Bad experience as Paramedic intern

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This is a true story. Period. I am not making any of this up. It is a sad story for the medical field in general. Not being a nurse, but loving newborn infants is a very tough situation for a male nursing student. I have 2 questions I want answered. 1) Why is it so difficult for men to be "baby nurses"? Really, it is. 2) Why as a paramedic student was I flat out lied to about deliveries? I mean, this is true, I was in OB rotation and looking forward to my first births when the charge nurse for the unit told me "this mother does not want students". OK. No problem. That is her right. The problem is this: I was in the elevator with a guy who seemed very happy to be a new father. We struck up conversation based on the fact that I was a paramedic student and in the OB portion of school. He has been a firefighter/paramedic for 22 years. His wife- the pt who requested no students- was also a paramedic for 11 years. He told me to watch his childs birth for school, etc,etc. This was the SAME couple that the nurse told me did not want students to watch. I guess I caught her in a lie? I did not see the birth based on sexual discrimination. Obvioulsly. I let him know, as well. The hospital had "no response" other than to say that staff members are often overworked and make mistakes.

Specializes in IMCU/PCU.

Hmmm....guess we all have different experiences in both nursing school and during my tenure as a Medic. As a Medic student I was never allowed to watch a delivery. As a student nurse I was allowed to watch three and a fourth during a C-section.

Blood Donor? I might have read and interpreted your post wrong forgive me....but since I maintain both a RN license and credentials as an Medic and work in both areas I too have a unique outlook on things. Believe me when I say this...it isn't nurses around where I live that have problems...it is the Medics who are Primadonnas. Primadonna attitudes have no place in either arena. That is what causes division between the two. And I can say this with fact....the two are totally different areas of medicine. And since you are still in nursing school....because I had to learn the hardway myself...those nurses with any amount of experience will 'eat' you for breakfast and spit you out as long as you maintain thoughts and attitudes as yours. AND YOU WILL NEVER KNOW they did it. If you wanna be a nurse then there is bootcamp you have to attend and comply with whether you think it is appropriate or not.

As an RN I have my own license. A Medic works under the Medical Directors license. She/He extends -you- the priviledge of working under her/his license. As an RN, depending upon the hospital, Docs, etc. and training there isn't anything I can't do as an RN I can't do as a Medic. The last I knew I took the same ACLS, AMLS, PALS, BTLS, PEPP that you did. So please learn to be an outstanding nurse and leave the primadonna attitudes at home. And I promise you when all is said and done...you will see why. And you will be an outstanding nurse and Medic.

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Some of you say you are both paramedic and nurse. Anyone out there in northern California in the paramedic phase trying to find a preceptor for their paramedic internship? If so, please advise. Seems the Paramedic schools cut ties when it comes to finding a preceptor; a circumstance that is much like handing one the bungie cord, not telling the person how to use it, and then not just telling them to jump but castigating them for not jumping. And the kicker is the school keeps and distributes your papers at its whim, leaving you with no control, no backup, no help. Your experiences? Your advice?

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I am not particularly impressed with the OPs post - as a student you are merely a guest in the hospital and when a pt allows you to assist in their care it is incredibly gracious of them. As a student you do not have the run of the hospital and to posses the nerve to discuss this with the father and bring it up with the hospital. You strain hospital schools relationships and it is behavior from men like you that lead to the nurse manager deciding it was not in the patients best interest to have you present.

As a student during birth you are there merely to observe and I am not surprised many mothers are uneasy about having a strange male focused on their privates. As a male I would not like a female student watching as I had a vasectomy, however if the nurse was a female it wouldn't bother me. I would go the next step and say that if I was in a management I too would use my role to protect my patient if I felt they would be at all embarrassed or uneasy with a student observing without even running it by them. The difference is, you do not have a 5 week clinical in a urologist so this situation doesn't happen.

As a guy on maternity floors it is always best to role with the punches - you have a bit more to prove and by fighting back you will not prove it, professional and excelling at building relationships with the patients you are assigned is the best way.

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Specializes in Infectious Disease, Neuro, Research.
This is a true story. Period. I am not making any of this up. It is a sad story for the medical field in general.
Your personal experience has no generalizable validity. You had a bad experience. Sorry. The world is not coming to an end.

Not being a nurse, but loving newborn infants is a very tough situation for a male nursing student. I have 2 questions I want answered. 1) Why is it so difficult for men to be "baby nurses"? Really, it is. 2) Why as a paramedic student was I flat out lied to about deliveries?

1) It is not hard, as long as you choose not to be offended. There is no moral or Constitutioanl "right" to an unoffended life. Deliver care to the best of your ability, in every capacity, regardless of emotional context. That is the nature of "professioanlism".

2) I see anecdotal evidence that may indicate falsehood. I see no concrete evidence. Time that could be spent on developing practice is being spent on emotional gratification.

I mean, this is true, I was in OB rotation and looking forward to my first births when the charge nurse for the unit told me "this mother does not want students". OK. No problem. That is her right. The problem is this: I was in the elevator with a guy who seemed very happy to be a new father. We struck up conversation based on the fact that I was a paramedic student and in the OB portion of school. He has been a firefighter/paramedic for 22 years. His wife- the pt who requested no students- was also a paramedic for 11 years. He told me to watch his childs birth for school, etc,etc. This was the SAME couple that the nurse told me did not want students to watch.
You were able to share in camraderie with the family. There are a variety of emotions and interactions (in the room) which you were not a party to, having 3 graddaughters, I can tell you, a delivering mother's expectations and allowances can change with great rapidity, during the process.:rolleyes:

I guess I caught her in a lie? I did not see the birth based on sexual discrimination.

1) No, you didn't "catch" anyone in anything. You have a percetion, correct or incorrect, we don't know.

2) Are. You. Serious. Can you honestly tell me your para instructor let that dribble off your tongue?! Mine would have said something to the effect of, "Reach down there buddy, and see if you have a reason to claim discrinmination. Now quit whining and go find something practical to get your mind and hands involved..." If the problem is real, the instructor should be helping you get with a nurse they know will get you the low-down.

But the world is kinder and gentler now, I hear.

Not trying to flame or attack you, but good grief, if you didn't get in on the first one, get it out of your mind, and get in next time.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho/Neuro, Hospice..

Y'all realize this thread is 5 years old right? :smokin:

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