Sent home from clinical :(

[marin8campy]

Hey, I have never posted on a forum before about anything. I'm so heartbroken right now, I need someone to listen to me that understands what I'm going through.

Today was my second day of clinical, and this is my second quarter in nursing school. I currentlh work as a pharmacy technician, and have never worked in a patient setting before. I have a 3.6 GPA and have always held myself to the highest standard of work.

Today, I was sent home from clinical. I missed 1 intervention on my careplan, and was sent away. Another student in my group omitted 4 problems from his care plan and was able to stay. This is my third careplan that I have ever completed, but this is my first careplan done with an actual patient. I spent 6 long days and nights making sure that this thing was perfect, but I had accidentally overlooked that I had missed that 1 intervention.

I was identified last clinical as "unprofessional" for asking too many questions, but I just wanted to make sure that I understood what I was doing. But I guess even after asking so many questions, I am still just an idiot and just as confused. I am absolutely devastated. I am going to make it up, but my school requires $400 to reschedule. I believe that I will be the only student in my cohort this quarter to fail the easiest clinical of the program.

I am embarrassed, frustrated, currently crying my eyes out, and beyond disappointed in my self. I'm not sure what do or what to think. I feel like there aren't many people that have failed a clinical before, and I feel like an utter failure. I'm not sure if posting here will help, or if anyone will bother to read this. I suppose I'm rambling a bit, but I hope this will make me feel a little better about myself in the end.

I intend to pay the $400 to make it up, and pass this quarter. Failing a clinical does not mean that I fail this quarter, thankfully, but it stays on my school record as a clinical fail for the rest of my life.

I'm heartbroken and I feel hopeless right now. I hope someone is reading this and will talk to me. My boyfriend is great support, but he works for an insurance company and doesn't really understand how tough this is. So I'm hoping another student nurse will give me some peace of mind or advice or anything. Sorry for the ramblings... thank you for taking the time to read this if you have.

[Lady_Leijing, BSN]

I know how you feel. I was never sent home from clinicals, per se, but I failed my clinicals in my 2nd to last semester of nursing school. I had to repeat a whole class despite the fact I had an A in the seated portion. It sucked. I had never failed anything before in my life, and I spent a lot of time crying about it. Let the feelings out, get past them, and don't let a set back stop you from becoming a nurse. :-) If you have in skills questions or confusion, see if your school has a skills lab where you can practice some more before trying them out on a real person.

That being said, I agree with MikeyT-c-IV. It may not have been that you asked a lot of questions; it may have been how and when you asked them. I had a friend in nursing school that asked tons of questions. Her problem was she would ask them in front of the patients, and she was visibly nervous enough that the patients did not want her doing any of even the most basic procedures on them (can you blame them?). I had to learn to fake confidence until I felt it myself after nursing school. First NG tube I put down by myself I felt like my insides were tied in knots, but I didn't let it show, followed what I had been taught, and everything went fine. Carry yourself like you are the most qualified to do what is asked of you and ask your questions BEFORE you get to the bedside.

On a side note, you could try to get some feedback from the teacher that sent you home. Maybe a little different perspective can help clear up what happened. If it turns out that he just has something against you, take it to the dean or the administration. However, it may turn out that reason you got sent home was not the reason you think it is.

Best of Luck!

[HopefulGradNurse, RN]

I really can't believe that you would be sent home from clinical for this; that is CRAZY! Unless by not doing that intervention it put the patient at risk, but even then it would have to be gross negligence. As far as the asking questions go, if you are unsure of something ALWAYS ask before you do something that you do not understand when dealing with a patient. Now if we're talking about lecture here and you're asking a lot of questions in that setting, I can see how that could be deemed unprofessional. Doesn't mean you are stupid but if you find yourself not understanding something after asking a few things it is best to follow up with that instructor after class. However, it was from you asking at clinical I would say that's ridiculous unless you are asking about things that you should definitely know. I'm with fibroblast, unless you were warned ahead of time that this would be something that had to be perfect, I think it's ridiculous. If you really have done nothing wrong (there's always two sides to a story [not to say you are lying]) then as much as I hate to say it, the instructor may not like you for whatever reason. Therefore, you have to really step your game up give them no reason to be able to "fail" you. Sorry! Hope things get better!!

[caliotter3]

If it were me, I would certainly want to know why omitting one item sent me home from clinical but omitting four items (assumed to be different items) was satisfactory for my peer. Not that I think this was done unfairly (although I think it is unfair), but there must be something so very important about that one care plan item that caused this consequence. Knowing why helps you to keep from repeating the same mistake in the future.

Sending people home from clinical was always the result of other actions or inactions in my school. It had nothing to do with the care plan, unless, of course, the student did not do a care plan, or was so deficient with what they did do, that the instructor wanted to make an impression on them. Missing one intervention would not have been good reason for making you miss a day of clinical. Your school must be a bear.

