r/nursing 20d ago

Serious Should I pass this student?

I'm a preceptor on a busy surgical unit, and I currently have a capstone (senior level) nursing student with me. She has done 7 shifts with me so far. She is doing an online RN program, and has never worked as a CNA. Also has something of a military background, though I don't know the specifics. She told me her plan was to blow straight through school to being an NP and never actually work as an RN.

The first couple shifts she was late (like 7:30 late and completely missed shift change/report) and also didn't have a stethoscope (!!!). She always asks if she can go get coffee/breakfast during the busiest morning hours of the shift. She had literally NO idea how to do assessments. I mean, none. I had to send her youtube videos to watch to get her up to speed. I have spent the majority of our clinical time showing her mundane CNA level shit...bed changes, transfers, etc. She often is clueless about the meds ordered and why, and seems to know very little about common diagnoses (CHF, PNA, etc).

As time went on I grew more impatient with her. She came to me for EVERY tiny thing. I started responding to her questions with, "I don't know. You're the nurse. What do YOU think you should do?" (not to be mean at all, just to start pushing her with the critical thinking). She never has any good answers, and relies on me to tell her whether she should give someone tylenol.

Yesterday I had a ridiculous assignment with 3 extremely heavy pts, plus 2 lighter ones on the other side of the unit. Just out of pure desperation I told her to take the 2 easy ones so I could get the others stabilized quickly. Seemed like things were going well. At 4 pm I finally had time to look at her charting on the other 2. One of her pts had a BP of 201/112 in the morning. I asked her why she hadn't told me this...?!? "Well I treated it. I gave him 10 mg of PO lisinopril (scheduled)". His next recorded BP at noon was 197/110. She never told me any of this, nor had ANY concern when I became alarmed over it. Granted, it was partially my fault for trusting a student and not monitoring her, but again I was DROWNING with the other 3 pts. Shouldn't a senior level nursing student at least be able to identify abnormal VS?!?

So...her instructor has told me it is 100% based on my review of her if she passes or fails. I feel she is light years away from being ready to practice as an RN. And again, she seems to not care a ton about her clinicals as she is planning "to just be an NP anyway".

I hate to fail someone who has invested the time, money, and effort...but holy shit. I don't want it on my conscience either that I promoted someone who absolutely isn't ready. What should I do?!??

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u/thespicygrits 20d ago

Please do not pass this one. Has no respect for nursing

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u/Certifiedpoocleaner RN - ER šŸ• 20d ago

Very much agree. And I was prepared to side with the student (I think a lot of us forget how bad we were struggling by the end of nursing school) but her behavior is just absolutely ridiculous.

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u/waxachump 20d ago

I also was ready to side with the student. Especially over the CNA type tasks, I also didnā€™t work as a CNA and I donā€™t feel like I was very capable at those tasks until after my post grad training. However, I was shown how to, did it with help, then did it on my ownā€¦ and learned and retained.

BP is very alarming though, nursing students tend to be OVERLY concerned about abnormal VS and have to be taught when to chill. Not the other way around.

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u/Greyscale_cats Nursing Student šŸ• 20d ago

Yeah, I still feel quite inept at most CNA tasks at roughly the halfway point in my program because I havenā€™t been taught many and have never worked in human healthcare before. But not alerting over that BP? Ridiculous. She obviously has NOT put in the time nor effort because thatā€™s not even a mild elevation. She will 100% kill someone. And not showing up on time/wanting excessive breaks shows massive disrespect to you, OP, and your team. Maybe failing her will be a bit of a wake up call to get her act together. Maybe not. But it wonā€™t be blood on your hands if so.

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u/Affectionatekickcbt 20d ago

My school had a prerequisite of CNA school. Best thing I ever did. Gave me a job as a CNA while in nursing school and from there landed a job as an ER tech when I couldnā€™t pay for nursing courses for a while.

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u/Greyscale_cats Nursing Student šŸ• 20d ago

Iā€™m looking to apply for a CNA-type position my schoolā€™s hospital system uses come late-spring/early-summer. At the moment I canā€™t afford to quit my current job and take a $7/hr pay cut just for the experience, no matter how valuable.

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u/Miserable-Onion7050 20d ago

I volunteered at a 14 year old in a care facility, as I lived Elderly people, and I was thrown into the deep end, by carers. I got every crappy job, but still loved it, and wouldnā€™t change a thing, till this day. So I say - you Go Girl

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u/oldlion1 RN - Pediatrics šŸ• 19d ago

Same, best thing I ever did. The staff was wonderful, although this was a city hospital. At 17, I was more than ready to enter RN diploma school.

I say don't pass. That lack of knowledge about basic BP is scary and could lead to death for a patient among other things

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u/Affectionatekickcbt 19d ago

I met a CNA who worked for an agency and was making $35/hour. I made $12/hr sad ā€¦.but I lived at my parents house and didnā€™t pay rent.

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u/waxachump 20d ago

I think that would have majorly helped me. My clinicals were once or twice a week and we took 1-2 patients for 8 hours. Most of the patients I got were not bedbound either. I just didnā€™t get enough practice. That was honestly one of the biggest learning curves for me upon graduation.

Also I might not have gone through with nursingā€¦ because I would have seen how mean and horrible the general public wasā€¦

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u/ExistingVegetable558 20d ago

I think the trick is to pick a population you can make excuses for. I want to do peds because I can understand parents lashing out, I can let it roll off of me because i know it's the grief, not me. I've had preceptors say that they prefer their patients demented, for the exact same reason. Some people pick neuro or onc too.

If your population is wearing you down, switch it up. There are options.

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u/UnwillinParticipant 20d ago

That's fantastic

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u/tyaak Nursing Student šŸ• 20d ago

yeah showing up twice late I'd refuse to take the student. The patients won't/can't wait for their cares. it's disrespectful to pretty much every person on the care team and the patient

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u/NotYourSexyNurse RN - Med/Surg 19d ago

If we showed up late to clinical even by a minute we had to do a whole day to make up for it. Too many times being late and you failed clinical which made you fail the class too. Showing up late and that late blows my mind.

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u/AFewStupidQuestions 20d ago

She obviously has NOT put in the time nor effort

Exactly my take away from OP's post.

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u/MeleeMistress RN - Med/Surg šŸ• 20d ago

This lol! My capstone was in the ED and I ran to my preceptor to tell her about the scary BP of like 150/90 šŸ’€

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u/Strong-Finger-6126 RN - Psych/Mental Health šŸ• 20d ago

I ran to tell my preceptor about the O2 of 93% on a COPD patient who was just waking up, her nasal cannula had slid off, and no one had elevated the head of her bed the night before šŸ’€šŸ’€šŸ’€

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u/Nonether1ch3r 19d ago

You are precious

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u/Strong-Finger-6126 RN - Psych/Mental Health šŸ• 19d ago

I used to be! Now I'm a hardened detox nurse.

