Rude/ Inconsiderate nurses during clinicals

[Nonetheless]

How do you deal with rude/ inconsiderate nurses during clinical?

Things that really irritate me:

> not letting me see a specific patient without a good reason

I want to see *every* patient, not just the nice ones. If it's a danger to my safety or the patient's safety then I understand but some nurses don't give me a reason. The other day a nurse didn't let me see a patient because "she had a good relationship with him" and she spent most of the shift with him, leaving me out. I luckily just tagged along with a different nurse but I felt like she was rude and offered me a poor excuse.

EDIT: if the patient asks for no students then it's okay as well because of consent and such.

> Expecting me to know certain things then telling my instructor I don't know anything.

As a nursing student, I am clinical to learn. I am not going to right away have the skills go into action. It's like riding a bicycle--easy *once you get the hang of it*. Thankfully, my instructor is nice, but it's a mean thing for a nurse to just tell the instructor I know nothing when I am a student trying to learn the things I do not know. But now I am scared to ask my instructor for a rec letter in the future.

>Leaving the nurse's station to do a procedure/ task and not letting me know.

This bothers me to no extent. If I see the nurse I was assigned to for the day and kind of saunter off without telling me then I get up, chase her and follow her. If you don't want a nursing student with you then you should have worked at a facility that doesn't take students. I am going to follow you whether you like it or not. Even if you are just getting a blood glucose (which I am sort of an expert at doing now since I have done it so many times) or asking the patient if he needs anything.

> Saying things like "why didn't you become a doctor?"

Why didn't YOU become a doctor?

>Saying "you're timid, is this your first day?"

No. I am not timid or shy at all. I am comfortable going up to people and asking them if they need help. But these hospitals are potential employers and I am guarded in what I say or how I act in them. I am not going to chuckle at your jokes about the patient because I want a job next year.

>When the nurse doesn't introduce him/herself to me when I am assigned to that nurse for the day.

This is just rude.

What do you do in these situations? How do you handle them? I am just really mad, I had a bad experience this week. I know I am not supposed to be entitled but I am paying 20,000 plus a year out of pocket for nursing school.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Perhaps you haven't learned it yet, and it seems the nurses at your clinical site tried to make it clear, but you didn't catch it. So I'll say it as plainly as I can:

Your clinical site is not about YOU. It is about the patients.

[Guttercat, ASN, RN]

I know it may seem like the nurses were rude but it may just be your perception. I'm not excusing any rude behavior but you have to remember that while your assigned to that one nurse she may have 6-8 patients depending on the unit.

I will tell you that it's not her job to seek you out and introduce herself to you but the other way around. Also many times these nurses do not even realize that they have a student assigned to them till you walk up and tell them.

You have to remember that while you are there to learn it's not their job to teach you that's your instructors job! They are there to take care of patients! As for them walking off to do things and leaving you behind 9 times out of 10 it's just because they forgot you were even there. They are already thinking 6 steps ahead about what they have to accomplish that shift.

Be proactive and seek out things to do. Offer to be her extra pair of hands, she will both appreciate it and be more willing to bring you along. Just remember school only lasts a short time.

OP, this^^^.

All of it.

[Guttercat, ASN, RN]

I am recalling back my student nurse clinical days, and I never recall holding the RN on duty responsible for my learning.

There were good days on the floor, and bad days on the floor. There were nurses happy to teach (as their load allowed), and nurses stressed to the max and couldn't teach. I adapted. If I missed a specific procedure, or needed more experience in that area, I went to my clinical instructors.

Duh.

[bionicRN]

It's always a mix, some nurses are very open to students and love to teach. Some nurses aren't good at teaching. Some hate having another person to watch. Sometimes you're lucky and sometimes you're not. It's a two way street. As a student just be understanding that the nurses are worrying about a number of things and you're learning is the least of them. And as nurses sometimes we forget that we were all new and unseasoned at one point in our career.

[Nonetheless]

I am really not an angry person and I am over my bad experience and just needed to vent somewhere relatively anonymous. My post was written in a bout of anger and is exaggerated due to a terrible experience that stunned me and left me slightly (key word: slightly) traumatized.

I wasn't expecting so many people to get angry...I wasn't really expecting anyone to respond/ look at this post. I apologize if I made anyone mad, and I apologize if I came off as entitled/ prissy/ etc. I am not. I really am not entitled at all. I make an effort to be assertive and do all the "scud work" and introduce myself to the nurse and be communicative and ask questions and learn and be nice and friendly.

If I gave off an image of a crazy person that made you angry then I apologize. Please just nullify my post and ignore it. No more anger. I just needed to vent. I will not be responding to this thread. If I could just close / delete it then I would.

[DidiRN]

Thread has run its course, and is now closed.