Your first time with a student

[PeepnBiscuitsRN]

First off, this is not, I repeat NOT intended for the purpose of wailing on students. If your first time with a student consisted of a know-it-all type student then whatever, do share, but please don't lets run with it, eh?

Last Friday I had my first student. I wasn't precepting or anything, he was just shadowing me. I wasn't expecting it. I showed up at 0650 and it was sort of casually mentioned that the local state U's RN program was doing their OB rotation and today was orientation. I noticed that this one guy kind of meandered over to me, so I wasn't sure if they were assigned or what or if it was just a pick a nurse and go.

He was very nice. Good guy. The problem was that...well...say you walk the same way every day and the scenery is consistently the same, day in and day out. Then one day suddenly *BOOM!* there's a car parked where there was no car parked before.

And the balance of the cosmos has suddenly been shifted! The program has been shot! Methergine? What is a Methergine? Who are you? What room am I in? Who is that teeny little human laying there?!

Perhaps it was the stress of having a pretty sick toddler at home (it had been day like...4 of diarrhea for her) I don't know. What I do know is that I turned into a totally bumbling idiot. I was dropping pills, dropping pens, dropping my clipboard. Forgetting things, trying to walk and talk was suddenly like riding a unicycle. He was gracious, bless his heart, he had no interest in OB anyhow. But I can't believe that me, the one who had precepted student LPN's and new LPN's in clinic when I was an LPN was so clumsy! I like the idea of teaching, but I'm thinking we'll give it another year before I raise my hand to take on a student!

[Vespertinas]

only asks about salary, vacation, etc. well you are wasting my time.

Are you joking me? Have they no tact?

[newkidnurse]

Less than a year ago (somehow!) I was a student. I vividly remember being told by our profs & clinical instructors that every moment of clinical should be considered part of a Job Interview... that the nurses/units had records on each of us and that when the time came that we would be applying for jobs, we could basically forget about it if we didn't make good impressions during clinical.

Now working on a unit and having students rotate through, no one has ever once asked me for a "report" on any of the students for their "HR File", lol.

I am wondering now if that was a little white lie Any of you keep records on the students?

[newkidnurse]

Also--I usually do love having students, too. They typically will take on the NA role and will get overheaded to assist patients with basic care needs, which is great of course. But they will also (occasionally!) do oral meds with their instructor, and on the rare occasion I have to go off the unit with a patient, I'll try to take the student along with me. I try to grab the student too if the docs are rounding or if something else interesting is going on like a dressing change or PT, etc...

I personally feel so privileged when I have the (rare) student with me actually tags along, asks questions, checks in with me, fills me in on what they are thinking... I love it!! Without a doubt, certain instructors help to facilitate this much better than others. I loved it when I was a student and the nurse would sweep me up under his/her wings during clinical. Way more learning that way than when I was simply one of the instructor's 6 students for the day...

One thing though that frustrated me during school was exactly what I just said was helpful for me now as a nurse--taking on the NA role. I would often think "I'm not in school to be an aide, I'm in school to be a nurse...I want to do what the nurse is doing!". Yes-every single patient skill that is done by aides is done by nurses as well, and I knew that then too.... But, still, how can we bridge this better for the motivated student?

***AND Sorry if this should be a new topic post. I'm a longtime AN stalker turned AN poster!

[sjbrk]

Quite like having students but some of them seem to forget that just because they aced their anatomy exam or have memorized the renal system, that basic nursing care is no longer their concern. We have nursing assistants on our ward but the RN's still do some of the showers and the students turn their nose up at it as if theyre too good to do that![/quote']

Ok but to be fair... The first two semesters of nursing school I did all that stuff - was always on top of showers, bed changes, toileting, etc. but I was also only assigned to 1-2 patients on decently easy med-surg floors. My 3rd semester I was getting 3 patients on a cardiac tele unit. I was much more concerned about digging into PT charts, getting thorough assessments, and staying on top of meds and IVs. I didn't do one single shower last semester. And I'm ok with that. Certainly not too good for it, but I've been an aide for 3 years. I promise I know how to give a shower.

As far as following the nurse around...Nope. Our instructors lets the nurses know what patients we are assigned to and we are "on our own." Instructor helps with dressing changes, watches med administration, checks our assessment... If I have questions I will go to my instructor before I go to "my" nurse.

[PeepnBiscuitsRN]

He was certainly enthusiastic about learning OB, but he said he knew it wasn't his thing. I felt bad because this is an OB unit, and we have a very unique cultural population- Somali, Ethiopian, Hispanic and Hmong are our biggest patient base and it is much harder to sell having a male student shadow me when I check a 43 year old Somali woman...I just told him to wait outside the room. Wasn't gonna happen!

[LightMyFire]

I get being there to learn how to be an RN. I always let students pass meds and do stuff but on our floor there is often not much they can do and even the meds are mostly just narcs when the students are there and our hospital doesn't allow them to give narcs. The problem I have is that the ones that complain often aren't doing anything other than following the nurse and watching them chart or BSing with the other students. If there's something that they should learn, then they should be learning it but if not, we can always use extra hands. That by itself is a lesson in teamwork. I spend a decent part of my day helping do "tech stuff." No RN (or student) should consider themselves above it.

[Vespertinas]

I am wondering now if that was a little white lie Any of you keep records on the students?

Not physical records but mental, for sure. When that RN comes back to shadow during a real interview, if she left a bad impression as a student, someone will recognize her and inform the manager. My managers have been keen on sampling staff opinions before hiring an RN to the floor.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Same with our unit. We talk. We note the students whom we admire and we note those who make a bad impression. And if the student isn't one or the other we do not note them at all. They get forgotten about, which in the current job market is just as bad as being noted for poor performance. We definitely discuss which students we would see as a good fit on our team.

[tryingtohaveitall]

Less than a year ago (somehow!) I was a student. I vividly remember being told by our profs & clinical instructors that every moment of clinical should be considered part of a Job Interview... that the nurses/units had records on each of us and that when the time came that we would be applying for jobs, we could basically forget about it if we didn't make good impressions during clinical.

Now working on a unit and having students rotate through, no one has ever once asked me for a "report" on any of the students for their "HR File", lol.

I am wondering now if that was a little white lie Any of you keep records on the students?

Not records per se, but you'd better believe if you leave a bad impression it will be remembered. Honestly, this is a small world we live in and you never know when someone you meet will end up being someone you need. I think it was good advice.

[Jenni811, RN]

Im terrible with students, i try not to be.