snowwhite2002

Thanks.

I appreciate all your responses. I truly love getting your advice because your friends and ex classmates don't always tell you what you need to hear, they can tend to tell you what you want to hear.

I so wish that was the case, but as soon as you failed clinical you weren't allowed to attend any more lectures or take any more tests due to their concern that you would distract the other students. So I never did get to take the last test or final, so I failed lecture also. We all thought that was the strangest policy. If you were gonna have to retake the course, it would have been beneficial to finish off the lectures and tests.

I just wish schools could identify students that may be at risk of failing at an earlier time in their education and counsel them on ways to improve or suggest other career options. I have not registered for the NCLEX-PN or reapplied largely in part to becoming pregnant and already working full time. With a miscarriage in my medical history, I didn't feel it was the right move to take on a new semester. Due to nausea and fatigue I just haven't felt up to going for the NCLEX-PN. I found out 8 weeks ago my Thryoid was not functioning properly and now that I have been on Synthroid for the past two months my energy level is back up and I want to try to move forward. Yes I do feel frustrated paying for an education and then in the last semester being told my instructor, that she is sorry other teachers have passed me along, but I am not at the level I need to be for a 5th semester student. Why all of the sudden am I not up to par.

I was told by instructor that I could register for the NCLEX-PN since I passed the first four semesters. That was this past December, but I never went and registered. I've sent an email to my advisor requesting more information, so maybe I will still be eligible or maybe here is SC laws could have changed as well. I'm so hoping I still can.

I went to school for 18mos only to fail out the last semester by the clinical instructor from hell. I just set up my payment of $173/ mo for the next 10 years. I just plain feel wronged. How in the world do you have a program where students go all the way through 5 semesters to be discounted and ejected by one instructor. Last semester I also had a preceptorship with a RN at a local hospital. He wrote on my evaluation that I would be an asset to any hospital. I did have one more try at my school after this initial fail. I just had lost complete trust in the school. The instructor fabricated and altered reality on my evals and I felt helpless to argue. I just didn't feel like rebutting any of her statements would do me any good. When I talked to the HON she started off by saying, "After reviewing your Evaluation, I don't understand why she kept you around as long as she did". She went on to say that I couldn't allow people to intimidate me and she envisioned me one day being a adjunct faculty member. I was just puzzled by the whole thing. I have days when I regret that I didn't reapply, but life has also presented some new challenges. I discovered I was pregnant at age 38 in Jan. I definitely couldn't have made it through another semester with the fatigue and nausea I experienced through my first trimester. I also work full time for an insurance company and will be 100% vested in my pension in Nov 2016 so I just couldn't leave, even though it was recommended during school. I am thinking I want to take the NCLEX-PN and try to work a couple days a week and then maybe transition back into an RN program later down the road. Is anyone else paying student loans for a degree you didn't achieve? How frustrating. I just don't understand how schools get away with it. Can't somebody spot that you may not be RN material before students are in $15,000 or more of school loan debt?

I failed my last semester of the nursing program 5 mos ago. I never had a fail until then so I still had one more try. I just needed a break and just so happened that I found out I was pregnant in January, so maybe it was fate. I've followed my ex classmates journey a second time through this semester, considering 15 people were in the same situation. Some went on to fail a second time and about half will be graduating May 9. I am so happy for them and sometimes second guess my decision to take a break. I was told that I was eligible to take the NCLEX-PN in December, but I'm not sure if I'm still eligible since it has been 5 mos. Considering I just set up a payment plan of $173/ mo for the next 10 years to repay my Stafford School Loans I really want to do something with all the time and effort. I know it will be hard working full time now and having a new born, but I want to try. Really, the whole time everyone suggested to quit my job during school, but I will be 100% vested in my pension with 20 years worked by Nov 2016, so until then I don't want to leave. If I can even work 2 days a week I figure I can keep a LPN license active and eventually transition back into a RN program. Just don't want give up my goals. Anybody want to share their struggle to give this girl some hope....

