OK people, Not sure if anyone responds to these questions.
Completed my 2 years of ADN program, last day of clinical my patient has a bout of AFIB, i go to patient's room, and yes I am super distracted on this day, counting down the clock. I don't tell my nurse until 20 minutes later while the Dr is present. This was an unfortunate situation of course. Patient was stable, in fact I asked her and took vitals and she was WNL.
So later that day, when we are off the floor, that nurse went behind my back and told my instructor about it, and added a few extra lies about me, stuff that was completely preposterous. Anyways, there is a meeting held with me and director and teacher, and i'm dismissed. EVEN THOUGH I've come so far, it actually freaking happened based on the fact that I didn't notify my instructor about it.
My friend says I should sue for all the time money,etc that has been put in over these past years.
It should be noted I'm an A student and I have excelled at clinical. I'm really not sure why this nurse threw me under the bus, unless she was trying to cover her own ass. Also why they didn't look at my entire track record and just this one time....ideas???
thanks
oh I appealed the decision already via email with the Dean and VP of student services..no word back yet.
Frankly, if this story is as you tell it, I think it's ridiculous to kick you out of school for this. I, as a nurse, would NEVER rely on a student to monitor my patients. Where was the monitor tech? That is the designated person to keep track of the rhythms.
When I was in school, I barely knew my rhythms visually. I had to take an EKG course down the road in order to learn rhythm strips.
I think this nurse is throwing you under the bus. She is probably exaggerating to defer blame from her. You embarrassed her in front of the doctor by pointing out something SHE should have been on top of.
And, 20 minutes isn't a huge time span, for goodness sake ! When I worked CCU, sometimes you glance up at the monitor and notice a rhythm change, for better or worse, and it happened more than 20 minutes ago.
Finally, the risk for stroke doesn't happen immediately. The loss of atrial kick causes blood clots to form from the churning action. You can cardiovert within 48 hrs.
Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
You may have a better chance being reinstated if you in fact have the stellar reputation and academic history than getting into the fourth quarter of another ASN program. The potential for recouping tuition and fees via law suit is extremely low based upon the nature of the "service contract" between colleges and students. You are free to consult with an attorney to review your options.
It's difficult to pass judgement with the limited information you presented. Perhaps the patients status changed earlier in the shift and you didn't recognize it until 20 minutes before you finally alerted the primary nurse?
The floor nurse was likely correct in approaching your instructor and not going to you as that is typical hierarchy reporting protocol for safety concerns and not necessarily throwing you under the bus.
Take time.
Write out the scenario without emotion and take a moment to try and look at it from the point of view of an outsider. Then think about how to proceed
Failing a program due to poor clinical de soon making during your last clinical rotation will probably not win you a lawsuit.
You our have not taken responsibility for any of your own actions and have actually given us info about some major safety concerns about you. School is where errors should be made, yes. But by the final semester you should know to get the nurse immediately when there is a change of condition. Especially one as potentially dangerous as A-Fib can be.
Do i think you should have been expelled? I have no idea. Your story doesn't really add up, but your nonchalant attitude about safety in practice issue is a red flag as to a possible reason why.
When end you are a working nurse and it 1 hour until the end of your shift on your last of 3 work dats in a row. Will you just be counting down the minutes until you go home and not properly assessing and treating your patients? Because that is the impression you would have given your instructor that day.
I think the original poster needs to clarify the exact reasons for dismissal, To the original poster you need to state the exact reasons for why you failed as I'm sure it was provided to you at the time of dismissal from the program.
Frankly, if this story is as you tell it, I think it's ridiculous to kick you out of school for this. I, as a nurse, would NEVER rely on a student to monitor my patients. Where was the monitor tech? That is the designated person to keep track of the rhythms.
When I was in school, I barely knew my rhythms visually. I had to take an EKG course down the road in order to learn rhythm strips.
I think this nurse is throwing you under the bus. She is probably exaggerating to defer blame from her. You embarrassed her in front of the doctor by pointing out something SHE should have been on top of.
And, 20 minutes isn't a huge time span, for goodness sake ! When I worked CCU, sometimes you glance up at the monitor and notice a rhythm change, for better or worse, and it happened more than 20 minutes ago.
Finally, the risk for stroke doesn't happen immediately. The loss of atrial kick causes blood clots to form from the churning action. You can cardiovert within 48 hrs.
The concern that the clinical instructor (and thus the school) could point out is that you have 20 years of experience. You can immediately assess and react to the situation effectively. The OP is a student; her mistake was taking the case under her wing and addressing it by herself (at least, I think that's what she did). She (most likely) wouldn't have known the if's and when's to cardiovert. She should have been under the RN, or her clinical instructor's, immediate supervision.
For example, when one of my patient's experienced symptomatic bradycardia, I hit the call button for assistance and the nurse supervising me immediately took over. As a student nurse, even though I have been ACLS trained, I'm not allowed to follow the ACLS algorithm on my own due to liability issues. I can't push meds or cardiovert due to liability issues. I can do CPR. I can record.
The OP could have been one big liability issue.
Who knows in this case? I'm still confused where the RN was, if the patient was on a tele monitor, why the doctor was in the room, etc.
The concern that the clinical instructor (and thus the school) could point out is that you have 20 years of experience. You can immediately assess and react to the situation effectively. The OP is a student; her mistake was taking the case under her wing and addressing it by herself (at least, I think that's what she did). She (most likely) wouldn't have known the if's and when's to cardiovert. She should have been under the RN, or her clinical instructor's, immediate supervision.
