treated unfairly at clinicals

[justthinking132]

I took online classes for medical assisting so my clinicals at a dr's office was part of my on-hands training. I have a rheumatoid disease and I told the MA that I like to keep busy because sitting around made my symptoms worse. The side I was put on was really slow. Sometimes only a few pts all day. I was able to triage patients but there was a lot of time I spent unable to do anything while the MA played on her IPhone or the internet, or sit around with the other MA talking crap about patients. I'd ask if anyone had anything they needed help with, didn't matter. There were times I was leaving work and crying all the way home because the sitting so much made me so sick. I had days where I kept busy and it wasn't so bad, but most of the time, that wasn't the case. I had to be evaluated on a skills form and the MA marked that I needed supervision on things I performed which they never allowed me to do. I even asked to do a urine test on myself and I did not get to. The supervisor said I could do an EKG on her, never happened. I was a bit dissapointed with my training. I barely got any training with EHR's. I had a lot of things I passed however.

On my 3rd week, before I was put up front to shadow, I heard the MA tell them up front that she didn't like me. I know I am a little bit on the quiet side but I was always nice to everyone, and I didn't much appreciate her talking smack behind my back. But I wasn't going to let someone like that stop me from finishing my training.

So 2 days before I was finished with my clinicals, I had a bronchitis and ear infection. Had been to the dr the evening before for treatment. They had me sit all day long, after lunch they gave me some hands on training because the school called and asked them to. I was so dizzy from sitting all day, I couldn't hardly hold my head up. I was choking when I was coughing. They knew I was sick.

So I scheduled an appt, put pts on hold, and faxed stuff into the pts charts. I worked an extra 1/2 hr that morning. My hrs were 8:30-2:30. So at 2:30, the lady training me was across the room talking to the supervisor, I took my time sheet to the other supervisor and asked her to sign it and she told me to have the lady training me sign it, so I took it to her, she signed it, and I told them I was going to work till 3:45 the next two days so I could get all my hrs in, I was short where they were closed on labor day. I thanked her for showing me the stuff she did. Told her and the supervisor I was sick and was going home and told them all bye.

I get home and the school calls and tells me that the supervisor told me not to come back. She said I left work early, that I smarted them off, and even cussed her out, and the entire time I was there that I complained that I did not want to do anything. I pretty much cried my eyes out when he was telling me this. He told me I would have to repeat my clinicals. I could not understand why she did me this way.

I talked to financial aid and they said I would lose my grant, so I told the school I refused to repeat clinicals and I was getting a lawyer and sueing the site. So they calculated my grades against my hours, and had the supervisor turn in my skills form which was 2 days late, and I passed with 76%, and lost the A I had.

Took me forever to get it, but I got the school to show me my skills forms. The final skills form, the supervisor fails me on about everything, all but 4 things, and says they are too busy to be teaching someone that obviously doesn't want to be there. There were major discrepencies between midterm and the final skills form. The school knew she was lying on me, my time sheet was signed, they had the skills forms to prove what was what, and they had emails from me saying how it was making me sick to not be doing anything and that I wanted more hands on training.

So I guess the supervisor blowed up because I went home. I don't know if she understood it because I was barely around her, but the MA always let me go home when it was 2:30, I didn't have to be told to do so. If she wanted me to stay, she could have said so. But she knew I was sick, so why she wants to be like that and say I didn't want to be there, I don't understand it.

I had to wait a month to do my extern because it was too late to find another site. Then when the time came, I had an anxiety attack and I couldn't get myself to go. After all this happened, I had to go on an antidepressant. I was really upset, and I still am. I've had past issues with severe depression and anxiety disorder from my chronic illness and the way people treat me. This did not settle with me very well.

I took a LOA from school so I will still be able to finish but I was just so angry with myself for not going to extern but I wasn't in the shape to do it. I feel like no matter how hard I try, this stupid disease I have will somehow find a way to screw things up for me. Maybe someone with a disability just doesn't belong in the medical field. I feel like if I wasn't sick, none of this would of happened at that clinical site. And all the people it had to happen to, it had to be me.

[irisheyesRsmilin]

wow....a lot going on in your post, but I want to chime in and hopefully help...

First, having a chronic disease like yours is not easy in any circumstance, but I never let mine get in the way of my dream of being a nurse. Dont let yours derail your dream.

Sounds like a crappy set up for your clinicals. I might want to walk away from this school completely if clinicals are so poorly done. Not learning skills on patients is a cheat on you. You are not getting your monesy worth and when you go out into the real world, you will not have the skills needed to do your job. I think it is time to look into another school.

I went thru my local community college and they knocked it out of the park on teaching us what we needed to know!

Good luck to you and stay healthy.

[justthinking132]

That is what I told my school. I told them I was worried from not getting the hands on training that I needed, that I would not be prepared when I went out to get a job. I was pretty much smarted off from the extern councellor because of that. They said it was up to the site to choose what they let me do, if all they wanted to do was let me triage, then I had to just accept it.

I can understand that they were not comfortable with letting me do injections, but the rest of the stuff, well I could have very well been taught.

I agree, my training has been awful. I really regret taking online classes, but with my health issues, I thought this was the way to actually be able to accomplish something. I would love to go to a local community college but I don't think I would be able to get the loans to be able to do so. It would be a shame, cause I am going to owe $20,000 if I don't graduate this program, for nothing. But I think I will call the college and see if there is anything they can do to help. Maybe I can get a transfer. I only have my extern left though and I graduate.

With the program I'm in, I can take 6 more months with my classes and get my associate's degree. I could use those credits if I decided to be a registered nurse. If I go to everest, I won't have those credits, I can only get my diploma. But I don't think I am healthy enough to deal with going to college to be an RN. Would like to, but likely won't happen.

I really hope my health problems don't stand in my way of doing this. I am just afraid something is going to go wrong though. Everytime I turn around, something is happening. The night before last, I was screeming and crying in pain, if I had to work that day, I would not have made it.

[maikranz]

I would be very surprised if the college accepts your credits.

As for your contention that you were mistreated - you couldn't do anything!! You basically went to the site expecting them to teach you the skills you should have learned in your "program"; that's not their responsibility. Sorry to seem harsh, but you made the choice to go this route without considering the local community college. Good luck to you.

[ariana_ox]

If you have a choice I would retake the MA and go to a community college, they treat everyone equally and they take their students to do Clinical's at places where they are used to having students train not only that but you do every hands on training your suppose to do. Plus you have the opportunity to get a job at the clinical place as well... You will also get student financial aid so you don't have to pay all that extra cash. It's worth it of you really want to be an MA... :) good luck and sorry to hear about that they seem rude and disrespectful.