Budget cuts leading to more U of S nursing students making mistakes in clinical classes, co-ordinator says

More nursing students at the University of Saskatchewan are being put on "performance contracts" for making errors in their medical surgical clinical classes, according to a course co-ordinator.

These contracts are often the result of an instructor noticing a pattern of safety errors and practice concerns in a student, says Kathy Rodger, who has been an associate professor and medical surgical clinical course co-ordinator for more than 20 years.

Rodger and other faculty members say bigger class sizes, less supervision, budget cuts and a deficit of faculty are to blame for the jump in mistakes and contracts.

Starting in second year, nursing students take clinical courses where they care for patients, administer medications and oxygen therapy, and do intravenous monitoring and dressing changes.

"What becomes at stake then is any aspect of that care can be compromised if the student just is perhaps not doing well or isn't well enough prepared," Rodger said in an interview with CBC News on Monday.

"Then things can go poorly and patients can suffer."

The contracts outline specific benchmarks or requirements that need to be met in order for a student to pass the course. If a student can't meet the requirements, they may fail the class. The College of Nursing only allows two attempts at a clinical course.

Rodger said she has seen a steady increase in students being put on performance contracts in medical surgical clinical courses over the last six years in particular.

More than 20 per cent of students per term are on contracts, whereas in 2016 and before that, five to 10 per cent of students were on contracts, she said.

Rodger said common mistakes that students make include medication errors, not being adequately prepared to look after patients and a lack of knowledge of safety protocols.

Rodger said she believes there's been an increase in contracts in other clinical courses as well, but she doesn't have access to that data.

Dr. Solina Richter, the dean of the College of Nursing, was not available for an interview and did not provide this information. 

In a prepared statement, Richter wrote, "The College of Nursing has considerably fewer students on contract by the time they reach fourth year compared to in the past, which means they are addressing their areas of improvement earlier in the program."

Having a student on contract "is about success and not a negative thing," she added.