Seriously?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Around 0900 I go into my patient's room and there's a student doing a head-to-toe. I've seen students since 0630 this AM so I knew they were here. Is it my responsibility ot check and see if a student has anyone in my assignment? Or perhaps shouldn't students check in with the nurse for report/plan of care/share of information/questions??

Weird. I'd already passed meds, and was about to do a treatment, but I let her do it.

Is it common for students to just show up and work without talking to the primary nurse? Befuddled.

This is not my floor. I floated today......having a great day, all walkie talk patients. w00t!

I'm a nursing student and my clinical group was required to get report from the nurse before starting anything on a patient. But I know some of the other instructors gave report to the students instead. Either way I think the instructors should let the nurses on the floor know "hey my students are here!" lol :)

Specializes in Medical Surgical Orthopedic.

Maybe she thought you would be meeting her in that patient's room at that exact moment for report? :idea:

Specializes in LTC, wound care.

Did you miss report? At my clinicals, students always sat in on report, and then told their floor RNs who they were assigned to, and what they were able to do for the patient, also if the CI was busy with another student, then the student could get the floor RN to go with them and observe and guarantee taht the student did whatever properly.

At my nursing school we took report from the primary RN at the nurses's station (never in the patient's room) and there was also a posted chart that told the staff who the students were and which patients they were assigned to. I don't think there was ever any confusion.

Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

As a nursing instructor, I strongly encourage my students to see their assigned patient's nurse first, before going into the patient's room. However, sometimes *** happens. I make a point before the students arrive to introduce myself to the primary, receive report, and make rounds on the assigned patients in the unit.

We happen to have both morning shift (0630-1130) and afternoon shift (1130-1630) clinicals with our pediatric rotations. With the morning shift, it is relatively easy for the student to locate the primary nurse and get report. With afternoon shift clinicals, however, sometimes locating the busy primary nurse is quite difficult (even using the location device at the nurses station). So, sometimes it just happen - we can't locate the primary, I have already received report and given report to the student, and the student proceeds to get vitals and do his/her head-to-toe assessment.

Before giving any medications, however, I make sure we approach the nurse face-to-face to let him/her know 1) we are giving medications; 2) how long we will be on the floor; and 3) which medications we are allowed to give and which medications we cannot give.

I always leave my assignments on the floor ahead of time and at least the charge nurse knows which patients will be assigned out to students.

Before leaving the floor, the students are required to give face-to-face report to their primary. Also, during the shift, the students are expected to report any and all abnormals to both me and to the primary.

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
Maybe she thought you would be meeting her in that patient's room at that exact moment for report? :idea:

Why should I be meeting her for report in the room over two hours after my shift? Shouldn't she or at least the instructor seek me out? I'm a float just going about my business. Just sayin'

Did you miss report? At my clinicals, students always sat in on report, and then told their floor RNs who they were assigned to, and what they were able to do for the patient, also if the CI was busy with another student, then the student could get the floor RN to go with them and observe and guarantee taht the student did whatever properly.

No she did not sit in report. Apparently she got her report from the chart and that was sufficient.

That sounds like a bad habit someone needs to break in her fast. How is she going to know what's happening on the rest of the floor if she doesn't listen to report. Just beacuse she only has her patients who's not to say she may answer a call bell because everyone else is busy and something important to note about that patient was stated in report and she misses it and something really bad happens?

BAD habits! Read the chart only skip report WTH.

We were required to get report first. Period.

I'll bet the instructor didn't know that the student failed to get report and that the student did not communicate to you.

The students are adults and it's their job to seek you out and let you know they are there, get report and communicate with you on what they will/will not be doing... and what you want them to do/not do.

However, even though the student should seek you out, I'm not sure why the instructor did not forewarn you that there was a student coming in the first place.

We would have gotten a "U" for that just because we were absolutely not allowed to interact with the pt until we had gotten report and communicated.

Specializes in Psych.
That sounds like a bad habit someone needs to break in her fast. How is she going to know what's happening on the rest of the floor if she doesn't listen to report. Just beacuse she only has her patients who's not to say she may answer a call bell because everyone else is busy and something important to note about that patient was stated in report and she misses it and something really bad happens?

BAD habits! Read the chart only skip report WTH.

We were on a floor that this is what was required of us to do. The nurses did a taped report and we were not permitted to sit in and listen to it. Other floors we got report. We were to introduce ourselves to our primaries when they came out of report, however at times it would be an hour or so before I could figure out and find who my primary was. It was an issue one time because the primary got angry that I did not introduce self right away. None of us ( three of us had her patients) were able to find her.

Specializes in Oncology.

Cut her some slack. She was probably nervous as heck and had a clinical instructor breathing down her back to look up 20 medications, write down and analyze all lab work, and get a physical assessment done and charted before 9 am.

We used to get there at 6:30 am for clinicals and I was doing something the entire time until the lull around 10 am. Especially in some semesters, it was hard to find the nurses or they would get there late or be stuck charting and didn't have time to give us report - we made do. There were more than a few times I did my physical assessment after checking in with the computer chart and orders, then saw the nurse. I learned quickly how to navigate computer charting - it's a great resource so why not?

Point is though that she's a student. This is likely still way outside of her comfort zone and she's still learning the ropes. I'm a senior nursing student and I still need guidance in clinicals sometimes.

Specializes in LTC.

Students are supposed to meet with the primary nurse BEFORE going to see a patient. This is what we are taught and this is what I do. I don't even eyeball the patient until I have received report and met with the nurse to go over my duties. This is so important.

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