I have officially failed clinical in the last semester of the ADN program and I am so bummed. I feel like I have put so much time and effort and to watch all the others that have shared my journey over the past 18 months beaming as they order their graduation pins is so upsetting. I am happy for them, but just a bit ******. I have rationalized this whole mess as that I am just not ready to move forward. Since this is my first fail, I can retake the course, but I don't want to. Two of the three instructors are just plain rude and demeaning and really bully their students. I made a mistake at the beginning of the semester when I didn't notify my primary nurse about a pulse ox of 88 immediately. I couldn't find her and started to document my am note when she walked by and I told her and my instructor flipped. The patient was sleeping and was not in distress, but still I should have been more proactive. She was literally on me from there on. What are doing? Why? Have you done this? Why? I agree I made mistakes and I learned from them. I also agree that I'm not ready to move forward. I guess I also feel like other students that had Ms. X who passes all her students are at the same level as me and will be graduating this month. I feel I might as well be held back now then get out there and loose my first job or license because I'm not there yet. It sucks!!!! I think I'm just going to go for the LPN and then maybe transition in later. One thing my teacher said that has really gotten me upset. As she is going over my options and shows me how to reapply. She says, "Do you know any really smart high school students, we really need to get some smart high school students into this program". What is she telling me I am too old or too dumb. Where there is a will, there is a way!!!!! I'm still breathing.....Thanks you guys again for the support through this crazy past 2 years.

Some of this may seem common sense, but I learned the hard way 1. Anytime your patient has any vital sign outside of the norm immediately relay this information to the primary nurse. If you can't find her. Call her phone. 2. Don't ever touch a pill. Find a way to split w/o touching. Your instructor may be different, but we weren't to touch even while wearing gloves. 3. Know your meds. Make sure to look them up, know how they work and if it will affect the patient's blood pressure you better have that value handy when getting ready to give it. 4. Put on those gloves. Do touch anything w/o those gloves on. One in our group grabbed the urinal w/o them and got a U. 5. Make sure you are aware of the indicator for contact precautions. At our facility it was on the door. A girl in our grp walked in the doorway to take shift change report and got a U. Do not take your stethoscope or paperwork in the room. We would put ours in the breakroom. 6. When you go for orientation on the unit. Get a map or make your own. Very important where the soiled utility, clean utility, linens, etc. are located. My instructor would give NI's for not knowing the unit. 7. If your patient has a mastectomy or shunt. Do not take Blood Pressure reading on that side. There will usually be signs on the door or above the patient's bed. Make sure to look. 8. When changing bed linens make sure you have a trash or laundry bag in room to put the dirty linens in. Don't put on floor, Don't hold near body. 9. Saline flushes should be disposed of in the biohazard receptacle. You can squirt any remaining fluid since the hosp does get charged by the pound. I was told that housekeeping may mistake them as needles. 10. Get help with bathing total care patients. Don't try to do it alone. 11. Do not hang anything attached to the patient to a side rail. Hang it on the framing of the bed. (Foley Cath) 12. When transporting a patient in a wheelchair, always back into door ways elevators as to not knock the patients feet or legs. Right now I can't think of anything else. But would love to hear anything that you learned in clinical or that you heard someone getting a bad mark for doing.

I agree. It would be so much easier and I definitely think I would be getting more out of it if I could do the careplan at home or have time to use the book there. She said that here clinicals are not run that way. I think she is trying to get us ready for dealing with a workload of 5-7 patients when we get out on the floor. You really run the whole 6 hours and chart on paper as you go. A little here a little there. OH, and I forgot we do a morning and closing note on all 5 patients also and we write them on paper and then have to get them signed of before entering them into the system. I struggle to get it all done and then by the time I get to start jotting down a careplan it is pretty rushed. And yes, I have to pull it from my brain so I need to memorize some good dx's. Thank goodness we only have 2 of these left. You guys, we have 43 people and only 16 people passed the last test. We started with 46 and so far it looks like the graduating class with be about 20. So nuts.

I appreciate your honest evaluation of my situation!!! I was not aware that the nursing dx had to be Nanda approved. We aren't allowed to bring books to clinical, but maybe I can memorize some of them.

Thanks for everyone's input. I had no idea it was so fast paced in a nursing home. I love the elderly, but I don't want to work 12 hours w/o time to take a break, that doesn't even sound healthy. I hate that people have to be pushed so hard. Why does everything have to be on high speed. I was at clinical the other day and my nurse had 8pts on a med surg floor. That is just ridiculous. I don't know how these nurses do it. Are there any fields in nursing where you don't run around for 12 hours trying to do the job of two people?

