There are good nurses and bad nurses, we learn from both. Why don't we start a list of bad nursing practices that we've seen on rotations so we will remember what NOT to do? Here's my :

• When I first met the nurse I was shadowing for the day, she had a patients blood dripping down her bare ungloved hands as she was attempting to start an I.V.
  
• I've seen a nurse go from a contact precaution room into other patients rooms without even washing her hands (no gloves either).

Luckily, MOST of the nurses I've observed were great mentors, then there were a few exceptions. Any others?

I agree that I learn as much from seeing what people (usually me ) do wrong, but maybe just a gentle caution.

It's hard to defend what you saw, but sometimes students don't see the whole picture. Real life nursing is so different than how we learned in school, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Anyway, keep being observant and don't be afraid to ask questions, "Why don't you wear gloves when starting an IV?" and be willing to keep an open mind--as I'm sure you already do :).

And there's nothing wrong with learning from other's mistakes, you don't have to make them all yourself .

Anyway, keep being observant and don't be afraid to ask questions, "Why don't you wear gloves when starting an IV?" and be willing to keep an open mind--as I'm sure you already do.:nuke:

I think I was too shocked to say anything; plus as a lowly student I didn't have the confidence to go there yet. She probably didn't expect to have such trouble starting an I.V., hence, no gloves... (And that's where I learned from her mistake.)

It's true that nobody is perfect and it's not a perfect world. We all make mistakes. But taking shortcuts can be a slippery slope I'd like to avoid if I can.:uhoh21:

I have only had one nurse who made mistakes while I was working with them. First she had given the patient 2 mg Dilaudid and never charted a thing. I almost gave the patient 2 more mg because she was still in pain. Next she had left the same patients PICC line unclamped for hours so that it was clogged. I went above her with this and told the charge nurse who instructed the other nurse to put in some Heplock and let it sit for awhile. The nurse told us how she had pushed a visible clot through a patients PICC the week previous and she didn't see why she couldn't just force this one through as well. I just looked at the charge nurse and she looked at me and I shook my head. She told the nurse not to do that again.

Mistakes I've seen nurses make during clinical

Charge nurses literally screaming at PCT's in the hallway in from of staff and pt's. I don't care if you're right (which BTW, she was wrong), it's inappropriate

:spbox:

The only thing I don't like about this thread is calling people "good nurses" and "bad nurses". Yes, no one is perfect and some make more mistakes than others, but judging people to be "good nurses" or "bad nurses" based on mistakes you've caught in clinical just doesn't sit right with me.

I think it would be more appropriate to ask about "correct actions" and "incorrect or unsafe actions" we've seen performed in the hospital.

Sorry to get on a soapbox, but I've always felt it's very offensive to call someone a good or bad nurse based on what he/she did right or wrong. Making a mistake or doing something stupid doesn't make you a good or bad person, or necessarily good or bad at your career. It just means you did something right or wrong, which we can all learn from.

Stepping off soapbox now.

Panic.