My clinical instructor threw me out of clinical!

Published

:cry:

I was taking care of a patient who had liquid diarrhea. I was not able to get to my med pass because of this. The patient's family was complaining about everything. I was getting no feedback from my instructor until she decided to make me go home. When I asked her what I did wrong, she said, "What didn't you do wrong?" I still dont' understand why she made me leave. What do you all think I should do given the situation?

All advice is very much appreciated. Thanks.

And it should also allow time to mistakes and time to learn from them to improve.

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Uhh, Had a nursing instructor tell a student she had "deserted her patient" just the other day in clinical, because she held off on changing a dressing that she was instructed to do in order to help another student with a procedure that required 2 people, (and yes, the student's were instructed to help each other and work as a team). My point is that instructors are people, and people are sometimes crazy! Just my opinion

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i agree that op should be organized, and prioritize better, but why kick her out of clinicals? that's a bit harsh, and ci's answer of "what didn't you do wrong" is certainly not helpful at all. yes, we can get flustered, and really that is ok, as long as we can recognize it and think logically through it. i'd make darn sure that i sat down with the ci and instructor and got specifics for improvement in writing, as a dismissal from clinical can lead to a dismissal from a program. you deserve a fair chance to learn from your mistakes.

we're only hearing the student's side of this story. there could be very valid reasons for what the instructor did, and we don't know what they are.

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I agree that there is more to this story. Just this week I had a patient with C-diff who seemed to have constant oozing of diarrhea. I also had one other patient to worry about (COPD and DM). What I did was changed I my C-diff patient and cleaned her up once an hour. Between cleanings I slathered sensicare on her to protect her skin. If I had stood there and tried to keep her continuously clean, I would have wiped a layer of skin off her backside. I felt it was more humane to protect her skin and gently clean her on a regular schedule, and my instructor agreed. I didn't miss meds passes, or anything else for that matter, on either of my patients. And I was still able to answer call lights and help out other classmates. In addition to prioritizing, critical thinking goes a long way.

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Specializes in Med-Tele, Internal Med PCU.
I agree that there is more to this story. Just this week I had a patient with C-diff who seemed to have constant oozing of diarrhea. I also had one other patient to worry about (COPD and DM). What I did was changed I my C-diff patient and cleaned her up once an hour. Between cleanings I slathered sensicare on her to protect her skin. If I had stood there and tried to keep her continuously clean, I would have wiped a layer of skin off her backside. I felt it was more humane to protect her skin and gently clean her on a regular schedule, and my instructor agreed. I didn't miss meds passes, or anything else for that matter, on either of my patients. And I was still able to answer call lights and help out other classmates. In addition to prioritizing, critical thinking goes a long way.

It sounds like you had a dialogue with your CI about how to handle the problem where the OP hadn't discussed a strategy with her CI. Nightbloom, if you are still following this thread, using your resources (CNAs/NCPs/Techs/other NSs) is part of the process, ask questions of your CI, and learn to stay confident ("fake it until you make it") while in patient's rooms. What if one of the meds was Amodium or on another anti-diarrhea med?

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Specializes in Taking one day at a time....
Keep in mind we are only getting one side of this story.

Good point. Perhaps I was just venting for myself.... LOL. :bugeyes:

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Good point. Perhaps I was just venting for myself.... LOL. :bugeyes:

:yeahthat:

Yes, there probably is more to the story, there usually is......

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I would say that "not doing the med pass" was probably the breaker here. Big thing is to make sure you notifiy your instructor if you are behind or having troubles. Did she know you were not going to pass your meds?

Probably good idea to talk to the instructor again for some feedback. She may have been flustered herself when she kicked you out.

Use this as a learning experience.

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I did go back to clinicals the next day. The pt taped a note written in big writing stating that the pt would not be taking any more nursing students. My classmates didn't understand why she made me go home either, but they were glad to see me.

She did follow up the next day by telling us that if we fell behind in our care to our pts she would send us home. I believe I was the example for that.

The next day I had a pt that was far more agreeable to having a student. The pt's meds were passed timely and the care was timely performed. The pt from the next day was very happy to see me when I came into the room.

I had heard of nurses eating their young, I just didn't expect it from a CI.

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Specializes in med/surg/tele/neuro/rehab/corrections.

Nightbloom, it sounds like you really learned from this experience and you got a lot of great advice here. Thanks for posting back. ;)

I don't agree with the CI kicking any student out because they fall behind. Her attentiveness should have assured that students don't fall too far behind. I'm not sure how it works at other schools but at mine the CI was always checking up on us at first. Plus we had a team leader who was always making rounds checking on everyone. (which could get really irritating. Have you done this yet? Have you charted that yet? etc.) and we were assigned partners. We helped each other and checked on each other and all students were expected to help each other out when in need, not just partners.

I think it was a power play on the part of the CI, not merely making you an example. But if you can learn something and others can learn from your mistakes then at least that is the good that can come out of the situation.

Good luck to you and I hope your future clinical experience is a more positive one :)

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Well, *that* certainly wasn't very helpful!!

Sounds like something my instructor would say :(

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Body language is very important. It tells quite a bit of how you feel about the situation and you don't have to say a word.

The family complained that you were "flustered" because it comes across as being either angry, mad at the situation or not caring.

I understand you were overwhelmed, but you can never appear overwhelmed. If you need help, remind the family, "I'm a student. I want make sure everyone has the best care but I think I need to step out for a second and get some help, I'll be right back, I won't be gone long."....how can they possibly have a problem with that?

I can't agree more. My clinical instructor was the same. She said fake it till you make it. When some of us came to clinical being frustrated or ready to cry for some reason, she said, "It's not that I don't care, but you have people up there counting on you. Suck it up. Leave home at home, and work is for healing. You can't heal someone if your emotions are everywhere." This is something VERY hard to do as a student nurse, but you will get the hang of it. Be very open and understanding with your instructor, and tell her you felt overwhelmed but you understand how this could be perceived by another person. The most important thing about nursing school is being humble and accepting criticism. It's the only way you can learn. Keep you chin up sweetie.

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