Thanks so much for the responses in the past. Your posts have brought me to tears just knowing I am not alone and that others have struggled and went on to accomplish there goals. I am so grateful. 2 more clinicals left and I am so happy. I basically have 1 S in Critical Thinking for the whole semester (8 clinicals). Last week she actually gave me my 3rd and final U on my paperwork because I didn't finish it all w/in the 6hr clinical. In 6hrs we are expected to do assesments, 2 sets of vitals, I & O' s on 5 patients (to be handed in written on forms), AM care (baths and linen change) for all 5. Then on one we are to pull and EKG strip and interpret, prepare a care plan on one with 4 nursing dx's, and write down pertinent medicines and lab values and how they pertain to the patients disease. Then two people a week also give meds for the day and any procedures needed (dressing change, iv starts). So last week I had medications and a dressing change that took 45min w/ the aid of the instructor and another student. So of course this pushed me back by at least an hour/hour and half. She gives me a U for being late with paperwork. So basically I've failed, but she doesn't tell me to go home. She gives me a load of 5 patients for the day So I'm kinda baffled that she didn't send me home, but I just sucked it up and did my work. I finished up on time and I had one of my better weeks, but I didn't have meds and any procedures for the day. I also just learned that we can delegate baths to the CNAs if we need help. If I had only known that last week. Really seems like this teacher wobbles back on forth on what is acceptable. Anyway I am the only one still doing the careplans. I asked a fellow student if I could use her old ones to study. What is really getting up under my skin is that one week I got a NI for using Altered Mental Status for one of my dxs and she wrote, "you can not use this because it is a medical dx". My fellow student had use the same dx and got a S with no comments. What the heck? I also use one week, Decreased CO r/t COPD e/b low blood pressure. Is this no good?Another week I put Sensory Deprivation r/t extended hospital stay with the assessment of patient has been in the hospital for 2 weeks. She said that the assessment data was weak. A student said to me the other day, "I don't know why she gives you so much trouble. She really seems to be harder on you than the rest of us". Regardless, I know I have a lot to learn. I have a 73 in lecture with one more test and a final to go. It is so going to suck if I pull up my lecture average and then fail for clinical. Does anybody come back to finish last semester after failing clinical?

I am a 5th semester nursing student in the ADN program. I have made a series of mistakes this semester. Personally I don't want to relive them so I am not going into detail, but after much reflection I am really debating if I am capable of this job. I have also wondered if maybe I possibly had ADHD. I went to the doctor three weeks ago and I was told by the physician that I was probably just stressed since ADHD is not something you get when your older, you had to be dx when you were a child. Told me, "You know kids are abusing that stuff" and "just because you take a quiz in magazine does not mean you are ADHD". I am not a kid and I didn't take any quiz. He refers me to a psychologist who has canceled on me twice now due to her own personal issues (her father is sick). So now what do I do? Last week I entered VS for Patient A in Patient B's file. The nurse caught it first and told me to correct it. I tried, but Meditech can not be updated when the information was sent from the capsule neuron. I think what I did was turn off the dynamap before sending the vitals to the capsule, then when I was manually typing them in from my handwritten values I input the wrong set. The nurse was aware of the mistake. I did not tell the instructor. She is extremely intimidating. Every student in her group is in agony. I had just been reprimanded that morning for not getting morning report from my nurse. My nurse for the day was Dana. There is a nurse with a name badge that reads Candy, but goes by Danny (I thought she went by Dana). So I'm standing there right near my rooms waiting for who I thought was Dana to make her way over there to get report. So my teacher asks, "What are you waiting on". Reply: pointing to Danny, "To get report from Dana". Well of course Danny says, "I'm not Dana". So I look like a complete idiot. Then I find Dana and ask, "Have you already gotten morning report." She says "Yes". My teacher was not pleased. I never saw Dana go to my pts rooms. So I'm guessing she got report somewhere other then the nursing station and my pts rooms. So my teacher says "You just stood there by your rooms wasting time when you should have been searching for your nurse for the day." Well heck I thought I was watching my nurse for the day while I filled out the basic info on my assessment sheet and researched the charts of my pts for the day. Anyway. Series of mistakes. Researched when I got home. Not sure why I'm missing things, most likely going from 2pt a day to 5. I just can't keep up. I'm rushing to get it done and I'm making mistakes. Everyone is telling me, don't quit now. You can always work in a doctor's office where it is no so fast paced. What are your thoughts/suggestions. Maybe I just don't have the aptitude for this field

I am in my last semester for the RN program. I have been struggling and have some bad marks in clinical for not being able to keep up with the pace. I might just need more practice. I have really been thinking I want to work in a nursing home. I don't have any time to spend one on one with the patients like I would like in the hospital. Would you recommend getting my LPN, which I can test for now or stick it out and maybe even have to redo this semester. I see jobs in my area online now for LPNs in a nursing home nearby. I guess I'm basically asking if I fail this semester would you recommend taking it over or just testing for the LPN and going for a job?