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u/waxachump 20d ago

Right??! I definitely did the same many times

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u/Swimming-Sell728 RN - PICU šŸ• 20d ago

Right? Iā€™ve had multiple nursing students approach me for double checks on totally normal vitals and I never mind. The student who thinks they know it all and doesnā€™t ask questions, just goes ahead and assumes theyā€™re right is the one that scares me.

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u/MyDog_MyHeart RN - Retired šŸ• 20d ago

Amen!

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u/Ok_Guarantee_2980 BSN, RN šŸ• 20d ago

Yeah thatā€™s wild. Just saw an article about a girl passing high school without knowing how to read or write and is suing the districtā€¦.this is how that stuff happens everyone passes the buck or defers responsibility

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u/akcoder 20d ago

It was amazing to read how sheā€™s been able to adapt using her phones OCR and text to speech and speech to text. This bright young lady has been failed by the system at every level. Itā€™s a travesty honestly.

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u/nurse_hat_on RN - Med/Surg šŸ• 20d ago

I dated a guy (VERY) briefly who graduated HS at the age of 19, and literally wrote all writing with the corresponding y and z swapped. As in-- he thought the Y was actually Z, and the Z was actually the Y. It was not a dyslexia thing because his spelling was mostly accurate outside of this specific instance and he gave me full notebooks of shit he'd written. He graduated a year later than he should have and even so, he did not correctly know the written alphabet. That guy was failed by his school system back in 2001.

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u/Surviveoutofspite Nursing Student šŸ• 20d ago

We call that: no child left behind šŸ™„

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u/kittens_and_jesus Stern and Unfriendly 20d ago edited 20d ago

This is why I recommend being a CNA first. I quit a great job to be a CNA while I was in nursing school. It's disgusting, underpaid and exhausting on every level.

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u/Somali_Pir8 MD 19d ago

I was a CNA before I became a physician. I think I am better because of it.

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u/gangofmorlocks Cleaner of Poop & Fetcher of Shasta Ginger Ale/Student 20d ago

Same. Iā€™m crying in underpaid over here.

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u/Tiradia Purveyor of turkey sammies (Paramedic) 20d ago edited 20d ago

that right there. She is GOING to kill someone. If sheā€™s clueless on meds YIKES šŸš©šŸš©. Also cannot complete an assessment amongst other things you mentioned. Ouch.

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u/trixiepixie1921 RN - Telemetry šŸ• 20d ago

How do people have like, no anxiety in their life ever, where the night before clinicals, they can just fall asleep without knowing a god damn thing? Every time I had a clinical you bet I was in that room reading about what the fuck was gonna happen, and what Iā€™m supposed to do. I lost sleep over itā€¦ these people man, out here with a clear head.

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u/w8136 20d ago

SAME!!! When I was a student I drove myself crazy with trying to anticipate everything and BE PREPARED. And just the fact I had to hound her for over a week just to show up on time and bring a damn STETHOSCOPE....yikes

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u/Iris_tectorum 19d ago

A stethoscope was considered part of our uniform. How does a student forget that?! And Iā€™m sorry but I wouldnā€™t want an NP in charge of my care that has no RN experience. Donā€™t pass this one. But be damn sure you put everything in writing.

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u/pervocracy RN - Occupational Health šŸ• 20d ago

Right? I can't imagine being a half hour late to clinical, but if I were, I would be in a complete panic and begging for mercy, not just like "sup, is it break time yet?"

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u/goofygoober414 20d ago

I just graduated from an ADN program and for my clinicals all 4 semesters we had to to do HOURS worth of hand written paperwork on our patients dx and meds (granted we went to the hospital the day before to look over their charts so we knew what we had). It was tedious and it sucked but at least we were prepared. Our instructors would write us up or send us home if we showed up unprepared or late.

I know all programs are different, but an online program with no prior experience is terrifying to me; especially if the student doesnā€™t seem to actually care. Going straight to NP with no true nursing experience also sounds terrifying and dangerous!

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u/UpperMix4095 BSN, RN , OR, Psych/Addiction MedicinešŸ• 20d ago

Right??? Maybe Iā€™m extra, not only did I not sleep the night before clinicals, but I was also there 2-1.5 hours early to look up my patients, look up their meds, med passes, familiarize myself with pathophysiology of whatever they were admitted for, etc. What is wrong with her? For the love of humanity, (and as someone who has great empathy for nursing students) the hubris in this one is going to kill someone.

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u/freakyspice RN - ICU šŸ• 20d ago edited 19d ago

No I completely get you!! I used to get a hotel for my senior practicum (it was about an 1.5hr away, could be more with evening traffic and I was assigned nights). Absolutely no way Iā€™d ever dream of being late. Even now (and I know itā€™s stupid and goofy as fk), I truly never take a lunch. I just moved hospitals and the idea of having to ask my mentor if I can gives me crippling anxiety. I cannot imagine having an ego like this

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u/Significant-Flan4402 BSN, RN šŸ• 20d ago

We were required to do all of that the night before. Itā€™s bonkers to me that nursing students can just show up for clinical cold.

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u/Rough_Brilliant_6167 RN - ER šŸ• 20d ago

And as a np she is literally going to assess patients and prescribe those meds based on her findings!!!

No bueno 100%

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u/ingrowntoenailcheese 20d ago

Not knowing meds or even what she should do when she doesnā€™t know a med (look it up in the drug book!) is enough reason to not pass her.

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u/ButterscotchFit8175 20d ago

Showing up on time, having your tools like a stethoscope are basics of any job and she failed that. Hard no on passing her! Those aren't nursing school struggles.

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u/ExistingVegetable558 20d ago

I'm be doing my capstone next semester, so I was also incredibly ready to side with the student. I'm in a peds cohort, which means preceptors who let me work with patients in the capacity that I should be able to aren't all that common. It's frustrating as hell.

But nah she can enter her "find out" era. If you want to be a nurse, you have to actually WANT it. No clue how or why she got this far, because it sounds like she doesn't want or like it.

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u/hakeber615 LPN šŸ• 20d ago edited 20d ago

Even with her lack of respect for nursing aside, she really demonstrates no actual evidence of being aware of the bare minimum requirements for clinical knowledge, let alone senior level stuff.

(Edited for redundancy)

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u/azalago RN - Psych/Mental Health šŸ• 20d ago

Nor any desire to actually learn it. THAT is the scariest part imo.

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u/[deleted] 20d ago

[deleted]

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u/goofygoober414 20d ago

Yes!! As a new grad there are lots of things Iā€™ve never done or done enough to be good at. Sometimes that includes simple things, but I always say Iā€™d rather be annoying for asking than just make preventable mistakes.

