Dear Student Nurse - a mentor's lament

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in A and E, Medicine, Surgery.

Just off to do a night shift so thought I would get this of my chest first. Can I add that collectively I have so much admiration for Student Nurses, I cannot believe how many work fulltime to fund nursing school and I generally find them hardworking committed and utterly professional

however......

Dear Student Nurse

I know that you think that it is my mission to make your placement as hard and unpleasant as I can but the truth is very different:

The reason I pull you up about arriving late is that when qualified a floppy fob watch is simply not tolerated and if your late it shows disregard for your colleagues who end up covering for you.

I know that you cannot understand my asking you to leave your mobile phone in the staff room. It is not as you believe because I am so old and sad that I cannot possibly remember what having a social life is, it is because I am scared that at some point I may have to perform a phoneectomy as you seemed to be permanently on it.

Please don't tut if I ask you to do something in the thirty minutes before the shift ends. I understand that you feel that this is winding down time but it's not and it's not acceptable to leave jobs to the next shift because you have run out of steam.

I ask you not to chew gum when giving patient care not because I am mean but because in order to gain their trust patients need to see us as professionals and you chewing and popping gum somehow might detract from this.

The reason I asked you to consider the appropriateness of 3cm nail extensions is not because I am an outdated fashion disaster (although there is some truth in that!) it's because I am terrified that you are going to have some poor patients eye out.

When I ask you questions about Anatomy and Physiology or a medical condition I am not doing so to score points or make you look stupid I am doing so to check that you not only know what you are doing but more importantly why and saying "dunno we haven't covered that" falls a bit short.

I know that the elderly, demented chronically sick patients are not nearly as exciting as the big traumas but these patients are our bread and butter. They deserve the best possible care we can give them so please do not resent them taking you away from the more exciting stuff. Trust me you can learn everything you ever need to learn from this group of patients.

Please don't expect me to be anything other than cross, really cross when your patient has an accident because you "forgot" the commode they asked you for. No excuses, not acceptable.

Although I don't use facebook trust me if you post ab

out your sxxt placement and battle-axe Sister I will get to hear about it.

When I ask you to consider whether nursing is the right career for you it's not because I am having a bad day, it's because I genuinely have concerns that you have either the capacity or more importantly the want to nurse. My suspicions were originally aroused whehn I asked you why you want to nurse and you told me that you liked the uniform!!

I know you think I am so old (i'm 41!!) that my sight and hearing must be going but trust me I hear every obscentity that you mutter as you stomp off.

Don't think I am daft if you come back smelling of cigarrete smoke I am much more inclined to think that your last job took so long because you shuffled off for a crafty cigarrete rather than you have found a new thoroughness!!

Finally the reason we are meeting with your nurse tutor is not because I get some great power trip from it, it's because I have a responsibility to current and future patients. I would also be doing a disservice to hundreds of other student nurses who are committed and hardworking, who deserve the opportunity they are being given and truly value the opportunity.

Your Mentor

phew that feels better :)

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.
The reason I asked you to consider the appropriateness of 3cm nail extensions is not because I am an outdated fashion disaster (although there is some truth in that!) it's because I am terrified that you are going to have some poor patients eye out.
Not to mention that they're a huge reservoir for nasty microorganisms.
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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Excellent.I should print this and post it at work. Some of these points apply to lazy CNAs as well.

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That's ridiculous! I'm so sorry-- I'm glad you don't think all students are like that! You sound like a great preceptor; I felt so lucky to have one who also took time to make sure I knew what I was doing, and I learned sooo much from her. Your student will really regret not taking advantage of this opportunity one day (or her patients will) :p

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i'm a new grad... and it's nice to see a post from a mentor's viewpoint. hehe seems like your students "just doesn't get it". i've seen several classmates who were like that and it's unacceptable...

feel better!

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.

Thanks momma bear!!

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What an outstanding post...believe it or not...there are some people out there who just don't get it.

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Thank you so much for posting this. I am a 41 year old nursing student. I thought that it was "just me" when I see many of these attributes in fellow classmates. Glad to see that I am not crazy, just respectful of the profession, my patients, and a job well done.:nurse:

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Wow - just wow - please would you be my mentor???

"a phoneectomy" that's going to keep me chuckling for hours

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Holy cow, this is great. I'm a Student Nurse that will be graduating in May and I SWEAR you were describing some of my class mates. One of them actually gave me crap about handing in all of the work that was assigned because she didn't do it and figured if she can get everyone else to not hand it in she'll be okay. I refused, so it made me the bad guy. The gum chewing is a HUGE pet peeve. There's nothing more annoying than some idiot standing there chewing gum with her mouth open making all sorts of disgusting noises. I just want to scream that she is a baffoon! And when the instructor asks everyone to get up and double check their charting, don't give her an attitude. It's inappropriate. I'm glad that you feel that your charting is proficient, but the fact that you didn't chart your I&Os was why she wanted everyone to double check in the first place. I just can't believe the disrespect some of these students have for the instructor, staff, and patients. Texting at the nurse's station is NOT okay. When I'm discussing my patient's condition with my primary nurse it is NOT acceptable to come up and talk to me about what your ex-boyfriend sent you on facebook. Hiding in the clean utilities room because you don't feel like doing anything- again, not okay. These people are giving the students that actually care a bad name and they should've been given the boot a long time ago. It makes me insane because the nurses on my unit look at the students as being lazy and disruptive, when it's only maybe 2 out of the 8 of us giving us a bad name.

LOL sorry, my comment because a whole different rant altogether.

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I graduated in May 2009. I have observed everything in student clinicals that you discussed and say BRAVO.

One of my clinical experiences as a student:

I had a one-day rotation to medical ICU. When I introduced myself to the preceptor, she seemed a little distant and disappointed to have a student. I decided to tell her, "Look, I know it can be a pain having a student on top of everything else you have to do, and I'll just try to follow you and learn and not get in the way." Right then, her attitude changed 180 degrees. She told me that she had just returned from a one-week vacation where she spent the entire time remodelling a house, and had stayed up until midnight the night before painting. She was surprised the nursing supervisor had assigned her a student on her first day back at work. But - she said it was okay - we would have a good day. And... we did. I learned a lot from her that day.

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Snoopy - Thank you for being a mentor, even to those people who don't take it seriously or have no respect (that's a big issue these days). I love all of my clinical/lab/class instructors and am so thankful to everyone who wants to teach us "newbies"!!!

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