[angeloublue22, BSN, RN]

Wow, I'm glad I never attended your program. Mine was very supportive and we were told many times throughout the program that we would make mistakes and that is the best time to learn because you are STUDENTS. Our instructors would go over our care plans with us and if it they needed correcting they would talk us through it to help us with critical thinking.I asked a crap ton of questions and it was encouraged. You're in school, that's when you should be asking questions. I'm sorry you had to go through that. If only humans were infallible. I am also curious about the need to pay $400. So weird. I hope it gets better.

[kkbb, MSN, RN]

I agree with the others that the $400 is odd and concerning. At my school we were not to start clinicals until we were about halfway through our assessment class. How can you create a care plan without performing an assessment? Building off of my question about the assessment class, why is an instructor requiring you to perform a skill that you have not been taught? Something just isn't right with all of this.

OP, take a deep breath in. While I don't fully understand why missing one thing on your care plan resulted in you being sent home, I would speak with the instructor. How else will you learn and improve? Best of luck to you!!

[gM_2010, MSN, PhD, RN, NP]

Sorry you are having such a rough time. I would encourage you to make an appointment to sit down with your faculty to ask/clarify a few things:

1. Review the care plan assignment to better understand the expectations. You want to improve going forward.

2. Understand why you were dismissed from clinical to learn and improve. You want to understand what the error(s) were so you can be sure not to repeat them.

You pay tuition and are entitled to an opportunity to learn from mistakes for improvement before you pay more $$$$ for a repeat clinicial.

I don't understand why you were dismissed. I've been a faculty for many years and have dismissed students for showing up sick,unprofessional behavior, tardiness, med errors and/or being unsafe. You being dismissed for making an error on an assignment doesn't make sense. I would just deduct points from the assignment-not toss someone out of clinical.

I would go up the chain of command in the school if you do not get answers.

Good luck

[oceanblue52]

Don't have much else to add here, you've gotten a ton of great advice.

Main point to add: Don't stress about this clinical failure following around your whole career. It just doesn't work like that. Heck, most of your first job interviews won't even ask about it, and unless they require a transcript or something they have no way of finding out. I've known people who have become very successful RNs in all sorts of settings, including Med-Surg and ICU as a first job after failing a clinical. Learn from this experience and resolve to get through the program and learn all you can. Resiliency is a good trait to develop in this profession.

[delawaremalenurse]

This just sounds suspicious. I'd love to know the name of the program that charges $400 for a make-up clinical...sounds like a real revenue maker! Especially if you can fail a clinical just for missing one item!

Also, I'm wondering if being "unprofessional" for asking to many questions is actually code for being argumentative. I say this because you don't view

learning to do a head to toe assessment as a positive accomplishment...rather you feel that you shouldn't even be doing it..."just basic vitals"

I think there is more to this than is being told. Color me skeptical.

[marin8campy]

What kind of nursing program are you in?! At mine, we would never get sent home because of an imperfect care plan. Sheesh. We might have to redo a portion of it, but being sent home is ridiculous, IMO. And paying $400 to reschedule? Also ridiculous. Is this a for-profit school?

I'm currently in a 3 year BSN program. This is definitely a for-profit school. Don't get me wrong, I love the school that I'm at and all of the staff are very helpful. This is the first instance where I've been so blind sided by any of the instructors. I'm not sure what to think about this. My careplan wasn't the only one that was incomplete somehow, but I was the only one sent home. You guys are right, I'm going to see of I can speak to anyone of higher authority in the school on Monday. We were instructed on what could get you sent home before we had clinicals, and the only things that this included were being more than 10 minutes late, not having your name badge, and for being unsafe.

I just wanted to thank you guys for all of the support. I posted on this forum thinking it was a shot in the dark, and you all proved me wrong. Thank you all so much :) you guys brought a little bit of a smile back to my face!

[caliotter3]

Please give us the details about that one care plan intervention when the instructor explains her rationale to you.

[BeautyRn_]

Wow...sorry to hear about your experience. I agree with the others about how unprofessional your clinical instructor is. But in a more positive light, it's going to be ok. TRUST ME. I failed one of the easiest courses in nursing school my first semester and felt like the worlds biggest dummy, and also thought that my world was over, not to mention heart broken, but I kept pushing and now I'm a Registered Nurse. You will be ok hun. This too shall pass.

[Heylove, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

You are not the only one that has ever been sent home from a clinical, trust me. I saw classmates get sent home for less.

If there was one thing that I learned in nursing school, it was to stop asking questions. I know it goes against what other posters say, but I'm not kidding.

Figure it out on your own, ask your classmates, just DO NOT ask your clinical instructor. That just puts a target on your back.