Whose fault is it?

Mrs. Sparkle Pants · Apr 20, 2011

The instructor is shady, but it was in the syllabus, therefore you are responsible for it.

allnurses Guide · Apr 20, 2011

I guess I would wonder what that student was thinking when everyone else in clinicals was taking their own turn passing meds and whether she or he talked to the other students at all. If so then he/she should have had some idea of what passing meds entailed and done his or her utmost to prepare. He/she cannot control the actions of others, only him or herself, and given what is at stake and the unlikelihood of having any way to undo it once it is done, he/she would be wise not to rely on fault casting, but rather just do all possible to be prepared and then when that isn't enough do all possible to do damage control.

roser13, ASN, RN · Apr 20, 2011

"However, it is noted in the course outline students will be responsible for administering medications. The student did not realize she was responsible for the medication other than what was written in the course syllabus."

This seems contradictory to me. Why did "the student" not realize that she was responsible for medication administration when it plainly said so in the sylllabus?

In nursing school, had my course outline noted this requirement, you can bet I would have been prepared on any clinical day to administer meds, whether it seemed to be my turn or not.

Regarding your title:

Whose fault is it?

Finding fault should be the least of "the student's" concerns and efforts right now. At this point, "the student" is best advised to request the ability to remedy the situation so as to move on. Looking to place fault (and asking others for assistance in that endeavor) will not help at all. Sometimes, one must just suck up a perceived injustice and move on, despite who was truly at fault. "The student" needs to keep her eye on the prize: graduation from nursing school. Mean or unfair nursing instructors will come and go - you must put all your effort into your goal.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 21, 2011

the clinical instructor does not mention one word to the student regarding her responsibility to give medications during clinical class that takes place once per week. the student has never given medications on the unit. in addition, only 3 students out of 6 give meds during the clinical instruction for the day. however, it is noted in the course outline students will be responsible for administering medications. the student did not realize she was responsible for the medication other than what was written in the course syllabus. the clinical instructor is extremely hostile to the student and does not make it easy to ask questions. the clinical instructor gives the student a poor performance because she failed to give medications. opinion, please.

i'm taking it that you are the student in question who failed to give medications. the question ought not to be "whose fault is it?" but rather "did the patient get the meds she needed from someone else, and if not, was harm done?" and then the question ought to be "how can i communicate better with my instructor and/or preceptor to ensure that something like this doesn't happen again?"

it really doesn't matter whose fault it is. you screwed up . . . admit it, figure out how to fix it and move on. you're going to have a lot better relationship with your instructor (and possibly save your spot in school or on the unit) if you just admit that there was a breakdown in communication for which you are partially responsible -- and the more responsibility you accept, the better you look -- and that you're committed to working it out so it never happens again.

good luck.

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Apr 21, 2011

In my program we weren't allowed to give meds unless it was with the instructor. You can imagine the logistical issue this would cause when 6 students were giving meds that were scheduled at the same time so often the instructors would have only certain students give meds certain days. It seems pretty easy to clarify who is giving meds and who isn't on a given day.

linearthinker, DNP, RN · Apr 21, 2011

That was pretty vague, so I'm not sure what happened. Long story short, student should be bound by whatever the syllabus said.

aussienurse1 · Apr 21, 2011

I'm not sure about anywhere else but I imagine it would be the same as here in Aus- If it's in the course outline, it should be done. I was told when I started both my undergrad and postgrad degrees that we are adults, and thus we should be responsible for reading the course outline and recognising what is expected of us. We weren't even told/reminded when assignments were due.

I guess now the *student* will know to look at the course outline? I would call it even and say lesson learned...I don't mean to sound harsh- but it's the same after you graduate- often times noone tells you exactly what you have to do- there is a policy and procedure book somewhere that all of the information is in.."I didn't do it because I didn't know I had to" won't cut it on the floor...

Good luck to the *student*! But that's just my :twocents: worth....

psu_213, BSN, RN · Apr 21, 2011

Not absolving the instructor, but the student (you?) are, in the end, responsible for making sense of the sitation.

When I was in my ADN program they syllabus for a nursing class always ended with a statement of "this syllabus is just a guide for students, it is not meant as a contract between the student and the school/nursing program" (or something to that effect). Not exactly sure what that meant, but I know it did not mean I could did not have to fulfill the objectives of the course.

