Calling all students...need your opinions!

rubato, ASN, RN · Oct 16, 2012

Yes, yes, yes!!!!!!! I want to learn everything I can and haven't had great luck with the nurses in my clinicals.

WorkingTowardsBSN · Oct 16, 2012

I think it's great that you're trying to help your students get as much experience as possible! I start my clinicals this week and I know I would appreciate that.

Have you asked your students if there is anything specifically they would like to observe/practice? That might vary greatly just from student to student. I know I hope to observe and assist with as much as possible, routine or not.

KBICU · Oct 16, 2012

I think it's great that you're trying to help your students get as much experience as possible! I start my clinicals this week and I know I would appreciate that.
Have you asked your students if there is anything specifically they would like to observe/practice? That might vary greatly just from student to student. I know I hope to observe and assist with as much as possible, routine or not.

I ask them what they want want to learn and they want to learn everything lol. It just amazes me the simple things that make a huge difference (setting up the pump, pushing IV meds etc) I also have started going over rhythm strips because they havent had any instruction on telemetry (and were on the tele unit...) its amazing! Thank u all for ur responses :)

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Oct 16, 2012

research shows that the best preceptors are those who have been nurses less than 5 years, because they remember how it was not to know anything and be scared all the time. I congratulate the nurse who makes an effort to give the students this time and expertise!

Sadala, ADN, RN · Oct 17, 2012

I haven't had students in nursing (since I am a student in nursing) but I have had students in a different profession. I tried to teach them all of the things that I wished someone had taught me when I first began in that profession. There were so many short cuts, and things that I wished had been emphasized, and ways to anticipate and handle certain situations - especially situations that were either difficult or very common, or even things that were entirely avoidable had I known how to handle them differently. There was knowledge helpful to both the employee and to his/her ability to help the population served - and that was what I tried to pass on if I could.

As a current nursing student, that's what I would love for current nurses to do for me during my clinical experience. I don't know if that helps at all? It's kind of hard to tell you what I don't know that I don't know yet. But I guess the point is, that you DO know what those things were for you when you first started working as a nurse, and those are probably the things I would want to know.

(And for me especially, I would want to know not only what to do, but what not to do. Because not only do I want to help patients, but while doing so, I definitely don't want to do anything to affect them adversely or stress them unnecessarily. And gee whiz, I'd kind of like to not do anything to mess myself up either, if possible.)

LCinTraining · Oct 17, 2012

I'm always a fan of inducing a mock (make sure no patients are harmed in the making of this film) alarm. A.k.a, when I train aides at work, I intentionally put the pulse ox on the same hand as the BP cuff just so it spazzes and alarms low saturation. They always freak out "what is that? I he o.k.?" and I say, yes. Just fine, but if you hear that and know your cuff is not inflated blocking blood flow, you'd better be prepared to act.

I then have to go back and retake pulse ox, of course, but they tend to remember that well.

kellimac · Oct 17, 2012

Hello everyone!
Lately I have been getting 1-2 students a night when I go to work (I work on a busy cardiac tele/surg floor) since my unit is 33 beds, almost every nurse gets at least one student, all of them ADN nursing students. I have found with my students that other nurses on my floor dont interact much with them or teach them anything...maybe it is because I am a relatively new grad that learning important concepts in clinical is so fresh in my mind. For example, perhaps it is just this group of students but I have had several SENIOR students tell me that they havent yet learned how to prime IV tubing or even hung an IV on my unit in clinical! Perhaps it is this particular school's way of teaching but I am just surprised how even some of my other coworkers don't bother having students to do anything other than vitals and some HS meds. If I see some students standing around I ask them if anyone wants to d/c an IV, put in a foley, etc. Usually they are thrilled I ask! My question is, as a student, what would you like your nurse in clinical to teach you? Everyone is different I know, but anything I could pass on to other staff or take away from your opinions would be great!
Thanks!!!