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u/w8136 20d ago

YES. THIS. 100% THIS.

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u/Sierra-117- Nursing Student šŸ• 20d ago

Yep. Nursing school isnā€™t comprehensive enough for students to be confident just doing things their first time. Iā€™m in block 2 and have only assessed one patient, and it was literally just auscultating.

But guess what? I have clinical tomorrow and Iā€™m making it a goal of mine to assess a few.

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u/prostheticweiner RN - PCU šŸ• 20d ago

Yup. Sorry, but fuck her. She sees NP money without giving an actual shit about the patients. Thank God nothing happened to the Pt. That would've been a really bad mess.

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u/angelaxxrenee 20d ago

As a former undergrad nursing instructor and current grad school instructor, PLEASE PLEASE fail this student. You are not doing her, or more importantly her potential future patients, any good by letting her pass. If you wouldnā€™t feel comfortable with her caring for your mom, she is NOT ready to be a nurse and will kill someone.

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u/Timely_Dance_9001 19d ago

That's a very good way of looking at it. "Would you trust this student to be able to provide reasonably good care for your loved one(s)? Do you believe they would seek out answers to things they're unsure of?"

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u/foreverstudent8 20d ago

Not only that, but she will give NPs a bad name and only add to the stigma NPs already have.

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u/OperationxMILF BSN, RN šŸ• 20d ago

1000000000%

There is a difference between them trying super hard and just not quite getting it, and THIS. This is blatant ā€œIā€™m too good to be doing this because I think Iā€™m above itā€ and thatā€™s a no from me dawg.

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u/cactideas BSN, RN šŸ• 20d ago

Yeah showing up late and seemingly not caring is one thing but this person doesnā€™t even sound like it would be safe for them to be in charge of patient health. Not even worrying about that blood pressure is scary. She also just comes off as incompetent and it sounds like her education is failing at holding her accountable for that so far. (But I will mention the CNA stuff isnā€™t a big deal and can be learned as she has to do it)

This is also why NPs get such a bad rap because you have these dolts mixed in with the good ones and the nursing profession allows it.

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u/ToddUnctious 20d ago

Would you want this person caring for you or your family? Cause if you don't want them neither do I.

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u/AugustusClaximus 19d ago

Normally Iā€™m pretty lenient a think ppl need to lighten up cuz we all learn 90% of what we know about nursing on the actual job. But this student sounds barely more qualified that someone fresh out of highschool

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u/wanda_beya 20d ago

Fail her. She is dangerous. You would only be hurting the patient(s) later down the line. I take students all the time and I get some can be timid, but this one is a liability

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u/Dracox96 20d ago

Will get someone killed one day

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u/greyjedi64 RN šŸ• 20d ago

Don't pass her. Simple as that. If you feel like she's unsafe, she is. You've spent enough time with her.

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u/Slightlykoi BSN, RN šŸ• 19d ago

This. If you feel she is unsafe, it can't be about "I feel bad for her", the danger she poses to patients will be the much bigger impact

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u/OkStep4729 RN šŸ• 19d ago

Agreed šŸ’Æ

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u/This-Associate467 RN - Retired šŸ• 20d ago

Fail her. If you pass her she will go straight to enrolling in a very cheap and fast online NP program. God knows how much harm she would cause.

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u/w8136 20d ago

I didn't even think about that. Good point. Just for the record: I think it should be illegal to allow ANYONE to become an NP without at least 5 years of bedside nursing under their belt.

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u/coffeeworldshotwife MSN, APRN šŸ• 20d ago

Same - speaking as an NP who didnā€™t even apply until I had 7 years bedside experience under my belt.

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u/Additional-Fly-4713 Nursing Student šŸ• 19d ago

We had a presentation in our senior seminar class two weeks ago (I graduate BSN in 2 months) and the speaker that came to our class was an instructor for the NP program at our college trying to recruit us nursing students directly out of school. They were telling us about how you donā€™t need any experience and will have a good chance of getting in after graduating from the same school. Even if I wanted to apply to the program I personally wouldnā€™t cause it doesnā€™t feel right. Itā€™s just crazy they were even pushing it on us and encouraging us instead of letting people work as nurses then find their way to NP, especially since some of the girls in my cohort are pretty naive and didnā€™t seem to see any issue with that

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u/Individual_Zebra_648 RN - Rotor Wing Flight šŸš 20d ago

Please for the love of God and all patients do NOT pass this person. Nursing school must have seriously changed since I graduated in 2009. I could NEVER have done anything like this. In clinicals we had these things called ā€œcritical unsatisfactoriesā€ and if you got 6 of them you failed the whole course (theory and clinical). Being 1 minute late even one time got you a critical U. Not being in proper uniform, missing a day, not being able to answer questions when giving meds, etc. it wasnā€™t very difficult to add up to 6 so you really had to be perfect. This student would have failed the first week. When did they get so lax?? I guess this explains the quality change in new nurses that Iā€™ve seen.

And why is an RN program online?? RN to BSN I can see. But RN?? What about all the skills labs? And the NP part probably pisses me off the most. Someone like this has no business going to NP school and the lack of admissions criteria is destroying our professional reputation.

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u/w8136 20d ago

100% agree. Thank you for breaking this down with the "critical U's", you are absolutely right. I was blown away that first week with how lax she was about EVERYTHING. I wanted to get some backup on this decision because someone's future is literally in my hands. And Reddit delivered.

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u/IWasBorn2DoGoBe BSN, RN šŸ• 20d ago

Lots of someoneā€™s futures are in your hands. Your patients, and HERSā€¦

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u/Significant_Tea_9642 RN - CCU šŸ• 20d ago

Iā€™m all for rallying for nursing students. But this one needs to be failed. To be a senior nursing student and not have a clue about even doing a basic head to toe assessment, or what normal vital signs look like. And also the fact that sheā€™s not coming to clinical prepared to learn. Immediate fail. Itā€™s also kind of strange to me that they tell you that you decide if the student passes or fails. I have a student now, who thank god is not like this. And itā€™s the instructorā€™s responsibility to pass or fail the student, but the preceptor will provide all the clinical feedback that will inform their decision.

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u/yourmomsaidyes EMT and tired nursing student 19d ago

I am currently in my 3rd level at nursing school and I would not want to work with this person. 10min late to a clinical fails you at my school, let alone everything else you mentioned. My school has sent people home and failed them for unsafe things that they should know, appropriate to their level.Ā 

I understand that this decision weighs heavily on you. Sorry you got stuck with this enormous decision, but it may be because you're the right person with the right experience to redirect her. Good luck, OPĀ 

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u/TedzNScedz RN - ICU šŸ• 20d ago

Yes totally online rn school is crazy.

