My clinical instructor is SCARY forgetful

[missybee]

My clinical instructor for maternity is super forgetful, and does not really take the role of a teacher... She really just expects us to be nurses and do everything by ourselves. The only problem with that is, if my instructor isn't checking my documentation, and the assigned nurse is trusting that my assessment is accurate... WHAT IF I MESSED UP! Not to say I am incompetent but my assessment skills for maternity are certainly not concrete (we only had clinical twice) ; Why is she not validating my findings? Can I get in trouble if the instructor is not correcting my errors?

She is also very forgetful; she taught another group the first half of the semester and had plenty of time to learn the computer systems... and yet when we had our first day, she still didnt know how to document in the computers, something that took us students maybe an hour to learn. When we asked the other nurses on the floor how to use them, my instructor stood over me to take notes on how to use the computer!!!

She even documented a medication as being administered, but the pt never took the meds...

I feel if i say something, it may totally backfire!

Should I wait for the nurses at the facility to report her AND will I get in trouble if something bad happens! HELP!!!!

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

Your co-nurse is the one that should be doing her own assessment or be in the room with you. She/he is responsible for their patients. Your instructor doesn't know if what you put was right or not if they didn't see the patient. Now if it is your instructor that was with you with the assessment and also listened to lungs and heart, than yes she should check your charting to see if you did it right. But the nurse should STILL be doing her/his own assessment on the patient.

Obviously this varies for however they do your program, I only know how mine is done.