Missed Clinical Orient. May be Expelled

goodstudentnowRN · Oct 26, 2009

If the instructor is at fault she needs to fix it. This is nonsense, the instructor has the responsibility to inform the students of the orientation date and time.

itsmejuli · Oct 26, 2009

At the school I went to if we missed clinical orientation we were out, if we missed more than 3 clinical days or lecture classes in a 6 week session we were out, if we missed attending clinical performance review we were out. And of course if you got an unsatisfactory in clinicals or less than 70% grade in lecture then you are out.

The nursing instructor for clinicals should have given "Barb" and everyone else in the class a written confirmation of when and where orientation would be. Also, if "Barb" was unsure of the time and place, why didn't she confirm with another student? And why was she 2 hours late for the first day of clinicals?

When I was doing clinicals, we were considered late at 5 minutes late and absent for the day at 15 minutes late.

Music in My Heart · Oct 26, 2009

Hello everybody,
I'm sharing this for all those prospective student to get a barometer of NS
Another student (I will call Barb) in my Nursing school missed her clinical orientation and then the first 2 hrs of her 1st clinical day...Barb was set to show up at 3. I happened to be at the hospital and saw a clinical group and called Barb, she promptly showed up...as the story goes her clinical instructor who was the last to confirm clinical times and orientation day (with about a week to go)...that part I know is true. Supposedly, she never sent out a confirmation email telling her students when the orientation was. Another student posted the clinical start date on the school website. Barb showed up late and was dismissed for the day and now risks expulsion? Barb claims she talked to her instructor and confirmed a 3:00 PM orient. on Sat...Is it really this easy to get kicked out of nursing school when you have not even made a medical error? Has anybody else experienced this? Whew! I'm on my toes now!
I however think that every opportunity to assert yourself is a lesson in assertiveness...autonomy...and critical thinking!!!! Rules 1,2 & 3 of nursing.

To your question - Yes, it's that easy to be kicked out of nursing school.

If "Barb" was the only student in the group to be late then I'm more inclined to think the problem is Barb's and not the instructor's.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Oct 26, 2009

I am with Musicinmyheart, seems odd everyone but Barb got the notice.

Usually depending on the mess up you can have one mess up, at least in my school, you than get remediation and might get one more chance depending on what it is, or if you mess up again you are out.

We are only allowed to miss 2 clinical days per semester and you must notify the clinical instructor prior. A girl in my class missed a clinical day and didn't call so she got remediation and if she does anything else she will be dismissed from the program. Their are also mandatory class days that can not be missed and so on.

Also in my program if you missed the first day of school which was orientation or clinical orientation you were dismissed automatically from the program and this is all outlined in the handbook.

FLmomof5 · Oct 27, 2009

1.) In our school you can "miss" 1 clinical. That one is made up at the instructors convenience.

2.) I missed the first orientation. However, I knew when it was supposed to be held and ASKED my instructor's permission. (My parent's 50th anniversary was that weekend. I live in FL. THEY live in NY!)

3.) We started Adult Health I today. On Friday the teacher emailed "everybody" to be at class 5:30 PM, expect to take a dosage calc test and see demonstrations of certain clinical skills. Unfortunately, we have 2 sections in Eve/WE. Those in sec 7 got the email. Those in section 8 did not. Those in section 7 were in contact with some of us in section 8. I emailed the instructor informing her that the schedule was not in the syllabus and that many did not get her email! She posted the schedule after noon today. (BTW, eve classes don't start until 6 because most of us work!)

Anyway, 2 couldn't help but be late, but they did show up. Only 1 failed to show up out of 24!

Teamwork can mean everything!

dozndawg · Oct 27, 2009

I think I'd agree with all of you. She finds out tomorrow@0900. I've spent a lifetime of being ontime/early and proactively informed on anything that may affect my future. The responsibilty is ours! Thank you all.

Chapis · Oct 27, 2009

so what happened to 'barb'?

vmoh18 · Oct 27, 2009

My school is good at keeping the student informed about schedules and changes. However, the instructors will tell you that if there is any confusion about schedules it is our responsibility to clarify it. I do not understand, if she knew that orientation was coming up, why she did not call or e-mail the instructor to get a date and time. And, if everybody else was there why wasn't she.

DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN · Oct 27, 2009

Hmmm...I agree if Barb was the only one she likely made a mistake.

However, I don't like this whole idea of giving info out individually. This has happened in our classes and it is just crazy making. Everything from topics to be covered in a test...whether the clinical site requires a flu vaccination...to accepted deviations from uniforms have been given to those "who asked". Extremely poor communication.

One email or class handout could have stopped "Barb" making a mistake.

caliotter3 · Oct 27, 2009

I am with Musicinmyheart, seems odd everyone but Barb got the notice.
Usually depending on the mess up you can have one mess up, at least in my school, you than get remediation and might get one more chance depending on what it is, or if you mess up again you are out.
We are only allowed to miss 2 clinical days per semester and you must notify the clinical instructor prior. A girl in my class missed a clinical day and didn't call so she got remediation and if she does anything else she will be dismissed from the program. Their are also mandatory class days that can not be missed and so on.
Also in my program if you missed the first day of school which was orientation or clinical orientation you were dismissed automatically from the program and this is all outlined in the handbook.

It is quite possible to be the odd man out when it comes to getting notices. I found myself in a pinch regarding clinical one time because for some reason I was the only person in the group who did not get the correct info. I got a royal chewing out by the instructor over something that was not my fault. I always found myself on the outside looking in because I commuted from the opposite direction as everyone else. Even when I made the effort to look out for getting the scoop on my own, it seems that every once in awhile I would be provided the wrong info. Of course, I was always made to feel that it was supposed to be my fault, even when it clearly was not.

dozndawg · Oct 27, 2009

Here's the scoop...supposedly the clinical instructor said all appropriate info was giving in a timely manner and Barb was at fault. The clinical instructor wrote a letter to our proffessors stating this. The meeting Barb had was with our two lecture prof. and another professor the director of nursing has been in contact with all involved. The recomendation is to be withdrawn from the program and retake this semester. Another option is to file a grievance with the school. There seems to be some apprehension on Barb's part to come back. So, with all this I've learned...? Don't let this happen to me!!! Responsibility, assertiveness, autonomy, & critical thinking! They always come up practice now and implement!!! Thanks to all. Best group of people on the Internet!!!