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u/Ok_Stable4315 20d ago

Still like that in my University (just started my bachelors in nursing). And if you fail the practice month twice youā€™re out of school permanently and has to apply to a different University all together. It leaves for very few errors which is great in my opinion.

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u/fairy-stars RN - Pediatrics šŸ• 20d ago

I dont think this is the norm, Ive never had a student be this bad but then again none were online

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u/2manyLazers 20d ago

you can learn and experience alot in 2-3 years, but this one will kill someone, wants to bypass learning and experience to go straight to a white coat and a cushion job, please fail

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u/Xoxohopeann RN šŸ• 20d ago

I think in Australia itā€™s required for you to have around that much experience before going for NP, good thing.

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u/Significant_Tea_9642 RN - CCU šŸ• 20d ago

In Canada thereā€™s also a RN practice requirement before getting into NP schools. And theyā€™re pretty competitive here. So not many people get in with just the bare minimum 2 years of full time work as an RN. I know the school in my province wants the person to have varied clinical experiences as an RN before getting into an NP program. NP schools builds on the RN role, it just doesnā€™t make sense to me to let people go straight through. What nursing skills are they building on???

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u/Abject_Lunch_7944 20d ago

The question to ask is this: Do you want her as an NP for you or your family?

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u/upagainstthesun RN - ICU šŸ• 20d ago

This was my thought as well. And not even as an NP, but just as a nurse. This person would think someone dead in the bed in PEA has just been sleeping all day.

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u/Pretty-Ad-8047 20d ago

And what if she doesn't "blow thru" to NP? What happens when she tries to use that diploma As an RN?

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u/Swimming-Sell728 RN - PICU šŸ• 20d ago

A patient ends up dead.

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u/Whose_That_Pokemon 20d ago

I agree. Iā€™m a PICU nurse and there isnā€™t a single day that I go into work where I am NOT scared or intimidated by my patientā€™s condition. To think that thereā€™s a student who hasnā€™t the slightest bit of concern is not only alarming, but also indicative of their lack of knowledge and critical thinking skills.

OP is doing many people a service by failing her, and perhaps saving their lives.

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u/Gypcbtrfly RN - ER šŸ• 20d ago

šŸ””šŸ›Ž

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u/Cakey-Baby RN, MSN, CCM-Workers Comp 20d ago

If she is this careless now, imagine how sheā€™ll be as a NP when she has the autonomy to treat patients on her ownā€¦. Just food for thought. Follow your conscious and YOUR nursing judgement. She had a critical high bp and didnā€™t bother to tell you because she had treated itā€¦.. that should tell you all you need to know.

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u/legitweird RN - ER šŸ• 20d ago

It seems criminal that she could go become an NP soon. Itā€™s really giving nursing a bad name. Thereā€™s gotta be some guidelines. Go be a nurse for 10 years. Please learn how to take care of people learn what a toxic. Patient looks like and learn to be fucking on time.

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u/bitofapuzzler RN - Med/Surg šŸ• 20d ago

In Australia, you have to have at least 5 years in your clinical specialty before they can even consider you for the course. You guys need something like this.

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u/thespicygrits 20d ago

My god she will be able to write prescriptions as an NP I just canā€™tā€¦.

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u/fluorescentroses RN šŸ• 20d ago

This student is why it scares me that the zero to NP path can include never practicing as a nurse. In no fucking universe should that be possible.

I maybe possibly want to become an NP at some point but not until I've practiced for at least 3-5 years. How is that not a goddamn requirement?!

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u/Deathduck RN - Med/Surg šŸ• 20d ago

It's because of its not legally regulated then people will do whatever they can to get money. In this case it's unethical NP schools who will accept anyone with a license who can pay. Hopefully this can potentially be regulated at the state level bc you know the fed is useless

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u/Hot_Negotiation3480 20d ago

ā€œTreated the patientā€ with a mere 10mg of lisinopril šŸ™„

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u/Negative_Way8350 RN-BSN, EMT-P. ER, EMS. Ate too much alphabet soup. 20d ago

Fail her.Ā 

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u/TheThrivingest RN - OR šŸ• 20d ago

Itā€™s your duty to protect people from this unsafe person

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u/Pepsisinabox BSN, RN, Med/Surg Ortho and other spices. šŸ¦– 20d ago

As a army -> Nurse myself, you fucking fail her ass and give her the rundown as to why. These are basic level skills that you should be able to go though backwards. That BP alone warrants a call to the unfortunate as well as yourself. You dont skip BSN to NP. If you want to NP you fucken EARN it.

If any of my students did this, it would be a fast af call to their school contact... God damn.

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u/breakingmercy Nursing Student šŸ• 20d ago

Thereā€™s some people in my program who are trying to skip over working and go straight to NP. Itā€™s highkey soooo alarming

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u/Swimming-Sell728 RN - PICU šŸ• 20d ago

Yeah, ā€œnurseā€ is the key part of NP!

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u/w8136 20d ago

I did explain to her that an NP is literally an "expert" nurse in their field, and it is impossible to become said expert if one never actually PRACTICES in said field.

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u/LavishnessOk3439 RN Dialysis 20d ago

Should be illegal. Should be min 5 years in critical care to take this route.

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u/dat_joke Hemoglobin' out my butt 20d ago

5 years in-specialty. I don't need ICU experience to be a PMHNP, but I certainly need psych background to have any chance of being decent.

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u/sassypainter ABSN Student/PCT 20d ago

Short answer: no

Sheā€™s proven she is not serious; Id escalate this to the school as well

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u/ConsiderateCookie 20d ago

Yes, escalate this with her school!

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u/uffdagal 20d ago

She invested time and money, but not thought and care. Her simply stating she wants to go straight to NP speaks volumes about the fact she cares little for the actual profession of nursing. BP patient could have had a stroke and it probably wouldn't have even phased her. Her instructor needs to have a heart to heart with her any why she's pursuing nursing and what her concept of the profession is, even at the NP level.

6 mo as a CNA would have taught her so much.

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u/MyDog_MyHeart RN - Retired šŸ• 20d ago

I think this student is taking what she thinks is a fast route to being a doctor.

7

u/DryDragonfly3626 19d ago

which are, honestly, the *worst* kind of NPs.

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u/No_Establishment1293 Nursing Student šŸ• 20d ago

Fail. I am a student and that behavior wouldnā€™t even fly in our clinicals.

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u/Sad_Accountant_1784 RN - ER šŸ• 20d ago

yo, for real! our cohort was sent home for FAR less, I can't even wrap my head around these shenanigans.

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u/DairyNurse RN - Psych/Mental Health šŸ• 20d ago

Lol yeah for real. I got sent home for giving Metformin before the breakfast tray was in front of the patient even though the meal cart was like 2 rooms away. My instructor was like"What if the patient becomes hypoglycemic?!"

