How many students does it take...

prmenrs, RN · Jun 26, 2001

That seems like a LOT of students for one unit! And it seems like with that many, an instructor should be double checking, and so forth. Whew! I'm exhausted and I wasn't even there!

crnasomeday · Jun 26, 2001

I'm still a student and I feel bad for you...that's too much going on at one time. What I thought was weird is that students work under the license of their instructor, so where's the instructor to double check those meds and make sure things are safely administered? In the program I'm in, we are not allowed to give meds, hang IVF yada-yada without our instructor present - it doesn't matter if the RN we're under that day is with us or not...instructor still has to be there.

catlady, BSN, RN · Jun 26, 2001

Where does this instructor get off "requiring" you to do anything? If she wants her students to do something, it is *her* responsibility to supervise them, not yours. When I was a nursing instructor, I would never dream of ordering the staff nurses to do anything.

When I had about the same amount of experience as you have now, there was a nursing instructor on our floor who was incredibly arrogant. She used to dump her students on the floor while she went to take a class. She was very rude to us, as if we were still students, and would tell us that her students would take care of everything for their assigned patients. Except that 2 pm would roll around, the students would leave, and we'd find out all the things they "forgot" to do. These were senior BSN students, and they charted like first-year diploma students. I wish I'd been older and more experienced; I would have given her a piece of my mind.

Students work under the instructor's license, but the care of the assigned patients is still under *your* license. I would have a chat with her, or if you're not comfortable with that, with your head nurse. It's not your job to train nursing students. That's what they're paying the instructor for.

catlady, BSN, RN · Jun 26, 2001

Where does this instructor get off "requiring" you to do anything? If she wants her students to do something, it is *her* responsibility to supervise them, not yours. When I was a nursing instructor, I would never dream of ordering the staff nurses to do anything.

When I had about the same amount of experience as you have now, there was a nursing instructor on our floor who was incredibly arrogant. She used to dump her students on the floor while she went to take a class. She was very rude to us, as if we were still students, and would tell us that her students would take care of everything for their assigned patients. Except that 2 pm would roll around, the students would leave, and we'd find out all the things they "forgot" to do. These were senior BSN students, and they charted like first-year diploma students. I wish I'd been older and more experienced; I would have given her a piece of my mind.

Students work under the instructor's license, but the care of the assigned patients is still under *your* license. I would have a chat with her, or if you're not comfortable with that, with your head nurse. It's not your job to train nursing students. That's what they're paying the instructor for.

OBNURSEHEATHER · Jun 26, 2001

I agree with catlady. It is the instructor's responsibility to supervise her students. If I have time, I enjoy doing things with the students, but I have no problem telling the students to find their instructor if time doesn't permit me to do it with them.

This reminds me of an experience I had last week. We had senior BSN students on the floor. I had only one who assured me she could do total care on her patient. Several times the patients call light was unanswered, and the student was nowhere to be found. Luckily I had those trips in & out of the room, because when they left at 3:00 and I finally had a chance to look at the chart, she hadn't charted a thing since 9:00AM!

This brings me to another point. I reminded this instructor her next time on the floor that she should be reviewing the chart at the end of the shift and making a charting entry that says such. All of our other instructors do something like "above entries reviewed by instructor" and sign. Of course, all of our other instructors know what they're doing!

Heather

BrandyBSN · Jun 26, 2001

As a senior BSN student, i cant believe that you were having that type of difficulty with your students on the floors!

In my program we are responsible for all patient care, all meds, all IVs, and all blood draws. The floor nurses love us, because they can catch up on CE hours while we are there. Our instructors (i have had 4 different ones personally) check each chart during our first semester in clinicals, but second semester they only check it if we ask them to (incase we are unsure), or if a floor nurse has a question about what we have charted. We have an 8 hours seminar each semester about the importance of charting, and legal application. We also take a 200 question test consisting of 5 scenarios, which we must past with a 98% to be able to participate in clinicals. It is hard, and classes are stressful since we have a loaded grading scale (we have to get a 96% to get an A, a 95% is a B), and we all have to have a B average in all nursing classes.

I feel for you having so many students to supervise, that is NOT your responsibility! Can you talk to your nursing administrator and have the contract between your hospital and the nursing program amended to keep the instructor involved, and lessen your load?

MQ Edna · Jun 26, 2001

I graduated in May and the staff nurses never really had anything to do with us, unless we asked them a question or were reporting off to them. We always reported to our instructor and THEY checked us off or monitored us, or whatever. How can an instructor require anything of you? That makes no sense to me. Can you refuse to have students? NOT that I am against students as I was very recently one, but it seems to me they are asking a little much of you!

Laura

TracyB,RN, RN · Jun 27, 2001

i just finshed ADN in Dec 2000. Our instructors went through charts, gave us the lowdown, & while we prepared meds, we were quizzed, by the instructor, re: 5 rights, hi & low dosages, lab values(if applicable), etc etc. There was 1 instructor, for another clinical group, who did what the Original poster wrote about. When the students had a ? for her, she was nowhere to be found or would say "go ask your nurse" Totally didn't care what went on for the day. SAD SAD SAD

RNforLongTime · Jun 27, 2001

That is horrible that the Nursing Instructor dumped students on your unit like that! When I went to school, our instructors were on us like hawks about our patients assignments ans such. It is the instructors responsibility to be sure that his or her students are doing what they are supposed to be doing and should be available at all times when there are students in the nursing units.

I would report this nursing instructor to my head nurse and then he or she should deal with it from there. No offense to student nurses or anything but some times they are more trouble and end up making more work for the floor RN's. I have NOTHING against students but I believe that it is the nursing instructors responsibility to be checking her students work as far as charting goes and then when the students are done for the day the instructors should return to the floors that they were working on to be sure that everything was completed as ordered!

Just my 0.02 cents

Kelly:)

sharann, BSN, RN · Jun 27, 2001

Well, I certainly feel better now that I hear from all of you that the instructors need to "participate" alot more. Did I mention that the instructor gave each student(I had 2) a lenghthy EVAL form for ME to fill out re the students performances? This irritated me a bit. IAll they had to do was ASK (If they were around to ask) and I would have been happy to take a minute(like I had a minute) to give a verbal evaluation. Oh well. It isn't the student's fault. The schools are just as lame as hospital admin at times.(sorry to any administeators out there, I know the job must be difficult...).

Thanks for all the replies.

burger914 · Jun 27, 2001

That sounds awfully unfair. Basically, that means when you hang IV's and meds with a student, she or he is working under your license. I just graduated this month and we were only allowed to give meds or hang IV's with our instructor. We were allowed to do some procedures with the nurse, but that was about it. My clinical instructors felt that we were there to help and learn. That the nurses were not there to babysit us because they had enough to do. She even wanted all of the question directed toward here so we wouldn't be bothering them all the time. Of course the patient is still your patient, so we would get report at the beginning of the shift and give it at the end and report any changes immediately. I think they are expecting alot from you.