Sent home from clinicals :(

[Phillippians4:13]

Hello, I've only posted a couple times so I'm not sure if this is the proper place for this post. I'm sad, embarrassed, and frustrated because I was sent home from clincals this morning. I'm a second year student in an ADN program and today was my first day to care for 3 patients (all meds, care, etc). I prepped at the hospital for 2 hours last night, came home prepped until midnight and up at 5 a.m. to get to clinicals on time. In preconference I was not certain why my pt was receiving an antibiotic. She was admitted with SOB, but I saw nothing in the chart other than that. When I truthfully told my instructor that I wasn't sure about the antibiotic she replied that pt has pneumonia. Keep in mind that 8 other students are staring at me and I buckle under pressure. I replied that I honestly did not see that in her chart. Mind you, that when I was prepping the chart was taken from me several times by other staff members and someone even took the progress notes out of the chart. Also trying to prep on 2 others at the same time. After the 30 minutes of preconference I went to the floor to begin pt care. My instructor pulled me aside and said that she was sending me home and I needed to make an appointment with my advisor and the director of the nursing program. I sense that they are kicking me out. The environment is one of total fear, no encouragement, waiting for you to mess us and never pointing out the good. The fact that I'm a single mom of four and I worked my tail off for this doesn't count for a thing. My grades are always 3.5 and above, but I have to work very hard to do that. I'm in my 40s so the menopausal memory thing is doing a number on me. I'm in debt $15,000 in student loans and I really don't know if I'll make it:cry:. Missing this clinical will mean that I get an incomplete for the quarter which messes up my financial aid so now I have that to deal with. Honestly, I don't think I can take much more of this. I realize that I'm rambling, using no paragraphs, just hoping that there is "someone" out there to encourage me. I don't know what I'm going to do if I get kicked out. Thanks for "listening"...

[bluesnurse]

There are some instructors (and not just in nursing) who go into teaching because they can't cut it in the real world. It becomes a power trip. That's probably the thing I hated the most about school. And in my class, it was definitely the more mature (30+) students who got picked on the most.

I truly feel for you because a similar thing happened in my Med Surg II clinical. We had a first-year instructor who was obviously intimidated by a few students who were roughly her age and had previous health care experience. She was known for sending people home from clinicals. On different occasions two other students and I were sent home over nitpicky nonsense.

I had to go before the program director, who thank God was cool. She knew I was working full-time and studying like crazy to maintain dean's list status every single semester. She basically told me to watch my step around this instructor, and although I had to take an F for that day, I was still able to pull out a respectable pass for the clinical.

I graduated Summa Cum Laude, as did one of the other women who was kicked out. The instructor was terminated a year after I graduated, so I doubt she changed her tactics.

Hang in there and keep us posted. Don't let the losers get you down :grad:

[Phillippians4:13]

I agree that it was harsh to send you home.

Linzz is right, you would have caught the diagnosis in report.

Having said that, working staff have the right to take charts from students who are prepping. Charts are needed for good patient care.

Also, it was your decision to attend school while being a single mother. I've been in your shoes and never asked for "special consideration" for my age, my children, or my marital state. Your future employers don't have to take this into consideration and school shouldn't have to either.

That would be awesome if I was allowed to sit in on report but I'm not. I'm also well aware that I'm a "guest" and the staff needs the charts for patient care. Our instructors have told us that if the charts are not available, we do not have to sit around for hours waiting; get the information you can and go from there.

Did I imply that I asked for special treatment because of my age, children and marital status? I don't think that I did. I've never asked for any kind of special consideration from my instructors. I've had to work a lot harder than some because of this, but my grades and clinicals have never suffered. I also understand that employer's don't take those things into consideration; in fact, it's not something I would need to disclose.

You're right; it was my choice to enter school as a single mother. Since I had no former college education, and being a stay-at-home mommy for 20 years doesn't look too hot on a resume, I chose to pursue an education rather than working the rest of my life for minimum wage. I also thought I was setting a good example for my kids. Sometimes life doesn't turn out as planned, so you move on and make the best of it. That's what I'm trying to do.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Wanted to wish you luck again...when do you meet with your advisor?

[Phillippians4:13]

Thank you so much! I called my advisor right when I got home and left a message but I haven't heard anything. I was scheduled to go to clinicals again tomorrow with the same instructor but I'm not sure what to do. I guess I will just show up and see what happens.