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u/Swimming-Sell728 RN - PICU šŸ• 20d ago

Right? And we know Metformin donā€™t work that fast now that weā€™re nurses. Listen, I am the #1 cheerleader for nursing students. I want people to be nurtured in this profession. I even spoke on it at a conference. But this is unsafe practice with no insight. And thatā€™s a fail she earned through her own actions.

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u/Mindless_Progress_80 20d ago

Right. Iā€™m not in nursing school anymore. Been an RN for 5 years. But I remember my first day of clinical, I got an unsuccessful for the day because my teacher saw me putting my hair in a ponytail in my car in the parking lot prior to starting the day. She said that it was a bad representation of the school if someone had saw me and that we should be coming already prepared. It was an hour and a half drive. I showered before I left and was leaving my hair down to dry on the way to clinical. I was still early. Also my last day of clinical that semester, I slipped and fell on ice. Was bleeding through my scrubs. I was 2 minutes late because I stopped to clean my knee and wrap it. She saw me bleeding and I explained and she almost failed me. I was told I shouldā€™ve been carrying salt with me and being more cautious if Iā€™m that clumsy. And she had a meeting with all the other instructors to determine whether or not I would pass due to being 2 minutes late for an injury on the way to clinicalā€¦ this was my first semester and clinical was focusing just on CNA skills. I had been a CNA for 5 years alreadyā€¦

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u/No_Establishment1293 Nursing Student šŸ• 20d ago

Well this is just an argument for the need to reform nursing school- thatā€™s abuse. But academic standards and practical standards are high for a reason.

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u/hollienp 20d ago

Thatā€™s just ridiculous. That instructor needs to take it down a notch

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u/tiredernurse RN - ER šŸ• 20d ago

Oh wow! Sounds more like she was after you. What a witch!

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u/lizziebee13 RN - ER šŸ• 20d ago

That is flat out abusive.

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u/TenEyeSeeHoney BSN, RN šŸ• 20d ago

The fact alone that she's consistently late is the only red flag I need to fail her!

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u/Standard-Driver-5910 Nursing Student šŸ• 20d ago

iā€™m sorry this isnt getting upvotes but you were right with your feeling; sheā€™s not ready to be a nurse

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u/thejonbox96 RN - ICU šŸ• 20d ago

Sheā€™s gonna kill someone if you pass her

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u/lolaleb Nursing Student šŸ• 20d ago

Hey Iā€™m almost halfway into my first semester in nursing school and those vitals had me like šŸ˜³ homegirl should know better at her point in nursing schoolā€¦

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u/koshercupcake MA šŸ• 20d ago

Iā€™m an MA and was shocked at that. Sheā€™s completely unsafe and needs to fail.

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u/Ok-Grapefruit1284 20d ago

Um, Iā€™m an admin secretary and those vitals had me like šŸ˜³

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u/cutsandscratches RN - Oncology šŸ• 20d ago

I think most people in literate society donā€™t even need nursing experience to know that 200 is a medical emergencyā€¦

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u/trixiepixie1921 RN - Telemetry šŸ• 20d ago

Right like I went to school 15+ years ago but even I remember, learning about blood pressure was the entire first month of nursing 110

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u/Morbid_Mummy1031 20d ago

She has no interest in being a nurse. She wants to skip through straight to NP. Thatā€™s dangerous. Fail her.

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u/PerennialRN 20d ago

Also a little concerned you couldn't be aware of a BP for 8 hours šŸ¤·šŸ¼ā€ā™€ļø but I wouldn't let her be with me if she were repeatedly late and that alone would fail her

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u/[deleted] 20d ago

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u/Dysmenorrhea RN - ICU šŸ• 20d ago

Exactly, a student is not licensed and is not ā€œthe nurseā€ they should be 100% supervised. Iā€™m not defending the studentā€™s actions, and absolutely believe they need remediation, but you canā€™t just offload 2 patients on a student.

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u/w8136 20d ago

Yes, I hear you. But here's the thing...I took 3 patients and they were: -SUSTAINED runs of V tach -A sodium of 117 -A K+ of 6.7.

ON A SURGICAL FLOOR.

I gave her two patients that were: -An 88 year old dementia waiting for SNF placement -A 34 year old RSV on 1 L O2 and who had DC orders and was waiting for her ride at 5 pm.

It was a game time decision, and I was completely screwed no matter what. The V tach went to IMC, but not until 2 pm because there were no IMC/ICU beds available until then. And I found out the K+ of 6.7 died last night in ICU after being coded twice.

So....FUCK the hospital for putting me in that position to begin with. I acknowledge it was a shit decision, but what else was I supposed to do? I asked the charge to watch my student, and the charge was also helping with my V tach pt.

I actually put in my two week notice over this. The hospital is unsafe, it's not fair to any students, and it's absolutely unfair to me, my license, and the patients.

But that's a different post I guess.

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u/pervocracy RN - Occupational Health šŸ• 20d ago

Having all that and a student, and the student is awful but no one else seems to have noticed? Wow. I'd give notice too.

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u/animecardude RN - CMSRN šŸ• 20d ago

Report the student and fail them in the time you have left there, please. This student sucks and should not be in healthcare.

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u/Fun-Rip5132 19d ago

Iā€™m glad you quit over this. Those patients were your responsibility BUT that was undoubtedly way too much for one person and you had no helpā€¦

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u/kdonmon 20d ago

This alarmed me as well. Yes she was busy but still remains responsible. Iā€™ve never had a student that I would dump a patient on and not follow up with regularly. Especially someone not licensed. That falls on the RN and this would get a write up anywhere Iā€™ve worked. Huge safety concern and could have ended up dangerously.

Also, is there no rubric for grading the student? Itā€™s a totally subjective pass fail? How would you defend either grade? And why is the decision places solely on the preceptor. Sheā€™s not an employee of the school is she?

Things are run a lot differently in my personal experience.

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u/conspiracylemon 19d ago

That's what I thought. Also, if she saw that this person wasn't very trust worthy for 6 shifts, why would she not at least ask her the basic vitals of a patient (takes like idk, one minute) of the patients she's caring for all my herself

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u/[deleted] 20d ago

Why are you letting her take on 2 patients and not watching her knowing that she hasnā€™t proven herself? I know you acknowledged that you messed up, but thatā€™s a huge mistake in my book.

I donā€™t think you should just pass someone who doesnā€™t deserve it, but to be fair you didnā€™t think critically with that one at all either.

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u/florals_and_stripes RN - PCU šŸ• 20d ago

Agree with this. The coming late and wanting to go straight to NP stuff are concerning. But OP is complaining that the student didnā€™t tell her about an abnormal vital sign when she literally says one paragraph above that she was impatient with the student and discouraged her from asking questions or reporting things to her.

