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Ok, so my instructor dropped me from clinical because I missed one day of clinical. I did contact her, but after clinical had started. This was a family emergency. She were very unprofessional, flipping out on me after I took the blame and admitted to being wrong. In our student handbook, it states that a student can only be dismissed if any thing the student does posses a threat to the patient/resident, instructors, staffs, and students. The student has to have done something serious 2X to be dismissed from clinical completely. My instructor flipped out on me, tells me that she will call me later. I texted her back later asking if I could do two extra clinical days to make up for the day that I missed. She just told me that she wanted to see me the following day. I show up the following day at school and she already had all the paper works ready to drop me from clinical. I had no say, every time I tried to say something she told me that I was rude and disrespectful.

I met with the Dean and the Director of campus operation and they both backed my instructor up. Now, they brought up that I missed one lecture day already, which was an excused absence, and so missing this clinical day adds up to two days so therefore I will remain dropped from the clinical component. Here is what I am trying to fight: in our student handbook, clinical dismissal and lecture dismissal are in different parts of the handbook. In lecture dismissal, it states that a student can only be dismissed if the students behavior is detrimental to their academic success. Student has to have missed two UNEXCUSED lecture day to be dropped from the course. When I missed lecture, my instructor was informed by an email from me that I will not be in class. So, what do you all think? I am thinking about going to the Campus Director, the person who runs that campus for help.

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What do you mean by "flipping out"? And what was your relationship with the instructor prior to that day? Had you had any issues or problems with each other prior to that? Ever been late? Messed up?

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Does your school have an ombudsman? If so contact them ASAP.

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Specializes in CNA.
Ok, so my instructor dropped me from clinical because I missed one day of clinical. I did contact her, but after clinical had started. This was a family emergency.

Why didn't you call your instructor (or a classmate) as soon as you learned of the emergency?

Water under the bridge, but a good lesson for future clinical students: Call immediately.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.

The most important thing is to call immediately, preferably prior to being late. If a staff nurse did this, it would force the unit to possibly work with unsafe ratios if a replacement couldn't be found, and is written up as a no-show in most facilities. Since you are a student, what should determine this is policy. I would look up the policy for academic appeals at your school and document each of the steps. Take them in order and be prepared with a copy of all relevant policies.

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I believe you were treated harshly and that a family emergency, if it was verifiable, was sufficient reason. We were allowed two absences that had to be made up. No one failed clinical or were dropped until they reached the third absence. Throwing you out on the first absence was going overboard, in my opinion. But you know what my opinion is worth. Sounds as if you are dealing with some real hard cases at your school.

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What do you mean by "flipping out"? And what was your relationship with the instructor prior to that day? Had you had any issues or problems with each other prior to that? Ever been late? Messed up?

What I meant was she did not listen to what I had to say. She just kept going on and on about how rude and disrespectful I were and she thinks that nursing is not for me. She felt that school was not my priority right now. Well of course school was not priority that day. Especially when my baby was in the emergency room!

I was always a good and punctual student. Never had problems with ANY of my instructors before, never been late to class or clinical. I am probably the only student in my cohort that stop and ask a resident/patient if they are ok on my way back from doing a treatment or med pass. I have had many residents/patients praised me to my instructors about how sweet and caring I am. This decision baffled me.

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Does your school have an ombudsman? If so contact them ASAP.

not sure, but I can check. I did schedule an appointment with the Campus Director. Hopefully he can help me.

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Why didn't you call your instructor (or a classmate) as soon as you learned of the emergency?

Water under the bridge, but a good lesson for future clinical students: Call immediately.

I definitely learned a good lesson, but it was not like I did not try to contact at all. I did try to contact her and another classmate. my instructor said all these things, but my classmates said they were all false, because they were there and my instructor did not look for me, all she did were texting and using her computer in the education room.

The next day when she told me that I will be dismissed from clinical for not contacting her or any of my classmates. When I told her that I did, she changed the subject and went on again about how she feels that nursing is not for me and that I should retake the course because I failed the last exam, which she did a horrible job teaching the subject and the exam was so badly worded and there was one question that was repeated 4X and she did not even know about it. Plus, more than half the class failed that exam.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

I'm sorry that your baby was sick. Being a nurse (or student) and a mommy is often difficult to juggle (especially when kids give you no warning of being sick). Before I give you my opinion, a few things you want to do, to be better prepared for next time:

-have your clinical instructor's contact info in your phone. I can't tell you how many students call/text each other, but not me (and I give them my phone # for this reason). Always confirm exactly what your professor wants you to do it you will be absent (some just want you to call the unit, or call the school, and the school will get in touch with her).

