I am almost done with the program (graduate in May), I had managed up until this point to not ever have a really bad day at clinicals. But yesterday was so bad I went and cried in the bathroom. My nurse was from the float pool and she and I didn't click at all. She couldn't believe I had made it this far in Nursing school and not having seen anyone change a triple lumen dressing or hep lock one. Yeesh, sorry, it's kind of been the luck of the draw with pts, Sorry I hadn't done one but at least I was eager to try. In our clinical rotations we only spend about 4 days on a certain floor before we are moved to a different floor or hospital. So I wasn't sure where some of the supplies where throughout the day, she wouldn't tell me where they where, she made me go look all over the unit for them. OK I get that, I would need to find them myself if I was working. She was just not that great of a teacher, I was going to change another Pt's dressing after I did the triple lumen dressing change when she decided to do it herself. I would have done it. I didn't think I was taking that long. It just didn't go well. To make me feel like an even bigger moron, she told my instructor about the how she couldn't believe that I had made it to 4th semester and not seen one. I just felt like I could do nothing right, I was slow and I was pulling out the wrong meds form the pyxis (5 rights are what prevented an error). Just about everything I could do wrong with this nurse happened and it just got worse as the day went on. I kept thinking, I am still in school, still trying to learn! Oh well, just wanted vent, and wallow in my own self pity. I will strive to do better next time!
Sorry to hear you had a rotten day. Boy I can relate... Today was my last day of medsurg clinical ever, before my preceptorship next quarter and graduation in May. I've never made an error in all 2 years until today....of all days!:imbar
It was med error...wrong time med error. I gave an IV push med an hour earlier than it should have been. The MAR had all sorts of things crossed out and rewritten all over it due to changes in the med times and I failed to see that it was scheduled q4 and the next hand written down dose was actually an hour earlier and was q3, not q4. The day was also crazy busy and I was extremely overhwhelmed. I alerted my instructor and primary nurse about the error and of course cried....how embaressing! I felt horrible because not only could it of harmed my patient (which it turned out to not be that big of a deal) but also because I felt so stupid and was quite angry with myself that I just had to go and do something like that on my very last day of clinical!
I'm with the person upthread who said to write it off as the nurse being a beeyatch. Her behavior was unprofessional, but that's the luck of the draw. Nurse managers rarely ask their nurses if they want students. Some of our senior practicum preceptors will not be doing the job voluntarily, or so I'm told. And we're stuck with them for nine weeks, full time schedule (36h/wk).
I'm almost done with rotations prior to my practicum, and my skills consist of: Inserting one foley. One subq injection (which was a disaster, btw). One IV. One butterfly stick (on a comatose pt!). PO meds. Hanging a couple of bags. And lots and lots and lots of vitals and bedbaths. Oh, and I can swaddle like a frickin warrior.
wow your hospital actually allow you to do IV insertions? in our country,(philippines) we are not allowed to do IV insertion unless we are RN and a Registered IV therapist. i envy you. what we do in the hospitals? LOTS AND LOTS OF vital signs, i often think that i will graduate with a *name* major in VITAL SIGNS:lol2:
by the way, i feel sorry for LUNAKAT, I've encountered several nurses like them. Just try to hang on, maybe she envies you a lot.
I truly hate nurses like that. They dont wanna know you or find out if you have done such a procedure. Rather they target you for being incompetent. Whilst on practicals, you never get a chance to do nearly half of what you are taught at Uni. I have never put an IDC in, nor NGT also clean a triple lumen catheter. There is so much to know and learn and its about opportunity. Plus, that nurse should never say what she said to you. When I talk to nurses at my work, most would say they havent done such a procedure or it has been a very long time. I think that nurse should learn to have respect and give consideration to nurse student or even other qualified nurses who havent have done sucha procedure.
She must think she is the ants pantz of nursing. I wonder what her flaw is????
Dont let this person weigh you down, its not worth it, they are just making you feel inferior or so small. Truly not worth it.
Yeah that> Its been years since I was in school, but I do remember the very few nurses on the floor that acted that way.
Please remember that you are in school to learn how to do the procedures and you were doing just that. I think when I was in school I only got the chance to start maybe 1-2 IVs ever. All the hospitals had IV teams at that time. You will never be able to practice every skill you learn.
So...ya'll don't make your own assignments or have a team leader that does??
We got to pick one of our pts. (so we could have a chance at caring for as many pts. with varying problems as much as possible) and the instructor assigned the other. As she said "do you get to pick your assignments in the reall world? Enjoy it while it lasts."
Forget her, she is not a credit to this profession. Her behaviour reflects badly on her, not you. It is ridiculous to think that you should know everything by now.
She was obviously a B**** and just wanted to take it out on you that YOU are a student!! (how dare you, anyways)......Just relax and know that YOU know how to give safe and compentent care....there will be days you make mistakes and we're all human...She was probably ticked that she had a student...and if she's a float nurse maybe she doesn't always work that floor, maybe she got called in later than she wanted...etc...doesn't excuse the behavior, but know that float nurses kind of get the low end of attention cause they don't always work with the same staff....
hangnon
70 Posts
Sorry to hear you had a rotten day. Boy I can relate... Today was my last day of medsurg clinical ever, before my preceptorship next quarter and graduation in May. I've never made an error in all 2 years until today....of all days!:imbar
It was med error...wrong time med error. I gave an IV push med an hour earlier than it should have been. The MAR had all sorts of things crossed out and rewritten all over it due to changes in the med times and I failed to see that it was scheduled q4 and the next hand written down dose was actually an hour earlier and was q3, not q4. The day was also crazy busy and I was extremely overhwhelmed. I alerted my instructor and primary nurse about the error and of course cried....how embaressing!
I felt horrible because not only could it of harmed my patient (which it turned out to not be that big of a deal) but also because I felt so stupid and was quite angry with myself that I just had to go and do something like that on my very last day of clinical!