Black Jade, BSN, RN · Apr 21, 2011

I'd say it's the instructor's fault. When I was in nursing school, we would meet half hour before receiving report for pre-conference. The clinical instructor will have that day's checklist and would inform us who will be on the floor, who will go to a special unit (ie. ICU, Cath Lab, etc...) and who will be supervised giving medications. The instructor's task is to find the student and quiz her or him on the medications being given to the patient. The student's only task is to let the primary nurse that he or she will give the medication with the instructor. The instructor had a poor way of coordinating clinicals and shouldn't have given the student a poor performance since they weren't given the opportunity to apply what they learned.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Apr 21, 2011

I'd say it's the instructor's fault. When I was in nursing school, we would meet half hour before receiving report for pre-conference. The clinical instructor will have that day's checklist and would inform us who will be on the floor, who will go to a special unit (ie. ICU, Cath Lab, etc...) and who will be supervised giving medications. The instructor's task is to find the student and quiz her or him on the medications being given to the patient. The student's only task is to let the primary nurse that he or she will give the medication with the instructor. The instructor had a poor way of coordinating clinicals and shouldn't have given the student a poor performance since they weren't given the opportunity to apply what they learned.

Not that the instructor is without blame...but, when I was in school, it was the responsibility of the student to know that his/her pt had a 9 am med (of course the instructor was there to make sure a med was not miss, but if they had to remide the student...well...bad news for the student). Once again, the instructor should have let the student know their responsiblities for the day, but at that point the ball is in the student's court. Either way, based on the syllabus, the student needed to approach the instructor about the med passing issue.

TickyRN · Apr 21, 2011

I would say it's the instructor fault because even if your assigned pt has meds, the instructor should have

a) told the nurse the student was going to pass meds. This creates accountability on the part of the nurse. If 9am meds are not given by an agreed time, the nurse can ask the student if it was given or not, and make sure the pt gets their meds

b)told the students their assignment/responsibilities for the day. For eg students A &B are going to pass meds today, the rest of the students give baths, etc. This creates responsibility on the part of students A & B . They will/should step up and be ready with information about medication, pt info etc at med time with instructor present.

c) told students about expectations on the floor. The OP sounds like a first semester nursing student. In my first semester, I did as I was told, any deviation could cause you to be failed by the clinical instructor. for e.g I was "talked to" for speaking to the pt's primary nurse when I went to look up info on my pt. I needed the info, she was the only one who could help since my instructor wasnt on the floor at the time. Go figure. I didnt even get to give SQ inj till my final semester. But was I failed because of that? NO

My advice to the OP and nursing students on AN,

a)always CYA and follow chain of command when a clinical instructor fails you for something that was not clarified. Yes a friend was failed in her final semester and the president of the school reinstated her. (Long story)

b)Clinical instructors are not gods and can make mistakes too. But they can hinder your nursing career so apease them so you can get out of nursing school.

c) If you dont understand something, ask, clarify. Never sign any thing you dont agree with.

d)Watch out for what other students are doing in clinicals. If others are passing meds, dressing changes, foleys and tubes, while all you get to do is make beds, be sure to speak up and ask for an oppurtunity to learn too.

Not that the instructor is without blame...but, when I was in school, it was the responsibility of the student to know that his/her pt had a 9 am med (of course the instructor was there to make sure a med was not miss, but if they had to remide the student...well...bad news for the student). Once again, the instructor should have let the student know their responsiblities for the day, but at that point the ball is in the student's court. Either way, based on the syllabus, the student needed to approach the instructor about the med passing issue.

Butterfliesnroses · Apr 21, 2011

I'd say both the instructor and the students fault! When the quarter came to pass meds we had a lab and were checked off on lab, once checked off in lab we could do the task (w/the instructor watching the first couple times then on our own). So in my mind the instructor should have thought gee why isn't so and so passing meds (or getting me to pass their meds) and the student should have known as well! We were given little cards that we carried on us that we could give to the nurses on the floor saying what we COULD do, also I got with the patients primary nurse and would clarify what I would and wouldn't be doing.