Student Sentinel Event
What do you do if the student is constantly late for clinical? What do you do if a student commits a medication error? What if the student is involved in an incident of patient abuse?
In general, what do you do if you are concerned about a student's behavior, performance, and/or well-being? The concept of Student Sentinel Event was created to help you with those situations. The faculty will discuss the specifics of policies at the School of Nursing with you. See the course syllabus for the full policy.
Definition
A Student Sentinel Event is any behavior that causes a major concern for the preceptor. Examples of a student sentinel event include a medication error, patient injury, performance outside the scope of practice, or non-professional behaviors (tardiness, attendance, lack of patient confidentiality, etc.).
Actions to Take when a Student Sentinel Event Occurs
In the event that a Student Sentinel Event occurs, the preceptor should immediately take one of the following actions:
- Provide safe care for patients. Get help/advice as needed from your charge nurse, clinical nurse specialist, nurse manager, etc.
- Remove the student from the clinical area.
- Contact faculty as soon as feasible.
- Determine how to handle the event. The decision should be made in consultation with the preceptor, student, and faculty/instructor. Some options might include the following:
- Send the student off the unit for a period of time. The student could go to the cafeteria or break room for a period of time to regain her/his composure.
- Remove the student from the clinical site. You could send her/him home and reschedule the clinical time.
- Determine any necessary follow-up for the student and patient.