.
Those are all fundamental issues, and anybody can make fundamental mistakes. If I hadn't left that bed up, I would still be in clinical now. And still have a shot at being a nurse at the hospital I was promised a job at. I've just heard of so much worse that others did not get kicked out for and it breaks my heart that I couldn't prove myself to my instructor.
I was thinking of getting all the faculty members together for a meeting for their perception, and what I can do for the future. I was also thinking of going straight to the board of nursing. I have nothing to lose at this point.
Good luck with "getting the faculty together for a meeting"- you're a student. They have experience, and you work under their license while in school.
The BON has nothing to do with students. It's the Board of Nursing- not BOSN.... I can understand being upset- but at the same time, the TYPE of mistakes you made could be lethal- how many chances do you figure you get? I'm sorry it's gone badly for you- seriously-that has to be devastating. But it could have been worse- they could let it go until something really horrible happened- then you'd have to live with that.
My choices were administrative failure, or withdrawal failure. I chose the latter and spoke with the head of nursing. I may or may not return to the profession, but I have a pretty bitter taste in my mouth right now.
I believe it is a violation of nursing care to pinpoint and humiliate student nurses in front of peers. I believe it is a violation of nursing care to blow students off and think everything they say is wrong. I don't believe that emotionally abusing people is effective teaching. Maybe physical abuse like in the nun days. Or in the army where you are made to kill. I believe that this perpetuates fear and poor modeling for the future of nursing. I was good at what I did and I was complimented by staff and told by my clinical group that they looked up to me. I was an A student before nursing school, and a B student in it. I am a damned good person and I did the best I could to prove what I was made of. If that is a problem then I am happy to leave the profession.
I want to tell every single nursing student or pre-nursing student out there. Watch every single move you make. Do everything your instructors want, be prepared and never make a mistake. You will sweat, and cry and work 6-8 hours a night on careplans and spend thousands of dollars on something you may not make it through. I have seen many others go as well as myself. It is a rewarding field. And it has been everyday on the floor as an LNA and a nursing student. But today was the least rewarding of my life, after all the work I put into it. And for one semester and 4 mistakes. Have one bad day and you're toast.
YOU ARE NOT THE PATIENT. Nursing care applies to patients. You were not abused. Your ego was hurt. You did not list evidence of being "good at what you did". You can be incredibly book smart, and not be able to apply it.
You aren't sounding rational about what is really going on- you made mistakes. Period. If you can't deal with that, then getting out is probably best. I hope you find something that you find rewarding
I simply did not think before leaving the room. I simply did not think before answering the patients friend when he asked how he was doing because I figured that I wasn't giving medical information and the patient stated they knew the friend for 20+ years. I did think with the colace, the patient had been taking the colace and chewing them before (info I got from the nurse) but when I tried he refused. I figured liquid colace would fare better and I didn't know if I should throw out the med or keep it for any info, I left the room and the patients bedside table was far enough for him not to reach, and then didn't think to take the colace with me. I didn't think to put the bed down because the patient was on bedrest and the siderails were up and I was going to be gone for a minute to get wipes. Anything could have happened while I was running out of that room.
I was negligent many times. I may be smart in theory, but maybe I'm not smart with dealing with people on the floor.
I don't know what I am going to do next. I found a quote that I quite liked, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. Then go and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~Howard Thurman
Nursing made me come alive. It made me think, it challeneged me. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. And it was the people that made it most interesting. I have touched many lives and I thought of it as saving the world one person at a time.
But there are other things that make me come alive. I love to paint. I love the creativity and poetry of what you see on canvas. I love to write. I have a blog - http://peacelifehappiness.blogspot.com - and I use this as a creative outlet for writing, showing my paintings and collecting things on the web that makes me happy. I will find happiness again. It's not the end of the world. I will remember all the mistakes I made, never make them again, and THINK before I do anything.
Getting liquid Colace isn't as simple as going to the med cart and getting some- it requires a call to the doc and a new order- then time to process the order, and for pharmacy to send it- takes hours.....
Save the "world"???? Work on finding something that confines it to a few less than that
Thank you for being so frank. I am upset that I was let go after all the hard work and determination and care I've put into this. And I would love to blame it on everything else so that it doesn't hurt as much. But in the end ultimately I made these mistakes. Even though I'm the best person I can be and I tried the best I could, sometimes that isn't enough, and maybe it's the outside forces trying to tell me that. Maybe I would have been very unhappy in this line of work. I do hear of nurses getting burnt out in 10 years or less. And even though I'm extremely positive, it may have been very draining for me.
I am very passionate about health and it is involved in everything I do, everyday. I'm thinking of possibly going for a bachelors in Nutrition and maybe going for PA. It is more cerebral and related but not so much on the floor with direct patient care where I can make those kind of mistakes. There is so much I can do but I still want to be involved in the health care field.
Find something that feels right- and that is right for you. :)
It's always hard to not complete what you want to do- but at the same time, it can be a HUGE benefit in the long run FOR you.
I started out to be a preschool teacher for emotionally disturbed kids. Special Ed. I got sick, and had to leave the university- I was devastated. But, it turned out for the best- come to find out I'm not that crazy about kids
In a few years, you will know why all of this happened. Until then, focus on the good. Look for the things that you are learning, and apply them to a future career.
I say PA because it is within the health care field, but it is not involved with direct patient care (e.g., wiping @$$ while raising beds). And I do have more than a half a brain somewhere. But now that I am being kicked while I'm down, maybe I'll consider hairdressing, or waitressing. Or wait, maybe since I may drop a steaming hot bowl of soup on somebody or nick someones head, I'll just remain jobless, stay home and make it safer for everyone.
Thank you LVN and a few others for giving me some hope.
Yes, you are down, but who's kicking?
You posted your story and many of us see a problem.
Either you never learned the basic things you needed to learn or something is interfering with your ability to function. Whatever... you've made serious mistakes... and what do you want?
No one is going to tell you what you want to hear.
Sugar coating has no place where mistakes are life and death.
Nursing school has a high standard. You fell short.
Stop blaming the system and stop feeling sorry for yourself.
Figure out your problem... dig deep... come up with a plan and put it into motion... move forward.
You still may have a shot at nursing... but not if you fail to gain insight and a sense of accountability.
nurseprnRN, BSN, RN
1 Article; 5,116 Posts
"fundamental mistakes"? yep, and they are called fundamental for a reason. they are the foundation of what nursing is. fundamental mistakes are not trivial, are not minor, are not something that should be easily overlooked or breezily forgiven. you say you made a pretty impressive series of them. these were careless in the broadest sense of the word-- you did not think enough about caring for vulnerable people to internalize the most basic rules of patient safety we have. not your instructor, not somebody else. you.
i am sorry you had a bad experience but this is sometimes how we have to learn. as to being corrected in front of other students, my grandmother used to say, "some of us are put on this earth to be examples to others." your bitterness and hyperbole about perfection aside, you have, at least for now, fulfilled that role.
now you can take some time away, think about it, and grow a bit from the experience. it is my guess that with time and maturity you will realize this is all true, own your responsibility, and perhaps resume your nursing education. if not, then bear in mind that every career has moments like this, with similar antecedents; if you can't avoid making careless fundamental mistakes and take responsibility for your failures at the fundamentals, you will not advance in the profession, whatever it is.
good luck to you, dear, really.