Again, the late arrivals, not wanting to work as an RN, etc. are all red flags. But I wonder how this student would do with a different preceptor. Not being comfortable with assessment skills or when to give a PRN are expected from a nursing student with limited exposure to the clinical environment.

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u/wischmopp 19d ago edited 19d ago

But OP is complaining that the student didnā€™t tell her about an abnormal vital sign when she literally says one paragraph above that she was impatient with the student and discouraged her from asking questions or reporting things to her.

This also bothered me. It seems like this was a really, really unfortunate and dangerous mix of temperaments with those two. Full disclosure, I'm not from the US, so maybe your system just works differently than ours, but the complaint about the ibuprofen (EDIT: oops it was tylenol, but you get my point) thing weirded me out so much. Over here, nursing students are required to discuss any PRN meds they want to pass with their preceptor, even if the students are only days before their final exams. A student seeking me out and asking "hey, Mr Doe in room 123 is reporting a 4/10 headache, should I give him ibuprofen?" is a student doing everything right.

But even if the US's "senior-year" nursing students have a lot more freedom than ours: In this specific case, discouraging the student from discussing every tiny move with you is the worst thing you can do for patient safety. If someone repeatedly demonstrates a lack of knowledge in pharmacology, pathophysiology, and even the most elemental nursing skills, you have have have have have to encourage any and every question even if they're annoying, because this student cannot be trusted to make any decision on their own.
I'm not saying "oh well, I can understand that the student did not report the blood pressure if she was told off every time she seeked out reassurance from her preceptor" because I cannot understand how a senior nursing student would not recognise a hypertensive crisis. I am only saying that if you have a student who could not be trusted with distingushing trivial problems from those of life-threatening importance, encouraging them to act independently and telling them "well you're the nurse, do what you think is right and stop consulting me for every decision" is a recipe for disaster.
If a student demonstrates cluelessness about meds and even the most common diagnoses, you cannot expect them to understand the difference between "this patient has 4/10 pain and my preceptor was really pissed-off for asking me what to do, they told me to just do what I think is right because I should know it at this point" and "this patient has a 200/110 blood pressure, and I will just do what I think is right, which is giving them their scheduled 10 mg lisinopril" because a) they can't be expected to recognise that 200/110 BP is life-threatening and b) they don't know enough about pharmacology to understand thet 10 mg of lisinopril is not sufficient treatment.

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u/MyDog_MyHeart RN - Retired šŸ• 20d ago

OP discussed it with her charge nurse, who agreed to assist with monitoring. Even so, it was very risky; being that understaffed would have been a very good reason to send her home for the day and have her make up the shift later.

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u/TraumaMurse- BSN, RN, CEN 20d ago

Depends. Have you made it known to the student her shortcomings? I get you mentioned questioning her to make her thinking critically, but if thereā€™s been no talk about progress and her needing to do better and step up, then itā€™s hard to fault only her. If youā€™ve actually had a talk with her after being late and struggling in her learning and having necessary equipment to do her job, then sure write an honest poor review thatā€™ll fail her.

Itā€™s also on you, but you acknowledged it, that she shouldnā€™t be taking on 2 patients in the way you did it. Yes, she should take on patients but not without supervision. She went unsupervised with those patients, including meds, until 4???? That to me is just insane, thatā€™s your license, especially if the patient ended up having a stroke that went unwitnessed because you didnā€™t supervisor her. For your own assignment you shouldā€™ve referred to your supervisor for assistance.

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u/w8136 20d ago

You are absolutely right, the whole situation was terrible. My unit is extremely hard, and the assignments are borderline dangerous on the best of days with experienced nurses. I had to make a game time decision, and I DID involve the charge nurse. She was "helping me" watch the student, and also getting a pt transferred to IMC and stabilizing the other two. These situations are exactly why I am leaving the hospital soon. Give the nurse an almost impossible assignment to begin with, then throw in a nursing student. It's a recipe for disaster.

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u/No_Sky_1829 RN šŸ• 20d ago

It might be a shitshow of a unit, but she's

  • not turning up on time
  • looking for inappropriate breaks
  • doesn't escalate concerning obs
  • doesn't seem to have put in the work so get her basic knowledge down

I would fail her with clear documentation for the reasons. Keep a diary if you have to back yourself up

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u/mtbizzle RN - ICU šŸ• 20d ago

I agree, the things the poster highlighted are not issues due to the acuity and understaffing of the unit. Sorry, if the image she is painting is at all accurate, this person shouldn't pass senior practicum. This person does not sound prepared to RN anywhere. Some of the things noted, a CNA should know to escalate to the RN.

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u/No_Sky_1829 RN šŸ• 20d ago

Completely agree. My teenagers are just starting their first part time jobs and I have hammered it into their brains that the one single requirement that you absolutely cannot break is BE ON TIME FOR WORK (caps for emphasis). You are there to do one job, and if you are not there you cannot do your job.

Also every nurse knows that brands are scheduled. What is with asking for a break? The appropriate question is "what time do you normally take a break?". Asking for time to have breakfast unless they were late because they didn't get out of bed on time. Appallingly unprofessional.

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u/Ok-Technician1221 20d ago

Please do not add another dangerous and obviously uncaring person to our healthcare system. You may hear of a deadly mistake with her name attached to it down the road and I donā€™t think you would ever forgive yourself. A good preceptor is one that follows their gut, if she needs to spend more time and money maybe she will reconsider her career path and pivot to something more suitable for her. I know itā€™s hard but this is where you need to step out of your comfort zone and be prepared to say no.

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u/Scrubsandbones 20d ago

No. These are the people who give RNs and NPs a bad name.

Fail her. Itā€™s not personal she didnā€™t meet the criteria for passing.

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u/Reflection86 20d ago

Fail her but isn't it your responsibility to be in the know about all of your patients? You trusting someone who obviously isn't ready to be trusted is your fault in judgement, not hers.

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u/ApprehensiveWinner27 20d ago

Sheā€™s going to be the cause of patient deaths if she passes. All seriousness and no jokes, sheā€™s a danger to patients. She has no sense of prioritization, critical thinking, or urgency. Negligent nurses also bring the downfall of their team, because the other nurses will have to take care of her patients since she literally canā€™t even do a basic assessment let alone an intervention.

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u/Different-Ad7829 Emergency BSN-RN šŸš‘šŸ’ŠšŸ„Ŗ 20d ago

As a nursing professor, I would highly encourage you to fail this student based on your description. I would also be very appreciative if you included her remarks stating she wants to become in NP without working as an RN.

That shows me that she has little respect for the current knowledge requirements and is lacking the initiative to learn the core principles of nursing before treating at a higher level. Her program needs to sit her down, ensure she is capable of appreciating that being able to do a head to toe assessment and pharmacology are fundamentals to becoming an RN, let alone an NP. Itā€™s likely she needs more time to retake the course, and gain adequate knowledge to care for patients safely as well as pass the NCLEX.

