What is the dumbest thing a student/newbie ever said or did??
I ask because I'm starting nursing school in May and want to know what NOT to do!
I thought it could be entertaining as well if not for those of us that are saying "I don't get it...why was that dumb??" than for you more experienced nurses to get a chuckle!
Also if there is anything that a student did that isn't exactly dumb just a BIG no-no please please share!
A few second year students ran NS too fast. They were scared they'd get in trouble so they refilled the bag with tap water. This was brought up at our School of Nursing's Lived Experience day.
The instructors were not pleased.
Common sense please! They are dealing with live people! Not a plastic dummy. I don't understand how someone can think this is acceptable. I would be more afraid of what would happen to the patients health.
I ask because I'm starting nursing school in May and want to know what NOT to do!
Do NOT just copy information from the previous assessment, or leave necessary items blank! If you don't know what something is on the assessment chart, ASK!
Even as a student.....I don't know how many times I looked at the previous assessment of an IV especially, only to see that it's not documented as being in the same place that it is on the patient, and often had something different running. One time, after a little research, I found that the IV had been changed 2 days before! That was FOUR RN's and THREE students that had just copied the previous shift's information.
Basic bodily functions are important! If you see that a patient hasn't had a BM in over a week, but they haven't been NPO.....or patient with daily weights ordered, who hasn't been weighed in a week....or that no one has documented I&O. Document EVERYTHING, or find out why it hasn't been done. Orders have changed? It's documented somewhere else? There's an answer somewhere.
Now - my favorite stupid thing I did? Luckily, he was a great guy, and very good-humored about my overly eager student status. He was the roommate of my patient, so not technically "my patient," but I hate it when people just walk by someone in need because they aren't *their* patient. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, and was looking antsy. So I asked him if I could help him with anything. He said "No, but thank you. I just need to go to the bathroom."
I'm helpful, right? So I say, "Oh, I'd be happy to help you to the bathroom."
We go back and forth. "No, that's okay." "No, really, I don't mind!"
Finally, he says, "Well...okay....if you want to carry me, you can. My wife is bringing my legs up from the car right now, though."
Uhhhh.....
Yeah....bilat amputee, who had just had his Foley d/c'ed for discharge....I had walked by the guy all day, and not noticed. :selfbonk:
I think the worst thing I saw a student nurse do was before report in the morning announce that she was not going to do any bed-baths or any other "tech work". It's a busy Step-Down-ICU unit where there are techs, but often they're busy taking care of one of their other 10-12 patients, and student nursing should be teaching total care while there is an opportunity for it. I don't think any nurse on the unit uses student nurses as techs, but sometimes that kind of work falls under nursing responsibilities if the tech is not available. I feel sorry for her when she gets out into the "real world" of nursing. What a rude awakening! Never go into a hospital thinking of how to get out of doing your job or missing good opportunities to learn!!!
We had a few students in our class that after level 1 clinicals, where we were learning basics and pretty much were only allowed to do aide work, would refuse to do bed baths and or clean a pt of feces or urine because in their eyes after level 1 you are not an aide(cna) you are supposed to be practicing "nursing stuff". Our instuctors said that we would continue to do total pt. care throught school. But never failed one of these student at the beginning of each clinical rotation (total of 5) would ask " are we doing total care this time".
I'm with you never try to get out of doing what is ultimely your job and responsability.
Take every advantage you get in nursing school to learn, never stay in the shadow or be afraid ot performing a new procedure. You will not get to do everything while in clinicals but take advantage of what is available for you to do.
I think the worst thing I saw a student nurse do was before report in the morning announce that she was not going to do any bed-baths or any other "tech work". It's a busy Step-Down-ICU unit where there are techs, but often they're busy taking care of one of their other 10-12 patients, and student nursing should be teaching total care while there is an opportunity for it. I don't think any nurse on the unit uses student nurses as techs, but sometimes that kind of work falls under nursing responsibilities if the tech is not available. I feel sorry for her when she gets out into the "real world" of nursing. What a rude awakening! Never go into a hospital thinking of how to get out of doing your job or missing good opportunities to learn!!!
I can't even imagine the arrogance! I remember hearing from one of the reps that they prefer hiring students from the community college than the university (where I was going) because they were more willing than "us" to give bed baths.
