owing money for missed clincals

MishlB · Nov 17, 2002

Originally posted by shg
Hello, where I'm at school they charge us $100 for a missed clinical day you can only miss three clinicals each semester or you fail and $50 for a missed learning lab. Do your schools do this or is mine unique?

YES! We are also charged for missed time. The money is actually paid to an instructor to make up the time you lost. They must come in on their own time to assist you in making up the time lost. I think it's fair only because it prevents people from missing a day "just because they didn't feel like going".

MishlB · Nov 17, 2002

Originally posted by Vsummer1
We can miss 16 hours that do not need to be made up. We can make up clinicals (no charge) but my instructor only teaches my group so a make up will be with another instructor and must be prearranged.

Here is an interesting thing... one of the instructor's children had surgery, and so her class missed a day of clinicals. They were required to make it up! I understand the need for the certain hours (the BON requires that for the license) but why make a student make up a day because the instructor couldn't do it? Some of the student's have arranged their lives around their class schedule and work, have daycare issues etc. so this requirement to make up a day outside of their regular schedule seems unfair to me. And I am not even in that group!

To charge student's for a service NOT rendered seems illegal and WRONG to me.

Are you for real? You are a student! We have had to rearrange clinical times due to instructor appointments. You are not being charged money to perform clinicals, just doing them on a different day. If we cannot make a clinical day, they work with us, and set up an alternate time to make it up. As long as we have our required hours completed, and we don't ask to be rescheduled for ridiculous reasons, everything is fine. If we miss a certain amount of hours, then we must pay an instructor an hourly wage, comparable to what they would be making, to come in on their off time to supervise us as we do clinicals. Wouldn't you want to be paid for your time if one of your students missed clinicals??

What will you do when you have to work and things come up? You won't get paid, that's what.

Vsummer1 · Nov 17, 2002

Originally posted by MishlB
Are you for real? You are a student! We have had to rearrange clinical times due to instructor appointments. You are not being charged money to perform clinicals, just doing them on a different day. If we cannot make a clinical day, they work with us, and set up an alternate time to make it up. As long as we have our required hours completed, and we don't ask to be rescheduled for ridiculous reasons, everything is fine. If we miss a certain amount of hours, then we must pay an instructor an hourly wage, comparable to what they would be making, to come in on their off time to supervise us as we do clinicals. Wouldn't you want to be paid for your time if one of your students missed clinicals??
What will you do when you have to work and things come up? You won't get paid, that's what.

Huh? Yes I am for real, and yes student's did clear their schedules to go when they were TOLD to. Now, mid semester, they are being TOLD to change their schedule and miss work so yes -- "they won't get paid, that's what". And if they can't go to work and get paid, guess what? No money to pay TWICE for a service they paid for through their tuition. They paid for a teacher to teach them, made plans (including daycare arrangements and work schedules) according to the schedule provided by the school.

I haven't missed any time at all... I go when I am TOLD to. I just was expressing empathy for the student's who got treated differently than my group is being treated. My group hasn't had an instructor who was unable to instruct at the time scheduled.

nurseleigh · Nov 17, 2002

In my school you can make up up to 2 clinicals during the semester. After that you have to pay $30 per hour. At 7-8 hour day clinicals that is $210-$240 A DAY!!!!!!!!!!

However, my school is pretty good about letting you schedule as many make up days as you can during the semester, so if I were to miss three clinical days and I had three open days I would not have to pay the $30 per hour for the third day. That charge is only enforced if an instructor has to work on a day that she wouldn't normally. Make since? I hope so.

Leigh

BadBird, BSN, RN · Nov 17, 2002

I have never heard of charging money for a missed clinical, isn't that extortion?

nrselisa · Nov 17, 2002

I wish we had that option. I would gladly pay for a missed clinical day. At my school there are NO excuses for missed days. For each hour or portion of an hour, you lose 1 point off of your final grade. So no matter what, we are all there. If we are sick as dogs, we are there. I would love to stay in bed when I am sick & just pay 100 bucks to make up the day, it sounds worth it to me. Losing points off of your final grade can make a BIG difference. I would understand paying the instructor for there time, it wasn't their fault if someone missed. Why should they work for free. Just my opinon. :)

Lisa

cindyln · Nov 17, 2002

Paying for missed clinicals?? Heck you already paid for them with tuition!! What are they thinking of?? :confused:

Vsummer1 · Nov 17, 2002

I just got the worst call! A student in my clinical rotation failed last semester in the theory part. He has come back, is doing great and is very helpful to all of us. Well, he injured himself last night, tore the tendon in his knee. We have only 5 days of clinicals left in the semester and he cannot even bear weight on the leg.