For example, when one of my patient's experienced symptomatic bradycardia, I hit the call button for assistance and the nurse supervising me immediately took over. As a student nurse, even though I have been ACLS trained, I'm not allowed to follow the ACLS algorithm on my own due to liability issues. I can't push meds or cardiovert due to liability issues. I can do CPR. I can record.
The OP could have been one big liability issue.
Who knows in this case? I'm still confused where the RN was, if the patient was on a tele monitor, why the doctor was in the room, etc.
From what I can gather from this thread, it seems to me that the OP was simply assessing. It doesn't appear that the OP attempted any nursing interventions himself/herself.
From what I can gather from this thread, it seems to me that the OP was simply assessing. It doesn't appear that the OP attempted any nursing interventions himself/herself.
I wish I could tell. I don't think she did either; her mistake (I think) was not saying anything.
Not saying anything immediately can be just as bad as attempting a nursing intervention.
If the nurse lied but you said the MD was present when you reported the A-fib can't you get the MD to vouch the time or the documentation doesn't have the right time either???
Sorry I thought the thread was closed. The doctor came in for rounds while I was in there...the primary nurse showed up shortly after. That's when I alerted her. I am accepting that I'm going to take a longer path to get to an RN license.
I admit I should have went right to my instructor but I don't think I should be out because of it. In the meeting she said this was completely out of the students character. It seems there may be an incident report made by the primary to cover her ass and throw me under the bus.
In the end any energy I put into suing would be better averted to re-applying to transfer into another program. I am a tough smart chick and will learn from this...I'm glad the patient was safe the whole time but if she wasn't hemodynamically stable it would have made more sense if I didn't say anything.
Seems easier to throw in towel but what's the fun in easy route right? Thanks for everyone's input.
Frankly, if this story is as you tell it, I think it's ridiculous to kick you out of school for this. I, as a nurse, would NEVER rely on a student to monitor my patients. Where was the monitor tech? That is the designated person to keep track of the rhythms.
When I was in school, I barely knew my rhythms visually. I had to take an EKG course down the road in order to learn rhythm strips.
I think this nurse is throwing you under the bus. She is probably exaggerating to defer blame from her. You embarrassed her in front of the doctor by pointing out something SHE should have been on top of.
And, 20 minutes isn't a huge time span, for goodness sake ! When I worked CCU, sometimes you glance up at the monitor and notice a rhythm change, for better or worse, and it happened more than 20 minutes ago.
Finally, the risk for stroke doesn't happen immediately. The loss of atrial kick causes blood clots to form from the churning action. You can cardiovert within 48 hrs.
This is what I was trying to say in my first post. Well worded and well said.
OP I do believe you should have been reprimanded but not dismissed. Good luck to you and I hope this can be resolved. I do not think PPs were trying to be rude just offering their perspectives.. When you are a nurse you will need to be more diligent as you will have more responsibility. If you waited 20min to call MD as a nurse it would Jane consequences on the job and more importantly could cause harm to patient. Learn from this and get back up brush yourself off. I hope you can work something out with the school. Maybe do extra lab hours or write a paper on a-fib and the etiology, and nursing process. Good luck to you xx
So later that day, when we are off the floor, that nurse went behind my back and told my instructor about it, and added a few extra lies about me, stuff that was completely preposterous.
The fact that you worded it this way is a red flag to me. Regardless of the other details (and you may well have been treated unfairly, it's impossible to know from just hearing your version of events), the RN didn't "go behind your back." I would expect that any RN with whom you are collaborating would give a report to your clinical instructor or go to her with concerns about your care. That doesn't mean it would be okay for her to lie or exaggerate, but the mere fact that she discussed you with your instructor is commonplace in my experience. My clinical instructors would often round on our units and ask the nurses how the day went and if they had any concerns.
I'm not sure why there is a big discussion on this. Grounds for dismissal I will not argue for safety violations on the students part. Honestly though I'm pretty sure the RN was reprimanded or at the least a verbal or written warning. This is an RN student. Not a licensed professional and if you all haven't reviewed, the RN is accountable for all care of the patient whether its delegated to or not. In this case, the RN student was under her license so if something was not done, it's the RN's responsibility and I do believe the RN swas trying to cover herself up and did what she could to exaggerate the problem. I wish you luck on your journey and keep moving. No on is going to stop you. Learn from the experiences and learn to be extra cautious around these RNs. They are just as touchy about their patients as you are to your NCLEX. I've had lies told about me as a tech and I hear you deeply. People are people whether they are doctors or RNs etc. Keep you head up and remember to never trust anyone except yourself. Good Luck.
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Emergent, RN
4,302 Posts
Frankly, if this story is as you tell it, I think it's ridiculous to kick you out of school for this. I, as a nurse, would NEVER rely on a student to monitor my patients. Where was the monitor tech? That is the designated person to keep track of the rhythms.
When I was in school, I barely knew my rhythms visually. I had to take an EKG course down the road in order to learn rhythm strips.
I think this nurse is throwing you under the bus. She is probably exaggerating to defer blame from her. You embarrassed her in front of the doctor by pointing out something SHE should have been on top of.
And, 20 minutes isn't a huge time span, for goodness sake ! When I worked CCU, sometimes you glance up at the monitor and notice a rhythm change, for better or worse, and it happened more than 20 minutes ago.
Finally, the risk for stroke doesn't happen immediately. The loss of atrial kick causes blood clots to form from the churning action. You can cardiovert within 48 hrs.