Experienced nurses: What do student nurses do that drives you nuts?

[aem31]

And what do we do that you like/appreciate? I'm kind of worried that just my being there (and sort of "in the way") will be enough to drive the nurses bonkers. Anything we can do to make it better for you?

[Irock]

Wow. Our clinical instructors kept us in line a lot better than some, apparently. The students in our group NEVER would have taken a chair at the nurses station. We would have gotten our butts chewed (and rightfully so) if we had been caught standing around talking, or whatever. Our instructor printed up sheets that said "A BMC student has this chart in the conference room" on bright yellow paper, and we were instructed to place this where the chart belonged if we needed to take the chart to the conference room. Some instructors wouldn't let us take a chart anywhere but to the nurses' station, and even then we had to stay out of the way. And meds better be passed on time, or else.

My critical care instructors were the best. Our lead instructor told us "You aren't shadowing nurses, you're not observing, you are WORKING. You do whatever needs to be done for your patient, and if you need help, let me know. But you're gonna work your butts off for the entire 12 hours you're there. If you don't, I'll send you home."

We appreciated the nurses and learned a lot. I'm glad we had instructors with high standards. If we had sat around texting, we probably would have gotten kicked out of the program on the spot!

[nursel56]

I am pretty sure I didn't say I demanded it. I'm just saying my job there is not to bend over backwards to make a group of nurses who do not want me there, happy. I'm sorry you don't get paid more, but that isn't my fault either. I just don't think its fair for student nurses to have this stigma that we're lazy and unwilling when it really isn't true. The large majority of my fellow students (and me) WANT to be there and WANT to learn, but the attitudes we receive from the staff nurses makes us reluctant to approach them and to even be there. No one wants to go where there is hostility against them just because of what they represent. I'm sorry that it seems a lot of people on this thread have had poor experiences with student nurses, however, you shouldn't assume we're all bad. Perhaps I have had more bad experiences than good, but I don't think all nurses are mean. I've seen terrible nurses and I've seen amazing nurses. If all nurses are allowed to vary, why can't all nursing students? Maybe some people have forgotten the fear, the anxiety, the shyness, the inability to think on one's feet because of nerves, the lack of knowledge, the lack of experience, the stress, the terror of being on a new floor for the first time, or the large amount of work required of nursing students, but most of us are going on just a few hours of sleep every night because we're up doing loads of work and we're tired too.

I wasn't trying to irk anyone even though it seems I did. I was just trying to point out that there are things nurses do that annoy nursing students AND vice versa. I just think people need to realize there are always two sides to a story.

Most of your response is about generalizing, and yet I never did that. I remember very well what it was like to walk into a patient's room the first time. Your comments about lack of sleep and stress are off-putting because they imply that's something unique to students. Obviously, a working nurse deals with stress in her life, too - and saying that just makes you sound entitled. True, you may not have used the word "demand", but your general attitude will cause people to not want to go out of their way to help you. I'm sorry if that seems harsh and mean to you, but that's just the reality of it.

Maybe you need to understand the social dynamics of it a little better. A couple of posts back were some students saying, "I will do anything and everything you ask me to on the floor" (essentially). To you that may sound like the student doesn't care to do/learn more complex procedures, but I can tell you that a student who has an attitude like that will be far more often sought out by the nurses to do/learn things because they enjoy being around that person and there is certainly nothing wrong with telling them your preferences in advance.

That dynamic isn't unique to nursing. Medical students have the same group dynamics. I always remember a story from a doctor who talked about the day she, as a medical student was asked to put pressure on a man's wound for 4 hours! She amusingly told the story of the man (who spoke only Spanish) and her (spoke only English) switching the channel on the TV back and forth from Telemundo to her soaps. It turned out that because she did not gripe and moan about so lowly a task for a med student her superiors took notice of her and as a result was given opportunities above and beyond that. This stuff isn't written in a book somewhere. It's just the politics, if you will. You are free to disagree with any and all, I'm just sharing my experience.

[themoreyouknow]

True, you may not have used the word "demand", but your general attitude will cause people to not want to go out of their way to help you. I'm sorry if that seems harsh and mean to you, but that's just the reality of it.

.

:yeah:

You hit the nail on the head. In the end - it comes down to attitude.

[al7139, ASN, RN]

For the most part, I love having students on my unit. Most of the students I work with are in their last semester, and have gained some experience. I am a preceptor, and I love to teach. That being said, there are some things that irk me:

1.Do not carry on loud conversations in the hall/nurses station, etc. This is a hospital, we try to do things quietly. Voices carry and the noise is irritating to the patients, the staff, and the MD's.

2.Be aware of your surroundings. I hate having to say "Excuse me!" to move students that are blocking the hall. This is something you should have learned by now in clinicals.

3. Be aware of what the nurses are doing. Do not rush up to me and start talking without observing what is going on. I am more than willing to teach you, answer your questions, etc., but please wait for an appropriate time, I may be in the middle of something, or going to an emergency. Stop and think.

4. Don't be a know-it-all. I hated those people in school, and I hate them now. Everyone has something to learn. As a nurse, I learn new stuff every time I work. Stay open to every lesson, no matter how trivial. The day you think you know everything is the day you should stop being a nurse.

5. If I am precepting you, please be prepared for questions. It is OK to say you don't know, but I do expect you to then find the answer. I may not be your instructor, but I will still test your basic knowledge.

6. Ask lots of questions, and never turn down an opportunity to do a skill, even if you have already done it. Practice makes perfect.

7. Relax! Enjoy your clinical experience. Even the bad stuff is a learning opportunity. Don't apologize for being an inconvenience, if you show you are really trying. Yes, you are slower than us, but you are learning. Don't be upset if we give you constructive criticism. Learn from it.

[Multicollinearity, BSN, RN]

My place of employment no longer allows nursing students to rotate through.

I confess this makes me...

:yelclap::balloons::clpty:

As a nursing student, I knew I wouldn't want to deal with nursing students when I was in the RN's position. It's so hard to juggle your own job, monitor the student, and teach. I know it must be done, I'm just glad I'm not doing it.

Hopefully nursing students can understand that the nurses are juggling quite a bit.