[mario_ragucci]

I compliment everyone whose participated in this thread because nursing birth is so complicated and diverse, as is nursing, which is why I do and will love it more and more....variety. Students rotate from sniff, to elder care, to acute care, to psych....and there will be all kinds of nurses I'll be blessed to meet over the next 1.6 years.
By YOUR infinate wisdom and grace, i will go to all my future clinical sights with better sensitivity and infinate patience. If others try to disrespect me, I'll take it more in stride. Rest assured i AM part of the change in nursing, and I WILL treat all new comers afore me with care and love. Mario's loving examples will be contagious. And if you like to look frazzled and all burnt up, thats cool too :-)

Heh - I practiced all day in nursing school LAB for 4 hours practicing to pass my injection test. We have to give a shot to a fellow student, IM, ventral-gluteal, 23 gauge, 1 inch, approx 1.5cc saline. Blah- Blah -blah....and then came my turn ( I was the next to last).......I forgot to wipe the site with alcohol on Sandy's hip, and failed right then and there. I did not even get the shot off. BOOM - just like that. I was trying to remember a dozen things at once, plus doing something for the first time, trying to get the Z-track with a automatic retractable syringe that you have to press hard on at the end of the injection in order for it to retract. You think I am walking with a chip on my shoulder???? Please :-( I'm an injection failure. I failed injection LAB and have to retest all over again. Happy thanksgiving.

[mattsmom81]

Ahh, Mario...so much to learn, so little time!!

The details can sink ya sometimes...remember the big picture and infection control is always right up there as a top priority. I'm sure you'll do fine next time...we live and we learn and we ALL failed some skills the first time in school so not to worry. (one of mine was catheter insertion and I was panic stricken my first year as a nurse about catheters because of it...hehe)

I appreciate the frank discussions on this thread and I'm sorry if I came off sounding 'anti student' as I am not. When students have been placed on short staffed units where the nurses are overworked and cranky, it is not fair to ANYONE, students included. To say it's unfair to 'take it out' on students is obvious and I would never let that kind of behavior pass on my unit if I observed it.

When I have had the time and the correct staffing situations, I've enjoyed teaching students in their critical care rotations. I've also been asked to be a mentor and have done so quite a few times with pleasure. It was much easier for me to do this when I was a medsurg nurse ( 20 years ago) than it is in a hectic ICU.

Those who have been critical of my posts please keep in mind I have been charge and staff in a busy critical care unit the past 15 years or so, and it is a much different world than medsurg...with different priorities. And we're as short staffed as everyone else. It is a difficult place to nurture student nurses effectively I've found.

Youda's experience with students describes most of the students I've worked with as well. 75% are well behaved and appropriate. Then we will see 'entitled' ones...who refuse to see their role in the unit culture, prioritizes her/himself everywhere, and manages to aggravate staff by butting in, getting in the way, and demanding we be walking textbooks for them. Or some who feel they are 'smarter' than the nurses. These are the ones who complain of being 'nipped' IME. I don't know why their instructors haven't 'nipped' that attitude in the bud themselves...

I totally agree it is not right for a nurse to sigh, roll her eyes and say "OH no I have a student'...but there are rude people everywhere...don't take it personal...and KTWLPN gave a good response to someone who behaves like that: don't ignore it, but calmly deal with it assertively (not aggressively)

Nurses exercise assertiveness training in our dealings with doctors, patients, families, ancillary staff, etc. throughout our whole nursing career.... so students: may as well start learning now with your ill tempered nurse mentors.

Is it fair? No. But like my father told me "Life isn't fair"
And my dear mother also told me "Not everyone in this world is gonna love you like I do". They were both right.

[baseline]

Happy Thanksgiving to all !

[Pretzlgl]

To you too baseline, and everyone!

And had to share this with Mario - The first time I had to insert a foley catheter in a pt. , with my instructor present, I placed the catheter in the wrong orifice. My instructor said, "Just leave it, that way you will know it's not where you want to go next time" - so I did. But by the time I was done it looked like the poor woman had a bouquet of catheters - 2 in the wrong place, one in the right one. So you see - we've all been there, done that, failed this, passed that. It's tough - but you'll get through. Your last post was great.

Happy Turkey Day

[SKM-NURSIEPOOH]

...could unfortunately relate!!! Talk about nurses eating their young...

Originally posted by: Kenya 11/25/2002 7:11:12 PM I'm pretty sure this topic has been dicsussed before but I really need some encouraging words. I just became an LPN this month, I recieved a job working in a subacute center here in NJ and I was outraged at how I've been treated. My 1st day of orientation, the nurse assigned to work with me made no secret that she hated training new orientees, it gets on her nerves, etc. I tried hard to ignore her because that was so rude to say in front of my face. The 2nd day another nurse blew her breath , sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. How uncomfortable I felt all day. The 3rd day 3 nurses argued back and forth over who would train me that day. "I'm not training her she'll slow me down, I'm not doing it agian today, I hate training new people, Well don't look at me I don't know her so I'm not doing it, Well somebody needs to make up their mind because she'snot following me all day!" Can you imaginehow that felt? I left out of that place in tears, all my life I anted to be a nurse and to be treated this way it discouraged me so bad. The DON called me to come back and have a meeting. All the other new orientees had been treated the same way. I know I shifted in thought but how do they expect to keep nurses interested when noone opens their hearts and willingly accepts newcomers? How do they forget everybody was a beginner one day?

I leave off with the saying that "An expert at anything was once a beginner."

Just love her saying...think I'll adopt it myself. Thought I leave you with some food for thought.

Should you decide to click on the above link, the thread starts from the bottom & continue upwards.

Cheers - Moe.

[mario_ragucci]

For example: I wouldn't pick the brain of a nurse, and anyone who tries to is a fool and a cur. For some, employing their speech and motor neutrons isn't so easy. Add to that emotion and task at hand and a fool student can become an irritant for any nurse.
It's all about people skills, and remembering to accept some people are truly burnt out, just like others are truly gifted with patience. I'm sorry :-( There is not right or wrong, but how YOU wish to preceive it.

[katieRNlove]

Mario
I am totally feeling you. My first clinical I actually had a RN take me into the hall right outside a pts. room and actually scream at me because she was too busy to have to "look after" students all day for 11 weeks.! Now yes the SN has to keep a professional attitude and understand that yes you pry. should have looked it up but shouldn't our RN's that we are working with and learning from have the same professional attitude? I realize that everyone has bad days (some more than others) and i guess those are who we need to steer clear of. It wasn't until my 3rd quarter clinical that i was paired with an awesome and actually inspiring RN and those are the people who remind me why i am putting myself through the hell we call nursing school!!