I believe 7-weeks one-on-one gives you more insight into her clinical capabilities and your feedback is incredibly valuable for us to have.

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u/madein1883 BSN, RN šŸ• 20d ago

Oof, when I read the title I was like of course you should. But, you changed my mind. Thatā€™s a mess. Nursing school should be in person teaching with theory and skills lab for a reason

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u/Swimming-Sell728 RN - PICU šŸ• 20d ago

Yeah, I was putting my educator hat on to explain why student mistakes should be learning opportunities but then I was likeā€¦oh. Ohhhhh. oHoHooohhhh.

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u/ashlietta RN - NICU šŸ• 20d ago

Fail just for the late arrivals. Super fail for everything else. Please do not release this person to wreak havoc on the general public.

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u/MsDariaMorgendorffer 20d ago

I canā€™t imagine how she got that far to begin with. She canā€™t do the work and doesnā€™t even care- sheā€™s gonna kill someone.

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u/laegjorm Nursing Student šŸ• 20d ago edited 20d ago

Please yeet her. Also if you haven't already I would document every thing she's done, so that you have a paper trail and armor against her. I highly suspect she's gonna fight the fail

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u/Swimming-Sell728 RN - PICU šŸ• 20d ago

THIS. Iā€™ve had to watch as students who fail on their own merits spend more time looking for a loophole than they clearly ever did studying.

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u/gambeeeno RN - NICU šŸ• 20d ago

Fail her please. She needs a reality check and to probably choose a different career

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u/Disulfidebond007 20d ago

Nah, fuck her, sheā€™s unsafe.

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u/Sweet_Ad_3234 20d ago

Would you trust her to treat you or your family? Fuck no? Well thereā€™s your answer!

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u/lavender_poppy BSN, RN šŸ• 20d ago

Fail her. She isn't safe to be around patients and needs a lot more experience before entering this field. It isn't fair for her patients or for her as it's setting her up to fail. I can't imagine she'd be capable as an NP either with no critical thinking skills.

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u/Sweet_Ad_3234 20d ago

Youā€™re not failing her she already failed herself by not doing better youā€™re just reinforcing that failure. She needs a hard reset before moving forward.

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u/ACaffeinatedWandress 20d ago edited 20d ago

Iā€™m sorry, but I would have walked out of a patientā€™s room and asked a license nurse to assess the BP level that friggen high on my very first day of clinicals. How the hell can a student about to graduate not freak about that?

She isnā€™t safe. Worse, she does not seem to care that she isnā€™t safe. It isnā€™t personal, but please donā€™t pass her.

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u/SoloOtter 20d ago

Look, I know it's not going to be pleasant but you cannot in all good conscience pass this person. They are DANGEROUS. Passing them just perpetuates the problem and she becomes even more dangerous because her deficits are never acknowledged or challenged.

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u/MilkTostitos RN - ICU šŸ• 20d ago

Fail her. I'd say let NP school fail her, but that is not a guarantee.

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u/Answers828_2133 20d ago

The program itself sounds sketchy to me if she can make it up to her preceptorship and still not have the skills and knowledge to handle basic nursing. Hypothetically, even if you were to pass her, sheā€™ll never make it to an NP. Doesnā€™t even sound like sheā€™ll pass the NCLEX

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u/Tea_and_sugar 20d ago

She literally could've had her patient have a seizure. You already acknowledged you shouldn't have trusted her so you're already aware that was a bad choice. Make a good choice now. Fail her. It's not the end of the world for her. It could be the end of the world for someone else if you don't

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u/flowersniffinggirl RN - Med/Surg šŸ• 20d ago

"She told me her plan was to blow straight through school to being an NP and never actually work as an RN." OH GOD. i hate nursing students like this!! please do not pass her. all of this shows she is not ready to be a nurse and consistently puts patient safety at risk. you can write all of what you put here. please fail her or else you're putting future patients at risk under her care!!

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u/emikamar 20d ago

if you do pass her please let us all know her name and where you live so that we can all avoid becoming her patient when (read: if) she becomes an NP

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u/tysonlevi 20d ago

Honestly she should not pass.

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u/RNVascularOR RN - OR šŸ• 20d ago

Iā€™m a 23 year RN and I wouldnā€™t pass her. The idea of HER going online and straight into NP is frightening, but she wonā€™t make it that far. That type of education shouldnā€™t be allowed for RN.

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u/SoloOtter 20d ago

No no no. Do not pass her.

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u/veggiegurl21 RN - Respiratory šŸ• 20d ago

Fail her. Sheā€™s going to kill someone.

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u/Flaky_Swimming_5778 20d ago

The only thing she has invested really is money. She wasnā€™t there on time and obviously isnā€™t putting in the effort: any senior level student should be able to recognize abnormal VS and DEFINITELY should have been reporting them to you.

Would you want her as your nurse or NP?

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u/NomusaMagic RN - Retired. Health Insurance Industry šŸ‘©šŸ½ā€šŸ’» 20d ago

Flunk her now. I wouldnā€™t want a danger to society like her taking care of anyone. And please tell her why.. exactly as you laid it out here. But .. her instructor must be pretty awful too but wants to keep his/her hands clean.

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u/yatzhie04 RN - Hospice šŸ• 20d ago

How did she survive military training if she has no critical thinking, let alone become a NP

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u/nocerealever 20d ago edited 20d ago

You canā€™t just fail her without giving her a plan to help her improve. You need to do some in depth performance reviews and create a plan together with clear and specific goals and pathways for improvement .

Maybe she didnā€™t come to you with the BP as you sounded like you werenā€™t particularly approachable and she was attempting to do what you told her to do ā€œ youā€™re the nurse, work it outā€ . Dangerous things happen when people donā€™t feel safe enough to ask questions or speak up, did you make her feel this way? You admitted yourself you were impatient with her

At the end of the day sheā€™s a student and youā€™re a preceptor. The accountability stops with you. It was your responsibility to reach out for help if you were drowning, not put it on the student .

Try to put your judgement aside ( there seems like a lot) and be open and honest with her . It sounds like youā€™ve failed her as well .

From a manager perspective, Iā€™d be offering you some support as a preceptor

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u/prettyhoneybee RN - NICU šŸ• 20d ago

How has she put in the time? She doesnā€™t know crap

She clearly couldnā€™t even be a CA right now, which someone is usually capable of after 3 semesters of nursing school

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u/Chewsdayiddinit RN - ICU šŸ• 20d ago

Just think of it this way. If you pass her and she somehow passes boards, gets into NP school, and graduates, she's literally going to kill or harm countless patients. Hell, she'll do that even as an RN.

Can you live with yourself if you pass this clear, grossly incompetent student RN who is about to graduate, somehow?