From the beginning, I also remember our instructors teaching us that, when we were assigned patients, we were given total patient care. The CNAs would not do vitals, bath, linen changes, anything for us. We did EVERYTHING. I personally thought it was great and was very glad for the experience.
Do not worry about saying or doing something dumb. No matter how many answers you get you are still going to come up with something. I have been a nurse almost 5 years and I know that every once in awhile my coworkers look and me and think "She did NOT just say/ask that" You will never have everything packed away in your brain so ask and who cares what anyone thinks as long as you are giving your very best care. And sometimes that involves asking something everyone else might think is dumb.
Do not worry about saying or doing something dumb. No matter how many answers you get you are still going to come up with something. I have been a nurse almost 5 years and I know that every once in awhile my coworkers look and me and think "She did NOT just say/ask that" You will never have everything packed away in your brain so ask and who cares what anyone thinks as long as you are giving your very best care. And sometimes that involves asking something everyone else might think is dumb.
Oh I've been Dx with Footinmouth syndrome and Idiotitis. I'm sure I'm bound to show signs and symptoms soon enough!:uhoh21:
But I must say, I just got a lot of my books over the last week and reading some of the chapters and then reading these responses is helping me retain the info (like abbreviations and such). :wink2:
He was the roommate of my patient, so not technically "my patient," but I hate it when people just walk by someone in need because they aren't *their* patient.
:selfbonk:
While as a nurse I would not walk by a patients room(on my floor) that needed something, as a student we were specifically told to never go into a patients room that was not assigned to us, or to a fellow student. One of my fellow classmates learned this the hard way when she went in to check on a sweet lil ol lady that was hollering for help. That little woman got a grip on her..when my fellow student looked down she noticed this woman was in 4pt restraints...she would not let go...had both her hands and was trying to bite her face. There was a reason she had not been assigned to a student, and we knew nothing about her or her history...this could have been a BAD situation.
This lends to my peice of advice use common sense, if it seems wrong, feels wrong or you are just unsure...take a minute or 10...figure it out, ask questions, look it up. Just be careful!
Here's one a new grad did to me several weeks ago. Admit who had OD'd on narcotics, sustained release. He received narcan x1 in ER. Gets to the floor, new grad nurse is taking care of him. After a while she comes to me, waits for me to finish my totally casual conversation with another coworker, and then says "Sorry to interrupt, but I have a question for you. My guy in room XXXX is only breathing about 4 times a minute, I can't get an O2 sat on him, and he's not waking up. What should I do?" Hello, that is what that prn Narcan order is for, and by the way, let's get a little O2 on him and get some help right now!
And here's one or two dumb things I did:
Couldn't hear bowel sounds on a post op pt who had actually reported flatus, and who the previous shift had reported active BS. I listened, and listened, checked my stethoscope, listened some more.....well, see, this was an older lady with larger breasts, and it turns out you can't hear bowel sounds through breast tissue, no matter how low they hang.
I had a lady on 4L O2, her sats just started to drop. Increased her O2, repositioned her, no improvement. Called RT to come give a stat eval and treat as her sats were dropping to the high 70s now, she's anxious, I'm crapping my pants; RT comes in and says "Maybe you should try connecting her O2 tubing." Her nasal cannula had become disconnected from the extension set but I hadn't noticed.
Those are just two of I'm sure hundreds of small and big mistakes that I have made and continue to make. Thing is; I haven't made them twice. Whenever I listen to BS, I always make sure any excess tissue, etc is out of the way; and whenever someone doesn't respond as expected to O2, I always make sure the tubing is connected!
Everyone does dumb things, as a new student and an experienced nurse. The new student ones are funnier, just because we more experienced nurses remember making them, too, so it's funny because we are in on the joke. I make less mistakes now, but I still do, and I'm always learning. Now I more typically do the really dumb mistakes-like paging the wrong doc in the middle of the night because I misread the chart. I don't make those stupid little clinical mistakes anymore, because I've already made them!
than for you more experienced nurses to get a chuckle!
misserella8036
158 Posts
Common sense please! They are dealing with live people! Not a plastic dummy. I don't understand how someone can think this is acceptable. I would be more afraid of what would happen to the patients health.