[inshallamiami]

I too had a problem with a clinical instructor once. She hated me for what unknown reason I'm not sure. Maybe because I was a male student. I never knew, but even all the other students in my clinicals joked about how she harassed me and every day of clinicals she got on top of me with her spurs on and rode me like you could never believe. She even attempted to have me speak to the director a few times. You know what, it made me a great critical thinker. I pulled up my boots, and decided I would NOT be beat by this woman or anyone else. I probably spent 4 times the amount of time getting ready for clinicals than other students and knew my sh** frontwards and backwards and any way you could think of. I anticipated hell every day I went to clinicals, and it was all the way til the end. I made it tho. You will do the same. If you ever need ANY help with questions preparing, care plans, meds, critical thinking or anything please P.M. me and I will help you any way I can.

What a nice thing to offer!

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

Good Lord, my sympathies to the OP for going to such an anal, controlling, intimidating school. Where I attended nursing school we never prepped the day before, I don't remember anything like that! We arrived and sat in report with the other nurses and got assigned a patient. Your school sounds hellish.

[jjjoy, LPN]

Thank you so much! I called my advisor right when I got home and left a message but I haven't heard anything. I was scheduled to go to clinicals again tomorrow with the same instructor but I'm not sure what to do. I guess I will just show up and see what happens.

Be humble and be strong. Be strong and be humble. Be humble and be strong. Be strong and be humble. Etc.

[Miss Mab]

Glad you're still online!

You be SURE to show up tomorrow---early and rarin' to go. Wonder if you were able to prep at all tonight?(i.e. maybe you guys keep the same pt.s?)

This is just the crud that these psycho instructors and certain "educational" schools of nursing behave. Do NOT be surprised if they attempt to boot you for not showing up---as you probably aren't honestly sure what to do and would maybe seem even reasonable as no one has gotten back to you.

But this is what they can pull---no showing is I'm sure a big deal. This mess today would be nowhere in a handbook but clinical no show would be in there in bold. Be careful!

It is so sad the games people play. I don't care how many times we protest about nursing being known to 'eat their young' and yada yada. There is nowhere else in the educational or business world where these head games or so accepted and even encouraged. (and please don't mention med students and their 'pimiping'. We like to take things to a whole new level)

I'm sorry for you and wish you all the best.

Hang in there!!!!

[RN007]

I am so sorry about your problem. I, too, had a situation during one of my clinicals and just bit the bullet and went on. I was honored as the nursing student of the year at pinning. Do remember that you're the customer and w/o students, the instructor wouldn't have a job. You don't want to bring this up, of course, but it might help w/some of your emotions. Be confident, be positive and I am praying for you, as are many others. Keep us posted. We care.

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed .... 2 Corinthians 4:8

[Phillippians4:13]

WOW! I never expected the support that I've received from all of you today. It really warms my heart and gives me the confidence to keep going. Thank you so much! I've thought about this all day and still can't believe that I got sent home for that. Some of my classmates called me and said that the day with her was terrible! She was fuming by the end of the day. They all have to write papers tonight about improving their clinical performance. Maybe it wasn't so bad that I got sent home! :wink2:

[Batman24]

I agree. SHOW UP TOMORROW.

Sounds like the instructor was in a foul mood and you were the first one to step in her path.

[moomoo111]

Earle58, I am proud of you for standing up for yourself and refusing to go home. Sometimes, you just have to stand your ground. Do they send home every nurse that misses something every single time? If they did, we would really have a nursing shortage. I am a nursing student, first year ADN and I missed a few things on my research of my patients also but it wasn't my fault they were not in the chart. So I can relate to that part. My instructors are very, very nice and would not send any of us home for something that small. You learn from mistakes and it makes you a better student to have constructive critisism (I can never spell that word). I go to a school that has arrogant, rude instructors like the one you described but my nursing instructors are not like that at all. I would strongly advise you to stand tall and be very confident in yourself and don't make excuses for the actions of others. I'm a single mother who is 45 and this is my second career and school is much harder and I do have menopause because I have had a hysterectomy and I have no hormones and it takes listening and reading and studying over and over again because of my age and the menopause but don't beat yourself up so much because of one person. Some people in the medical field that act that way are burnt out and are just plain mean and it sounds to me that unless you are not telling the whole story, that simply was not grounds to send you home. I would go to the director of the nursing program and demand an explanation and let them know that you have paid good money for your education and you can take your good money and go to another institution. All nursing instructors are not unfair. When I find something in my patient's chart that I don't understand, I do the CSI work myself until I find the answer. The nursing instructors do not have time to go look at every student's patient's charts to check behind you so do the CSI work yourself, ask the patient's nurse. That's how you learn and when you get out there and you are the nurse, you will find the same situations. Feel free to private message me if you want to talk more. Nursing school is very hard and challenging but unfair instructors don't have to make it harder. Hang in there and keep going. Don't let one person take it all away from you. If your heart is in it, then you belong there. Take Care.