When ill equipped students affect your grade...

Nursing Students General Students

Published

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced a similar situation as myself...Here goes: I got docked 5% of my grade because I refused to hold an incompetent group member's hand during clinicals and there seems to be no recourse. Is this what nursing school is really all about? Do I just have to bend over until I graduate? I was under the false impression that we are all responsible for ourselves and that we should be working with a group of equal peers. Silly me.

It is hard to watch favoritism. It is hard to watch incompetence. The two combined are lethal, creating resentment amoung colleagues and almost guaranteeing the favored one will never improve. People in general have the tendency to achieve what is expected of them.

That being said, the above poster is right....patients come first. It sucks, absolutely. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to get through. It is temporary and hopefully she won't be in your skills lab or clinical group next semester. Just play the game - it goes by fast. Should this person be accountable? Yes. Should you make her so? Nope. Not your job. You are there to learn, to get good grades, to graduate. If that means you have to hold a hand you don't want to, you hold the hand until you can move on.

I fear you are right! Yes, patient safety comes first. There really needs to be an instructor with them at all times. Guess I have to hope this NS is not with us next semester.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Peri-op/Sub-Acute ANP.

Look, the brutal truth is that this happens - every day! If it is burning you this much now when it's a fellow student imagine how much it's going to burn you when you are a GN and the person who you feel is incompetent, who you are having to carry, who is charge nurse's pet, is earning $10 an hour more than you. Seriously, this is life. You better find a way to deal with it now or it is going to eat you alive! I'm not saying that you have to like it, but you will find out soon that this is going to be a fact of life if you work in healthcare (or most any other profession).

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Look, the brutal truth is that this happens - every day! If it is burning you this much now when it's a fellow student imagine how much it's going to burn you when you are a GN and the person who you feel is incompetent, who you are having to carry, who is charge nurse's pet, is earning $10 an hour more than you. Seriously, this is life. You better find a way to deal with it now or it is going to eat you alive! I'm not saying that you have to like it, but you will find out soon that this is going to be a fact of life if you work in healthcare (or most any other profession).

Wow, that's sad! I guess I have this pipe dream that people who are incompetent don't make it through the nursing program, much less that they somehow get ahead in the nursing world. I better learn how to cope with frustrations! I just want to kick and scream and say how unfair it is :yawn:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

OP - I would be just as upset as you if they docked my grade 5% for other people's issues. If you helped this NS as much as you could then you shouldn't have your grade docked. It's not your fault he/she is just not getting it. Where is the CI? Aren't they there to teach this student? Why has that become your responsibility enough to dock your grade? That would send me flying right into the Dean's office, regardless of the repercussions.

BTW, I'm all about helping fellow students but not when it puts my grade in danger.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Peri-op/Sub-Acute ANP.
Wow, that's sad! I guess I have this pipe dream that people who are incompetent don't make it through the nursing program, much less that they somehow get ahead in the nursing world. I better learn how to cope with frustrations! I just want to kick and scream and say how unfair it is :yawn:

You will be amazed, my friend. Amazed. Honestly, I know how frustrating this type of thing is, but the truth is that you will come across many people who are going to blow your mind. Try to not let this eat you alive. Rant and rave, and then get back to work. Don't let this consume you. I've seen good nurses go down because they just couldn't let things like this go. They would up burned out and the incompetent nurses never seem to, lol.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
You will be amazed, my friend. Amazed. Honestly, I know how frustrating this type of thing is, but the truth is that you will come across many people who are going to blow your mind. Try to not let this eat you alive. Rant and rave, and then get back to work. Don't let this consume you. I've seen good nurses go down because they just couldn't let things like this go. They would up burned out and the incompetent nurses never seem to, lol.

I will do my best, thanks for the helpful words! That is really funny, the incompetent people must be oblivious to the fact that there is even an issue....it makes perfect sense to me.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
OP - I would be just as upset as you if they docked my grade 5% for other people's issues. If you helped this NS as much as you could then you shouldn't have your grade docked. It's not your fault he/she is just not getting it. Where is the CI? Aren't they there to teach this student? Why has that become your responsibility enough to dock your grade? That would send me flying right into the Dean's office, regardless of the repercussions.

BTW, I'm all about helping fellow students but not when it puts my grade in danger.

