need advice, help (Canadian second year student)

[wordemup]

I am a second year male student that has just finished my CPE in a general surgery floor. I have good grades overall 80%+ in all my classes and have never had any issues with my schooling before until now. On the second last of my practice I was told by my instructor that she was worried about me and was unsure if i had met the requirements to move into third year. I was told that I was "having difficulty putting the whole picture together and a few more things" in the last 2 days my instructor has been on me about everything i do and i feel that i have been scrutinized (which is expected) about my practice in the floor.

This came out of left field for me, I had no idea that i was "at risk" of failing my CPE and was never told by my instructor. No learning contract, no warning and no signs anywhere verbal or written. I feel that my situation is unfair as I have been given no time at all to fix the issues that my instructor sees in me. During our discussion I mentioned to her that I have a lot going on in my life, My mind was preocupied and had even though about calling in and not coming into practice, obviously this cannot be done on the last day after being told i might be failing.

I dont know what to do, should i appeal if i dont pass? should i try to get into some sort of contract or be put into some kind of list? I plan to contact the second year leader but im not really sure what to tell him.

Any thoughts, experience stories or advice are welcome.

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

It's really too bad that all this came at you out of the blue. Evaluations should never be a surprise. Your instructor should have given you specific areas where s/he feels you're not quite making the grade. Having all the theory at the tip of your tongue but being unable to integrate it into what you do at the bedside is a fairly common problem for students at your stage of education. (It's also something that will continue throughout your career. It's kind of like a jigsaw puzzle, in that you know something about something but until you're actually working with it you won't totally see how the pieces fit together.) Nursing care is a complex activity requiring a strong knowledge base, time management, prioritization and scrupulous attention to psychometric skills. Your instructor should have given you some suggestions for resolving the areas you aren't quite on top of and offered a timeline for making this happen. This didn't happen, and that fact might provide you with grounds for an appeal. I suggest you contact your second year lead and tell him that you've been told you're not ready to move on to third year, that it was the first time you'd been informed of any deficiencies, that there was no attempt to nip the problem in the bud nor any suggestions as to how to correct them now and that you're very confused by all of this. Then ask his advice. It's possible that a frank discussion between you, the lead and the instructor may be enough to resolve the issue. Or there may be some sort of remediation that can be arranged. The longer you leave it the less likely there will be anything that can be done.

Never, ever tell anyone in authority that you were preoccupied with personal issues. This is usually seen as an excuse and a weakness. We all have things going on in our lives but as we progress through our careers, we learn how to compartmentalize. When you're at work, you have to be completely present at work, especially in a high reliability profession like nursing. Accountability is one of the most important qualities nurses are expected to have, and accepting responsibility for our own actions is very high on that list. It's never too soon to begin thinking as a professional. I hope you're able to resolve this quickly and to your satisfaction. Best wishes!

[wordemup]

Thank you for your response Jan, it is unfortunate and I wish that I would have been assigned to an instructor with experience with second year students (this is the first time my teacher has done 2nd year teaching in clinical setting).

Regarding being told about my deficiencies, we do have midterm evaluations. in the midterm evaluation we did discuss that i had to continue working on this area, but i was not told that I was at risk of failing. The outcome was: you are working on the area that we talked about keep up the good work.

I have talked to the leader of my year and he simply told me that there was nothing i can do until i get a final grade from my instructor

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

That's too bad. There's so much that could be done to mitigate this for you. Like I said, nothing in an evaluation should come as a surprise. And that doesn't just mean the formal mid-term evals, it means all feedback. You should have a sense of what you're doing well and what you're not based on ongoing feedback, and it sounds like you didn't get that. I'll hope for the best for you.