-have a 'back up plan'. Hospitalization is an extraordinary situation, but make sure you have a person (friend, neighbor, back up day-care). I know this may be a challenge, but when you are working, you need this as well (and it may be nights/weekends, or at a really wierd hour).

-know your school's policy: can make ups be done? is there a time frame in which you need to make them up?

Regarding the outcome of this, let's look at the objective information first: You need to very carefully look at your student handbook to see what your absence policy is. You may want to verify that it is not 2 total absences (1 lecture + 1 clinical, or 2 of either).

You need to prove that you did (or she needs to prove that you did not) report your absence. This is most likely in your clinical objective criteria (the things we look at to determine whether or not you pass clinical). I have worked in 2 different schools, and it is in both evalution tools ("Reports latenesses/absences in accordance with school policy in a timely manner"). It's a terrible thing to fail a student on, but if it is one of the criteria, then it can be done. Whether or not you get a warning is another issue (I personally would not go so far as to fail someone who did it once, but read on...)

Subjectively, you need to be honest with yourself about anything else that may have happened thus far. What I mean is, related to my above comment, if this was the last straw, that the student was showing a pattern of delinquencies (coming to clinical late, unprepared, and/or other behavioral objectives), then I would certainly exercise my right to fail the student. If this was the students first and only offense, than I would not do it (but that's just me).

Do you have class officers, or a SNA in your program? You may want to confide in someone, of course being prepared to answer all questions honestly.

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I'm sorry that your baby was sick. Being a nurse (or student) and a mommy is often difficult to juggle (especially when kids give you no warning of being sick). Before I give you my opinion, a few things you want to do, to be better prepared for next time:

-have your clinical instructor's contact info in your phone. I can't tell you how many students call/text each other, but not me (and I give them my phone # for this reason). Always confirm exactly what your professor wants you to do it you will be absent (some just want you to call the unit, or call the school, and the school will get in touch with her).

-have a 'back up plan'. Hospitalization is an extraordinary situation, but make sure you have a person (friend, neighbor, back up day-care). I know this may be a challenge, but when you are working, you need this as well (and it may be nights/weekends, or at a really wierd hour).

-know your school's policy: can make ups be done? is there a time frame in which you need to make them up?

Regarding the outcome of this, let's look at the objective information first: You need to very carefully look at your student handbook to see what your absence policy is. You may want to verify that it is not 2 total absences (1 lecture + 1 clinical, or 2 of either).

You need to prove that you did (or she needs to prove that you did not) report your absence. This is most likely in your clinical objective criteria (the things we look at to determine whether or not you pass clinical). I have worked in 2 different schools, and it is in both evalution tools ("Reports latenesses/absences in accordance with school policy in a timely manner"). It's a terrible thing to fail a student on, but if it is one of the criteria, then it can be done. Whether or not you get a warning is another issue (I personally would not go so far as to fail someone who did it once, but read on...)

Subjectively, you need to be honest with yourself about anything else that may have happened thus far. What I mean is, related to my above comment, if this was the last straw, that the student was showing a pattern of delinquencies (coming to clinical late, unprepared, and/or other behavioral objectives), then I would certainly exercise my right to fail the student. If this was the students first and only offense, than I would not do it (but that's just me).

Do you have class officers, or a SNA in your program? You may want to confide in someone, of course being prepared to answer all questions honestly.

Well, I read the student handbook about 5X or more after this happened. In the handbook, lecture dismissals and clinical dismissals are two different things. Plus in the paper that my instructor made me sign, it just talks about the clinical day that was missed. The policy for missing clinical is making up double, and I requested that which my instructor told me that it was rude of me to request a make up. I don't know why. When I talked to the Dean, they brought up the lecture day that I missed and I was totally confused, because my instructor did not say that I were also being dropped for missing lecture.

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my schools policy is that unless 'you' are in the er, unable to call, incapacitated, and this is verifiable, then not calling is excusable.

if you have a loved one in the er, etc, you must call in before clinical begins, or else it is instant probation, and can be cause for dismissal.

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