Dealing with nursing staff (RPN's)

[Mito]

Hello All,

As a senior nursing student on a med/surg floor we have a great deal more responsibility than we did in first year (no real suprise there). With multiple tasks to do ie meds, treatment, prn's for pain and ng tube insertion and management , some things like am care have to wait until later in the day.

We had a very busy day today and my pt's had to wait until late am for their am care (you know hands face, peri back etc..) and ofcourse this is fine with our teacher as long as everyone gets their care before we leave in the early afternoon.

So at the end of the day the RPN for that zone says to my teacher that it is a real problem that the pt's didn't get their am care first thing in the morning. My rationale was that their meds , vital signs, assessments and prn's for pain come first and then the am care.

So I informed my teacher that I didn't not need the help of the RPN and that I was capable of managing my patients and all of their care. I really think this particular nurse was looking for a problem where there was none. Does this sound familiar to any of you guys? How do you deal with this situation?

Mito

[RNonsense]

Gawd...talk about resurrecting the dead here...but I'm doing a search and came upon this. An RPN is a Registered Psych Nurse...I think they are only in Canada but not 100% sure.http://www.healthplanning.gov.bc.ca/leg/hpc/review/part-i/scope-regpsychnurse.html

[Angella Walker]

obnurseheather....can I work with you. You seem to posess all the qualities of a great teacher. A plus is that you are in the area of nursing that I want to work in!!!!!

Keep up the great work!

Mrs. Walker

overtired, overstressed, overeverything and still loving it all!

[SingingNurse2]

I know this was an old thread, but I couldn't resist adding my take on this as well. As a nursing student 15 years ago when I was 19 I had very little idea of how serious little things could be and was very unappreciative of advice given to me because I felt it was telling me I was doing a bad job. Now, in my mid 30's returning to school, I am sooooooo willing to hear any advice and any help given! Experience teaches one so much more than any college education ever will! I agree with the poster who said to ask the instructor what she thought and if she agreed - then do your job, and if she disagrees - suck it up and count it as something learned. You are there to learn and practice - not take over. A little humility will carry you far in life. I once asked a wise old man I knew the secret to being wise and he said to keep quiet, listen to the others run their mouths, and only give your opinion when you KNOW it is right.

[essarge]

I would like to input just a little here. I am a student nurse as well as a nurse extern on a med/surg floor. When I am there as a student nurse, I have been taught (as a student and a nurse extern) that I am part of a whole team. This includes me, my instructor, the nurse who's patient I am assigned to and the Nursing assistant and my fellow students. That being said, I have several times asked questions of the nurse about how she would like to see things charted or done. If she states that she would like to see a.m. care done ASAP and I feel that I can't get it done when they need it, I will enlist the help of the aid assigned to the patient and/or one of my fellow students. I have found that by asking for help or offering my help to them things get done in a timely manner. I have never had a problem with any of the nurses that I work with because I keep them in the loop.

I agree that ultimately, the nurse will be responsible for anything that is not done because we are never there for the entire shift...leaving anything undone to the nurse assigned.

I also do not subscribe to the "that's not my patient" attitude. If I can (even while I am working as a nurse extern) I will help others complete their tasks at hand. It would be nice if everyone could/would do that. Life would be soooo much easier for everyone involved including, and most important, the patient!