The CI has 10 students to monitor at the site, so cannot hold hands constantly either (I wish she could). I also questioned how this has become my responsibility? For instance, this particular NS had watched a nurse do a dressing change, and the following day was to READ the orders and implement this same dressing change on the patient. Do you know this NS put the wrong dressing on the patient? So reading orders and observing the dressing change the prior day didn't even prevent this mishap. What if that wound dressing caused harm to the patient in some way?

I (and many other students) have spent countless hours with this student during clinical lab in efforts to teach them. The bottom line is that some people should just not become nurses if they continue to be unsafe when left on their own for a moment.

Problem is that I need to graduate and I was essentially "put in my place" during evaluations when I expressed my concerns about this particular student. I worry about getting through the program if I were to stir the pot too much.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

I am confused as to what exactly happened, you never go into details. Like was it one incident you didn't help, what was that incident. I am just trying to picture the scenario outside of, you got your grade dropped for not helping a fellow student. Do you guys get graded on helping others to where you knew this could effect your grade??

I am so happy our clinicals are pass/fail

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I am confused as to what exactly happened, you never go into details. Like was it one incident you didn't help, what was that incident. I am just trying to picture the scenario outside of, you got your grade dropped for not helping a fellow student. Do you guys get graded on helping others to where you knew this could effect your grade??

I am so happy our clinicals are pass/fail

Nope, not based on one particular incident whatsoever. It was based on the entire clinical picture, including lab. It made no difference that I had already put hours into trying to help this NS along, the instructor didn't feel it was enough because she is well aware that this NS is clueless and needs TONS of help. As I stated before, I (as well as many other students) spent many hours working with this NS...and our group worked very well together aside from this person. We all helped each other, learned from each other, and taught each other. The problem is that the instructor has a focus on this one student rather than the group dynamics as a whole. It is very biased. We have all tried to help this NS learn and implement skills to no avail.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Our CI has 10 students as well and there would be no way that CI would allow for this person to do patient care without the CI being present for everything. How about fellow nurses at the clinical site? Any of them complain about this NS yet that you know of?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Nope, not based on one particular incident whatsoever. It was based on the entire clinical picture, including lab. It made no difference that I had already put hours into trying to help this NS along, the instructor didn't feel it was enough because she is well aware that this NS is clueless and needs TONS of help. As I stated before, I (as well as many other students) spent many hours working with this NS...and our group worked very well together aside from this person. We all helped each other, learned from each other, and taught each other. The problem is that the instructor has a focus on this one student rather than the group dynamics as a whole. It is very biased. We have all tried to help this NS learn and implement skills to no avail.

I got that part, I just wonder why it wasn't brought up until the end if it wasn't one incident. I am just not used to things being handled like that. Our school is very big on coming to you at the beginning of any problems so that you don't get to the end and get a curve ball thrown at you. I would be upset if something effected my grade and I had no idea that it was going to or could. Especially since some things are all about perception.

I am big on helping others and their were many times in clinicals if I already got an opportunity to try something new and it came up again I would go get one of the people that hadn't got the chance yet to help them. BUT I would not keep trying to help someone that was not willing to help themselves or that ended up taking a toll on me because they just weren't getting it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I got that part, I just wonder why it wasn't brought up until the end if it wasn't one incident. I am just not used to things being handled like that. Our school is very big on coming to you at the beginning of any problems so that you don't get to the end and get a curve ball thrown at you. I would be upset if something effected my grade and I had no idea that it was going to or could. Especially since some things are all about perception.

I am big on helping others and their were many times in clinicals if I already got an opportunity to try something new and it came up again I would go get one of the people that hadn't got the chance yet to help them. BUT I would not keep trying to help someone that was not willing to help themselves or that ended up taking a toll on me because they just weren't getting it.

Exactly!! I asked her the same thing...why wasn't this brought up a long time ago before you just decided to dock my points with no warning? My CI said she would have done things differently if she could go back. Ugh.

I believe in helping others at clinicals, especially since I'm sure I will need help at times. Our whole group (minus one) felt this way. What is even more frustrating is that this NS was allowed to show up late every day of clinicals with no clinical prep work done, which is a HUGE no-no. None of the rest of us would have been allowed to do so. This NS isn't "getting it" because they do not study, do not do the required readings, do not do the required prep work, and does not learn from repeated hands-on instruction. It is incredibly frustrating for everyone.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment