Run out of nursing school - what to do?

Nurses General Nursing

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Greetings all,

I started my last semester of my RN program very badly. My clinical instructor and I had a serious personality clash. It snowballed into a big mess. I forgot that the instructor is always right. There are many chapters to this which I won't bore anybody with, other than the final one. I was made to sign a contract that said, among other things, that I would meet with the lab instructor once a week through February. After my first meeting with her, I came home to find an email from the dean of nursing saying I was going to be thrown out of the program because I did not pass my lab exam. I wasn't aware that I was being tested when I went to see the lab instructor. Throughout this crisis, I attempted to contact my advisor, other teachers, the dean, and so on. No one responded to me. I have such a bad taste in my mouth about how the entire episode happened that I don't think I would want to continue in this program even if I was allowed. Has anyone had an experience like this? Right now, my strategy is to look into other programs. I will probably have to spend a longer time in school, but I have no choice. Please advise!

Diahni

Specializes in ICU's,TELE,MED- SURG.

I would get out of the Program asap and go elsewhere but truthfully, there are so many careers that would be so much better such as becoming a Pharmacist or a Physician's assistant with more money and far more respect. Years ago, we women didn't have a lot of choices. You have a whole world out there! Use your credits and give yourself a better choice. You just sampled what a staff job can be.

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Think some people missed this info in OP follow-up post:

This info is most likely why they met with the Dean and why no longer in program.

Thank you NRSKarenRN, my thoughts exactly.

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On which planet are men and women treated equally in the workplace? To say that they're not treated equally is not sexist, it's just stating the obvious. Look at the stats. And last I checked, it was still 69 cents (correct me if I'm wrong) that women make relative to the dollar men make for the same task.

I have male nurses where I work and they are treated no better, no worse than I am. I think this is a sexist attitude about his situation. You have to know the whole story to make a statement like that. And by the way, I make more than those male nurses.

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I would get out of the Program asap and go elsewhere but truthfully, there are so many careers that would be so much better such as becoming a Pharmacist or a Physician's assistant with more money and far more respect. Years ago, we women didn't have a lot of choices. You have a whole world out there! Use your credits and give yourself a better choice. You just sampled what a staff job can be.

Thanks for the suggestion, LadyNASDAQ,

Yes, it's a different world, and there are many choices out there. This is one of the reasons that women now have rates of heart disease comparable to men. All the job stress, and add to that family needs. I'm definitely taking all this in.

Diahni

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Specializes in Lie detection.
on which planet are men and women treated equally in the workplace? to say that they're not treated equally is not sexist, it's just stating the obvious. look at the stats. and last i checked, it was still 69 cents (correct me if i'm wrong) that women make relative to the dollar men make for the same task.

i doubt the 69 cents to the dollar applies to the staff nurse position. if there are any male nurses here that know for a fact they are getting paid more than their female counterparts for the same position, please chime in.

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[color=#483d8b]i know in my present job and in my past place of employment, both male and female staff rn's got paid the exact same salary.

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[color=#483d8b]now, if you're talking corporate america, you may have a point. coming here and talking about it certainly does little to solve the problem. i actually admire sean's attititude from what little i know/read from his post. he certainly displays spunk.

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Its crazy in nursing school. I knew several people who were great student nurses who were given a really hard time, especially towards the end. I had a friend who had no issues until her last semester, then she was almost forced to either repeat or quit the course. Luckily she was able to only have to repeat for a couple weeks before getting to start her consolidation.

I also know of many students who ended up making it, even though they were really negligent and not the best students. Either they were favorites, and really good with the instructors or they were really good at hiding.

Hang in there. I personally had to repeat my consolidation, because I refused to go along with my nurse. It was such an easy floor. Even on a bad day we had 5 patients, and the Nurse pracitioner did the morning assessments and rounds with us, so I learned very quickly. The issue arose when I wanted to check the meds (it took very little time as I had a palm pilot that had all the meds in them), and because I got frustrated since hte nurse treated me more as her helper rather than a student. She didnt' want to teach, and she had told me that she was forced into it. It was really horrible. They changed my preceptor and she was insane .. she would get upset because I wanted a break. Even she didn't take breaks (because she was so scatterbrained and disorganized we never got finished on time, which ended up being my fault).

Anyhow I ended up doing it, and I had to do an extra month or so ontop of it. I'm really glad I did, I went back in a new hospital, fresh floor, new preceptor, new everything. I was on a surgical floor and for the first time I really LOVED IT. The first couple shifts I was told to just observe, and I used that time wisely, making up a worksheert when I got home for my reports and assessments -- to keep organized and ontop of stuff. There were things I'd never seen before and I picked up really quickly. By the second week I was totally on my own, and my preceptor was always available to help me. Since I didn't need her much she helped the other nurses, and she woudl always teach me new things even if they were her collegues patients. She was not the typical nurse, very young, hip, and did things her way but SAFELY. She had a system, and her philosophy was be safe BUT EFFICIENT, so you are never running around like a crazy person and mising breaks. Missing breaks was a big no no, because all the nurses helped out any nurse with a bigger load that day.

It was really nice when she told me after a week and a half, she couldn't understand why I had to do more hours for my consolidation as I seemed perfectly capable to work on a medsurg floor as an orientee.

Everyone is different, it just sucks that so often these schools have so much power. It sucks that they weed out so many just before the program as opposed to earlier on in the program.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Pediatrics, Geriatrics.
i doubt the 69 cents to the dollar applies to the staff nurse position. if there are any male nurses here that know for a fact they are getting paid more than their female counterparts for the same position, please chime in.

[color=#483d8b]

[color=#483d8b]i know in my present job and in my past place of employment, both male and female staff rn's got paid the exact same salary.

[color=#483d8b]

[color=#483d8b]now, if you're talking corporate america, you may have a point. coming here and talking about it certainly does little to solve the problem. i actually admire sean's attititude from what little i know/read from his post. he certainly displays spunk.

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i don't think it applies to the staff nurse either...but she is not entirely off the mark with her statement.

i can not argue whether seanyrn's triumph was gender based or not (being unaware of his specific circumstances) either.

however, in general...there does exist an income inequality among men and women. in corporate america as well as nursing. there was some information that i read some time back that suggested men who enter nursing were more likely to pursue higher degrees and receive higher pay...moving towards crna or the corporate world of healthcare.

i also learned in my sociology and economics courses that women typically make 71 cents for every dollar that our male counterparts make. the trend seems to suggest that this gap is closing, but it is entirely real. and it does exist in nursing, as in any other profession.

the question is why? perhaps, gender roles still play a large part in the process. most women who work are still the primary caretaker in the home, raising children, etc. and can not put as large a focus on their careers vs. family life....that's just my opinion...nothing i have read.

of course, the op needs to take full responsibility for what happened...as i feel there are many things that she could have done differently to correct the situation or at least fight for a different outcome...instead of simply saying that she would have less of a chance of coming out on top because she is a woman.

oh well....back to the topic at hand.

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Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..

My best friend in nursing school had this happen her junior year (RN program). After getting her LPN (forget if she had more school or was able to take the test) she went on to get her BSN with A's and then worked very successfully in a nationally known peds unit.

My point being, if this is what you want, don't let this one person stand in your way. :D

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Specializes in Lie detection.

i also learned in my sociology and economics courses that women typically make 71 cents for every dollar that our male counterparts make. the trend seems to suggest that this gap is closing, but it is entirely real. and it does exist in nursing, as in any other profession.

the question is why? perhaps, gender roles still play a large part in the process. most women who work are still the primary caretaker in the home, raising children, etc. and can not put as large a focus on their careers vs. family life....that's just my opinion...nothing i have read.

of course, the op needs to take full responsibility for what happened...as i feel there are many things that she could have done differently to correct the situation or at least fight for a different outcome...instead of simply saying that she would have less of a chance of coming out on top because she is a woman.

oh well....back to the topic at hand.

i completely have faith in your word, i know you recently graduated and remember, my tired brain left nursing school quite a while ago;)

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[color=#483d8b]and i agree, the op needs to take responsibility instead of blaming it on a gender issue :o . i don't like the shift of blame in much of anything.

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Diahni, I know this may not be what you want to hear, but I agree with several of the other posters in that another school may be a good idea. From what you said, it sounds like there is likely some unfairness or questionable practice going on (testing someone without informing them that they're going to be tested?!) I surely would not want to be enrolled at that place!

See if you can find another program in your area. I think that once you get enrolled in a program where you can at least be fairly evaluated, you'll feel better.

Sorry you had to experience that...

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I am a bit confused. In the opening post it sound slike you were thrown out of school. I based my response on that. Later in the thread I got the feeling that you quit. Which is accurate?! And sorry for my confusion. Brain is fried these days. lol

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I had that problem and had to attend a different College. I was told that in Nursing they weed you out. Your conduct was not to their liking. So what I did was change mine conduct when I went to the new place. I kept all of my thoughts to my self and stayed to myself. You can ask for a hearing and get a lawyer if you chose.

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