I think it is awesome that you are helping students. We nurses need to act as role models for future caretakers rather than eat our young. For some reason nursing has a reputation for doing this. Students eager to learn will learn the right way if shown by an experienced nurse full of wonderful knowledge and experience. We all have a lot to share if we would just open ourselves and remember what it was like to be a student. Make a difference-take a student under your wing and teach her to fly.

KBICU · Oct 17, 2012

I love all the responses thank you everyone!! :) im going to try to use this encouragement on my fellow nurses as well

brillohead, ADN, RN · Oct 17, 2012

Things I like the nurse to do when I'm assigned to him/her:

1. Talk out loud about what you're doing and why. And spell out your plan for the next period of time, such as, "I'm going to do a quick eyeballing of each of my patients and make sure nobody needs anything before I start my med pass. This way I know who needs a drink to take their PO meds, or the folks with PRN meds can tell me yes/no if they need them and if they need one or two tablets. This helps to reduce the chances that I'll be interrupted when doing med-pass, too, which can reduce med errors." That gives me an idea of how to manage my time when I'm doing this all on my own, and it also allows me to help out where I'm able -- for example, I can't give meds without my clinical instructor being present, but I *can* go with you and do your accu-checks and check BP/pulse rate for your beta-blocker patients, etc.

2. Tell me that it's okay to ask, "Can I do that?" I know how overburdened floor nurses are, and I feel like I'm "in the way" no matter where I stand in the room, so I have to force myself to jump in and ask if I can do stuff. I know that I'm going to be slower than the nurse, and I know that it's going to mess up her schedule if I do stuff instead, and I feel guilty about it. So a beginning-of-the-shift reassuring that it's okay to ask to do things (dressing changes, foley insertion or d/c, IV insertion or d/c, etc.), with an explanation that if it is a bad time, you'll just say, "No, not this one for " with no hard feelings either way.

3. If you see something cool, come get me, even if I'm not your assigned student! A couple weeks ago a nurse called my assigned nurse in to see her patient, not b/c she wanted the nurse, but rather b/c she wanted the student to see it. (It was a patient with 4+ pitting edema that when you pressed in one spot, a puddle of fluid would seep out of his skin 1-2cm away. That's some serious fluid build-up!)

4. Share your shortcuts, share your stories, share your scares, share your screw-ups. If you almost had a med error once b/c you switched two sound-alike meds in your head, tell me about it so that when I encounter that med in the future, I'll be on the lookout for that issue. I know we can read about that stuff in books, but it really means so much more when it's BTDT experience coming from a real live person. It gives you the sense that, "If it could happen to her, it could happen to me!"

5. Ask me what paperwork / information I need for my class. If I have an extensive clinical prep / care plan to do, you might be able to recommend a particular patient, or help me find certain labs in the chart, etc.

6. Give feedback... did I do a good job calming down the patient who needed to have a PICC line inserted? Did it make your day a little easier by me taking over your accu-checks and getting them documented? Please let me know, and let my clinical instructor know as well.

Thanks for doing what you do! I hope to pay it forward someday myself!

Skips, MSN, RN · Oct 17, 2012

EVERYTHING!! (:

Today, the nurse I was assigned to asked me if I wanted to DC an IV, give a flu shot, and my nursing instructor had me give a Lovenox shot. I WAS THRILLED. This was my 3rd hands-on clinical.

I think nurses who have teaching attitudes are the best! I do realize that some of them do not want to have the responsibility of teaching a student when they are there to do their job, though.

willowita, ADN, RN · Oct 17, 2012

This is a tough question. My instructor and school keeps reminding us that we are only allowed to perform the things that we've been taught in school. I've had some floor nurses offer to help me or teach me something we haven't covered in school and I have to decline. So you just have to be careful not to step on the toes of the instructor and curriculum for that student. But if there is something I haven't learned, I like to stick around and watch the nurse do it. Just to see it done on a real person, even if I'll learn it in a few semesters.