The saddest day of my life.

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Hi everyone, I am new to this site. I am a first year RN student and it is the end of my first semester ( nursing 101). This whole semester has been a nightmare. In an acute care setting there are so many errors in documenting.

For example, I have to research my patient the night before 1 st clinical day and MD orders were still in effect for this patient to have a tube feeder, cath, a vent. So, clinical day comes and before I meet my patient I go look on the computer chart for any changes and those orders were still in effect. I walk in patients room and they had none of those things. All they had on was a Holter monitor and nasal cannula. This patient also was in isolation with MRSA. Instructor said oh well I wasn't supposed to give you a isolation patient yet. I also noticed this patient was a diabetic and was on a regular diet which I knew was wrong.

I questioned the RN and my instructor, no one didn't do anything. In the mean time this lady's glucose was out of sight. My instructor didn't even believe me that my patient didn't have a feeding tube anymore and called me a liar and that I didn't assess my patient well enough. Instructor had to go see for herself and saw I was telling the truth. As the semester went on things got worse and I was getting blamed for changing another patient's oxygen liters and documenting the wrong amount. The RN decided to change it from 2 to 3L, I didn't change it so I document it as 2. They say if you didn't do it, don't document it! Even my instructor said to doc as 2L. Well I did and I was blamed for putting 2 and not 3 listening to my instructor.

Then the next day comes and I can't do a sterile dressing change alone yet. So I tell RN stay with me and supervise me, my teacher is nowhere to be found. SO Rn stands in room with me while I prepare sterile field and put on sterile gloves then I hear her say I will be right back. 2 minutes later, my teacher comes in furious with me and blames me for attempting a dressing myself. I can't control the RN!! She runs out and that's my fault??? I'm standing there like an idiot not sure what to do thinking RN was coming back. I got written up for the oxygen error and attempting a sterile dressing without being supervised, yet my classmate did something similar with doing a procedure (enema) without instructor but RN was present and didn't get in trouble. RN's don't count as supervisors only instructors. They didn't say that was a rule until I got written up! So you would still get in trouble doing a procedure even if RN is present. Only thing is, my classmate didn't get written up but I did. I feel that's unfair, on my evaluation they said that I didn't even notify RN I needed supervision and I did notify her. They lied again!

So yesterday I had my clinical evaluation for end of 101 and well, I got dismissed for these 2 incidents.!! After I caught on to the hospital's errors, my instructor had an attitude change towards me. There were many lies on my evaluation, I even found more as I went through my old documents. I called the dean and my hearing was arranged right away for tomorrow. At this point I am not even sure if I should ask to go back as a student I don't even feeling I was graded fairly. The exams difficulty felt fair but the grading wasn't, everyone couldn't get higher than 70's except these three students get 90's every time???

I have been called untrustworthy, an unprofessional, and I practice in an unsafe manner. The instructor said that I should NOT even bother for a hearing, I will lose and not to be trusted AND that she will step herself out of the hearing and have no part in it. Yes, those were her EXACT words. My self- esteem is shot. The floor was so messed up that a week after I reported the errors in the hospital, there was a meeting on that floor with the staff and case managers. You mean to tell me I am unsafe and dishonest when they put me on a floor of chaos?? They expect us students to be perfect in a very unperfect environment...

So my hearing is tomorrow. I'm not sure after this experience if I should continue nursing or go with something else. I am 19 years old and graduated high school with honors in 2011 with presently 30 college credits which I earned just to get myself in this very hard program. Now that's over. I am very heartbroken :( I don't what to do....

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Hi, there. Welcome to Allnurses.com!

I am so sorry about your dismissal from the nursing program. Unfortunately, your situation is not uncommon or unique. I wrote about this phenomenon approximately one week ago. Click on the link below to read my article if you are interested or simply wish to pass the breeze. I wish you the best of luck.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/pick-your-battles-801086.html

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You have to stand up for what is right as a nurse and it sounds like you are learning that the hard way. I hope you can find one mentor to lean on. Nursing is a great career and we need professionals who put patient safety first. Hang in there and thank you for standing up for what that patient needed. Their family would thank you as well.

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Specializes in Cardiac Cath, CCU,telemetry.

It is awesome you did stick up for pt safety. Being a pt advocate is very important

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Specializes in Cardiac Cath, CCU,telemetry.

Don't give up!!! Never ever give up what you believe is right

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Certainly OP has had, no doubt is still having, a very trying experience.

Yet, there is some difficulty with OP's description: "this lady's glucose was out of sight." Hmm, wonder what was meant by that. The blood glucose level was so astronomically high that it could not be seen without a telescope? Or, the blood glucose level was so miniscule that a microscope would have been required to visualize it? Perhaps it was obscured in some way.

Point is: How would I chart that, exactly? And what orders could I expect from the doc, as a result of whatever I managed to chart? What would I do with this, as an NCLEX question? There is a reason for "medical terminology", and this description seems an object lesson in why that is.

Also, just would like to say, tho I doubt it will help OP for a few decades yet, that at the age of 19, it can be exceedingly difficult to comprehend that which is called, perspective.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Wow - communication is really the key. First of all, clinical instructors must make sure that their students clearly understand all the 'rules'; when does the instructor have to be there? when can the RN act as a supervisor? what is needed to 'check off' a skill? if the skill is 'checked off', can the student perform it without the instructor?. . . etc.

Hindsight is always 20-20. In retrospect, there should have been a serious sit-down meeting between the OP & the clinical instructor after the first serious incident. If that had occurred, with rules & ongoing communication established, would there have been a different outcome? I know that most 19 yo's are still in the "you're not the boss of me" stage as they struggle to establish independence. Sometimes it is very difficult to realize that no matter how far you go in life, someone is always your "boss" and they get to make the rules.

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I would appeal to the dean and see where you get with that, at this point there is nothing to lose by trying. If you are still dissmissed from the school, I would go ahead and apply to other schools in the area, and even that school again. I know around my area (Upstate NY), applications arent due in until between Jan 15th and March 1st depending on the school. If this is really what you want to do and you have a passion for it, keep trying.

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