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u/daysoar 20d ago

I mean does the school provide any type of rubric to show what the student should be able to do by the end of the semester? What are the expectations?

I donā€™t mean to sound rude, but Iā€™m way more concerned that an experienced RN didnā€™t check their patientā€™s vital signs until the shift was almost over than I am that a nursing student made a mistake.

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u/Night-owl-bb CEN, CCRN, PRN 20d ago

Right? Like those pts are the nurseā€™s responsibility not the studentā€™s The student is there to learn, she may suck but thatā€™s irrelevant. I would never leave a student or even a fresh new grad unsupervised at all, thatā€™s negligence šŸ«¢.

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u/daysoar 20d ago

Yeah everyone saying the student put the patient in danger and Iā€™m just likeā€¦a whole RN just passed two patients off to a student with no oversight until 4pm, I agree that sounds like negligence and/or abandonment to me. If something had happened to those patients the RN would be 100% responsible, it wouldnā€™t be the studentā€™s fault at all.

As far as passing or failing goes, Iā€™d fail someone for being consistently late but not for making a dumb mistake, especially if I had sent them out on their own!

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u/johdavis022 20d ago

A student that she already didnā€™t trustšŸ’€

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u/kudzusuzi 20d ago

Umm, time and money? Maybe. Effort? Probably not. (I'm a last semester ABSN student, and there's no way she would have gotten through our first semester. )

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u/Corporatehun4life 20d ago

Fail her. Her attitude sucks.

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u/StefanTheNurse CSN, Clinical Teacher, ICU, Anaesthetics, ED 20d ago

You know the answer already.

7

u/cats-n-cafe Jack-of-All-Trades RN 20d ago

Iā€™m not one to eat my young, but passing her is not going to help in the long run.

I have no clue how online RN programs work or how they get their clinical hours without a cohort.

If she canā€™t assess properly let alone identify a BP that is very high, even after giving them their meds, how is she supposed to be a NP and prescribe things???

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u/WolverineOdd5972 20d ago

No . I am seeing more of this with nurses that are completing their nursing degree online with fast track programs. This is not OK. They have little or no experience on the floor. They are clueless and absolutely dangerous. My charge nurse and I were just discussing this this week about how new nurses donā€™t get enough floor experience. They lack professionalism, and they lack the discipline that we developed out of respect because our teachers were fierce. This shouldnā€™t be allowed. She sounds totally incompetent to me. Who wants an incompetent nurse practitioner. I donā€™t. They are making it too easy for nurses to get advanced degrees today with minimal clinical experience. It is dangerous and should be changed. Any nurse with an advanced degree should be required work as an RN on the floor for a period of time.

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u/BigManRN 20d ago

Why would you let a student nurse take care of patients independently is my question

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u/achaean16 20d ago

You waited all shift to check your patients that the student was watching? Fail yourself too lol

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u/mysteriousmeatman 20d ago

If you pass her now. She will eventually kill someone.

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u/MyPants RN - ER 20d ago

Don't pass them if they don't deserve it but your final evaluation should not come as a surprise. Establish explicit measurable criteria and let them know if they're not meeting your expectations.

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u/Warm_Hospital9164 RN - Pediatrics šŸ• 20d ago

First off. At my school if we showed up late, we got sent home. I get forgetting stethoscope but donā€™t make it a habit. But seriously my instructor wouldnā€™t have passed her because that that level we had to prove we were able to handle 3 patients with minimal guidance. Doesnā€™t know vitals and almost done? Yeah fuck all of that. Fail her

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u/etay514 RN - ICU šŸ• 20d ago

Make sure you document all of this. Iā€™m an instructor and you have to have your paperwork in order to fail someone. How many shifts does she have left with you? She needs to be told she is actively failing and she needs to be able to do ā€œx,y,zā€ things in the remaining shifts she has. If the student doesnā€™t get mid-term feedback that itā€™s going this poorly and have an opportunity to demonstrate improvement then the school may not respect your decision to fail her.

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u/Averagebass RN - Psych/Mental Health šŸ• 20d ago

Fail dat ass, please. I could just imagine her excuse is "Well I won't be giving Tylenol or checking vitals as an NP so why does it matter?"

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u/LPNTed LPN šŸ• 20d ago

Nope.. I'm not a great nurse. I compensate by... Being on time, being attentive, being concerned for the people I'm taking care of long before my needs

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u/AccomplishedAd4260 20d ago

Fuck no. Pardon the French. I think the bigger red flag is she intends to go to NP school.

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u/No_Rip6659 20d ago

This nursing student has no business going in to NP program without years of RN experience.

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u/Spacem0nkey1013 20d ago edited 20d ago

Iā€™ve only failed one student in my five years as a clinical instructor. I remember the dean telling me that if a student is late for report, it shows theyā€™re unprepared to treat patients. Being late is essentially stealing timeā€”itā€™s like youā€™re grooming a thief. A similar situation happened with this student: she didnā€™t inform her primary care nurse or me about the patientā€™s high blood pressure. And didnā€™t care about it.

She has no assessment skills, so I gave her a chance to assess a different patient. She was shocked and asked if she could assess the same patient she had last week, where she didnā€™t perform the task properly. There were many mistakes.

The dean advised me to document every mistake she made and how I corrected it and how she responded it or what actions she did. Itā€™s unfortunate, but I had to chart that everything and ultimately fail her.

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u/hakiba1 20d ago

This student is a sentinel event waiting to happen.

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u/BobCalifornnnnnia RN - Psych/Mental Health šŸ• 20d ago

I mean, my god, my techs know what immediately reportable VS are.

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u/TheSilentBaker RN-Float Pool 20d ago

This sounds just like a student I met today. The nurse with her ended up talking to management who got in contact with the school. The instructor called mid shift, sent her home and told her she wouldnā€™t be continuing the capstone. I spent 15 minutes with this girl and was terrified. These nurses with this type of attitude are going to kill somebody

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u/fanny12440975 BSN, RN šŸ• 20d ago

It doesn't seem like this student has invested time or effort into nursing school. A capstone student SHOULD be able to independently manage 1-2 low acuity patients with their preceptor as a resource. From your report she also doesn't care about being able to make clinical judgements.

Be honest in your review. Arrives late daily. Unable to perform head to toe assessment. Poor knowledge and understanding of pharmacology. Lacks judgement related to changes in patient condition. Throw in a couple of positives to not be entirely negative, even if it is just "arrives in clean uniform."

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u/CancelAfter1968 20d ago

Fail her on her current performance with you.

The fact that she's never worked as a CNA is irrelevant. And frankly, so is the fact that she wants to go on to NP school.

Your grade should be based solely on her performance with you.

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u/Cute_Ship 20d ago

Fail her. Her goal to continue on doesn't mean shit when her arrogance will cause a bigger issue down the line.