It is awful to think that they will fail him because of this! He asked me my advice -- should he call the instructor or not? I told him no way, don't call... show up with a clear head (don't take the pain killers!) and present your case. His pt can do all ADL's and he basically just needs to do assessment and pass meds. Since he made it through clinicals just fine last semester, and is doing so well I truly hope that they will allow him to finish up.

In this case, I do hope they work with him. With only 5 days left, he has a total of 15 hours he can miss. So, basically, if he can make it through 3 days THEN have surgery, he will be home free and can pass the semester.

I truly hope the instructor's will make an exception in this case, on an individual basis. He already did this rotation once, and passed. What do you all think???

Mkue · Nov 17, 2002

Val, I think if he is a hard-working student than they should give him a break. Three days will be difficult for him, then he can have the surgery.

I wish him luck!:)

oilerfan · Nov 19, 2002

That is just freaking wrong. How in the name all things holy can the charge you?! You already paid them. Wow, i would be in sooo much debt if they did that to me. Write a letter with some serious wording. That must be outside of the charter. I cannot see anyone with half a brain passing a rule like that.

dianacs · Nov 19, 2002

This issue/thread has been at the back of my mind for a few days now. It bothers me. No wonder so many nurses put up with so much BS on the job...look where it starts...no wonder "it's always the nurse's fault, nurses can't be trusted" when "it's the student's fault for being sick". Talk about being cowed into submission. Surely there are reasonable alternatives for making up clinical time.

What's up with the school mentioned in another post where you have to show up to clinical when you're sick and THEN get sent home? Eww, if you're too sick to go to clinical, keep your germs at home!

I'm sure that the schools that have these policies are all fine schools in every respect. But paying hundreds of dollars for missed clinicals is out of line in my opinion. Yes, I understand the need to somehow compensate instructors for their time, but instructors have to understand that students get sick, that's life. What other college degree program would try to pull something like that???

Vsummer1 · Nov 20, 2002

Originally posted by dianacs
This issue/thread has been at the back of my mind for a few days now. It bothers me. No wonder so many nurses put up with so much BS on the job...look where it starts...no wonder "it's always the nurse's fault, nurses can't be trusted" when "it's the student's fault for being sick". Talk about being cowed into submission. Surely there are reasonable alternatives for making up clinical time.

What's up with the school mentioned in another post where you have to show up to clinical when you're sick and THEN get sent home? Eww, if you're too sick to go to clinical, keep your germs at home!

I'm sure that the schools that have these policies are all fine schools in every respect. But paying hundreds of dollars for missed clinicals is out of line in my opinion. Yes, I understand the need to somehow compensate instructors for their time, but instructors have to understand that students get sick, that's life. What other college degree program would try to pull something like that???

OKAY... EXCUSE ME IF I AM WRONG........... BUT I THINK THE WHOLE SYSTEM NEEDS AN OVERHAUL!

Okay -- I am coming into this as a 2nd career, midlife. It is something I have always wanted to do. I now have the opportunity to do so, and that is another thread entirely. But if I was treated this way in the corporate world I come from, shyt would have hit the fan. Period. Workers in the office expect certain hours, bene's and coffee breaks. And believe me when I tell you that passive aggressive behavioral attributes flourish if they dont' get them, and the world goes on. Think of this...

DOCTORS working unthinkable hours as residents...

NURSES expected to keep up with patient's more acute and in greater numbers... WHO STARTED THE WHOLE SYSTEM TO BEGIN WITH?? And most importantly, HOW did it get here?

There is no easy fix. Egos are a major factor. As we all know, we do what doctor's order regardless of theory and all the rest of the crap we like to think has made nursing umm.. "special". Change the way doc's are treated as NEW docs, and new nurses by hands on nurses.....

Change the hours health care workers keep (and are expected to perform diligintly at all times within those hours) without being sued, and those of us in the realm of hands on care will evolve exponetially.

Oh yes, I did have a drink tonite, so am fantasizing. I am doing fine in the system I have chosen to embrace, but still find the way I am being treated as a student and expected to work in as a professional way out of line. What other line of work expects.... (fill in the blank)....

Flame away...