Clinical Day Horror Story !!!!

[EXOTIC NURSE]

First of all I was up till 2am doing a concept mapping of my patients medical diagnosis plus my instructor wanted 3 chapters of our workbook done and all my drug cards for my patient along with a plan of care. I got up with a bad head cold both of my nostrils were stopped up and I was breathing through my mouth. I took some Thera flu tablets (non drowsey) hoping to feel some relief before I arrived at the hospital. I got to the hospital and I could not find a place to park so I drove around and around for about 20 minutes trying to find somewhere to park........ughhhhh then I finally parked and made it to the clinical area met for pre conference and was released to do my patient care....Before I went into the conference room for pre conference I yelled out to everyone at the nurses station "Good Morning" and the nurses just stood there and looked at me as if I cursed at them or something....after I was released to do patient care...I went to the nursing station to see who my primary nurse was to get report so I said to the charge nurse on the floor...."excuse me could you please tell me who ____ is? and she yelled at me "Did you say Good MOrning!!!! I said yes I did so now could you tell me who ____ is? She threw her hands up and said somewhere!!!

I located the charge nurse after asking two other ppl who she was and I got report she told me she gave the medications already because she did not know if the students were giving meds. I just continued with my patient care and the whole time my nose was dripping and then my nose started bleeding all over my uniform. I tripped and fell in the hallway on my way to the bathroom and the charge nurse yelled out to me " You are so stupid." I just turned and looked at her and I wanted so badly to just slap her but I went to the bathroom and took off my apron that covers my uniform top and I tried to use the bathroom and my hat fell off into the toilet and yep you guessed it...it fell into the toilet after I used it..........sooooooooooo......I had one heck of a clinical day as you can seee.........geesshhhhhhhhhh

[EXOTIC NURSE, RN]

ITS OKAY....I UNDERSTAND YOUR POINT AND I WANT TO SAY I WISH YOU THE BEST IN YOUR STUDIES.....

[Cdn student]

Thanks to Exotic Nurse, BrandyBSN, peaceful2100, Julielpn, and pixxel for the nice e-mails. I'm really glad to see that you see where I was coming from with my note. After what I've been told by instructors, I didn't want her to put down student nurse in her charting, then get in trouble from her clinical instructor.

You're latest replies made me feel 100% better!!:)

[SbRN2002]

I can feel with Exotic Nurse's bad day. I am a third semester nursing student. Clinical days can be long and hard. (Very stressful, I may add.) I have not had anything embarrassing happen to me up to this point, but I have had bad experiences with RN staff on the floors that I was assigned to. For example, I had a patient that I found to be very fecal impacted. When I checked her chart, I noticed she had not had a BM for four days. Her abdomen was very distended. I could tell just by looking at the patient's abdomen. This patient was very sick with Pneumonia. She also had dementia. She also just had a peg tube placed a few days before. When I told the nurse that was taking care of that patient about the situation, she got very defensive and made very rude comments about me finding the problem. I told her that if she would call the MD and get an order for an enema or some kind of laxative that I would be happy to take care of it. She did not call the MD until 5 hours later. The next morning when I returned to the floor, she still had not been treated for her impaction. I took action immediately. It was as if the patient's problem was no big deal to her. This patient was 82 years old, no family in town to take care of her, very sick with Pneumonia in the left lung and was progressing to the right. I was told by the nurse that the patient never spoke to her or the staff. However, the patient talked to me both days that I was assigned to her. It was hard to understand her, but with a little effort I understood her every word and expressions. We connected perfectly. In order to help break up the secretions and prevent bed sores, I turned the patient every two hours. When I came in the second morning, the patient was dirty, apparently for more than a couple of hours. Her lungs were full of rales and crackles. The respiratory therapist came into the room to suction the patient. Only the RT came to tell me that the patient was clear now because I had turned the patient. The nurse assigned to her seemed even more perterbed when she heard the RT say this. I have had several other occasions with patients where I find that the patient has not been turned, soaking wet with urine from head to toe because the brief has not been changed, BP high as a kite, etc. when I come in to clinicals in the am.

My clinical assignment this semester has been undesireably disappointing. The nurse staff tell me and my classmates that "We should look into anther profession. That nursing is not a good field. We should get out of it while we have a chance."

I feel nursing is the most rewarding profession that a person could possibly go into. I have had many patients assigned to me that was a blessing to work with.

My point is Nurses need to be an encouragement to the young ones in training. Help us when we ask questions or ask how to do a skill. Don't complain or get annoyed when we fail.

SOME nurses need to realize where they came from and remember what they went through to become a nurse. Thats where the nursing students are now. Thanks.

SbRN2002

[crnasomeday]

Cdn nurse, if it makes you feel better I understood your point totally, but then I thought about it, and we do sign our names on charts followed by the initials SN (student nurse). Additionally, the national and state academic organizations and local chapters of these for nursing students are called the Student Nurse's Associations.

[jeharshman]

To Kelly I am a NURSING STUDENT in GA and when we chart on our patients we are to sign our name and then put SN which stands for student nurse. That is the leagal signature at our institutions. But does it really matter? Student nurse or nursing student they are one and the same.

To Exotic Nurse Did you say that you wear hats and aprons? I thought our nursing school was backward. The students were able to wear royal blue scrubs to clinical before I started. Now our uniforms consist of white pants and white tops they are so ulgy. Also we have big patches for our right sleeve. We also have to wear white shoes but they cannot be clogs or tennis shoes or even look like tennis shoes. Oh well I only have one semester left to look like the stay puff marshmellow man!

[EXOTIC NURSE, RN]

YES, I do have to wear the nursing hat and the apron over my white top and white pants and yes the patch on the right sleeve of the nursing lab coat all of that is my entire uniform we will get yelled at if we forget to wear our name tags with our school badge attached to it...and they will even check us for watches with the second hand sometimes as well.......DO NOT SHOW UP TO CLINICAL WITH DIRTY OR SMUDGED SHOES EITHER.....Oh boy you will get the tongue lashing of your life. One of my classmates wore some reebok classics gym shoes to clinical and the nursing instructor told her to stay out of her face for the entire clinical.....I too have only five weeks to go and I am done...........LOL LOL LOL LOL I hope I pass my class and my Comps and then I will be ready to take my state boards..........Yippie

[Kerrie]

I go to school in NY and we also sign SN when we are charting.

Our badges spell out student nurse as well.

Six months and counting to graduation!!!!