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!
I am in an accelerated program. My first degree was business. I thrived on being the one with answers in my previous degree. Nursing school has been a good experience and a humbling one. Get ready. You will ask "dumb" questions; you will say "dumb" things; and you will leave clinical days thinking you are the "dumbest" person in the world. It's inevitable, but you will be a better nurse because of it. I would rather make the mistakes in nursing school than later in the real world. Just learn from your mistakes. Period.
there was the student who have milk of magnesia im -- 15cc in each cheek. (no, i'm not kidding. my best friend, who was her instructor told me about this one.)
wouldn't want to be your friend - that student was working under his/her license at the time!
i had a student (mine) who was going to give heparin sq and phenergan iv. guess which one she drew up in the sq syringe??? luckily i was watching her. i let her go until she was ready to give the sq injection and then said whoa, what's in that syringe. she said "heparin". i said "are you sure?" she said "yes" several times until i told her to look at the vial she had not drawn up yet. she freaked out and started to throw away the phenergan. i was like whoa, don't throw it away, just get some saline and dilute it and get a new sq set to give the heparin with. so i guess what to learn here is always double check your meds (i still do!), and when your instructor/preceptor tells you something, listen. and if you do make a mistake, don't panic, keep yourself under control and figure out what needs to be done about it. there's plenty of time to freak out later. :)
I am a student myself, so I hear many questions that seem so duh.
Granted my stupid questions are always asked in the study group the night before a test bc I am so stressed. One time someone was reading, " drink plenty of H2O" . Before I realized it, I am asking what H2O is... lol :yeah:
Still...better to ask a stupid question and have a laugh than to NOT ask and do something REALLY stupid. If anyone ever makes you feel bad for asking a question, it's their problem, not yours!!!
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!!!
One of the biggies - any kind of med you are putting on topically - ointments, pastes, even patches - WEAR GLOVES! We had a nurse who went to the ER for a blown pupil and was scared to death that she had some sort of bleed, and it turned out that she had applied a scopolamine patch that day and had forgotten to wear gloves.
NEVER stand around! We had a gaggle of students standing at the station one morning. When asked what they were doing, they said, "waiting for the dynamap so we can do our vitals." Each and every one of them had a stethoscope hanging around their neck and there was a BP cuff and pulse ox machine in every room. Only thing they would have had to do was share one of the thermometers because the techs had the other ones. NOPE!!!! Do your vitals by hand! You need to practice BPs, even though we have monitors, because some day you're going to need to do one, and you won't be able to hear it if you don't practice on the tricky people now!!!
I've seen an experienced nurse run a 500ml bag of heparin over 1 hour thinking it was an antibiotic.
I've seen a nurse give 20 mg of morphine instead of 2 mg, thinking that morphine was 1:1 instead of 10:1.
If you're using a computerized med management system, USE IT RIGHT! We've had a number of mistakes that would have been prevented if the nurse had scanned the meds BEFORE giving them instead of after!
Saw a student (not mine) inject 10 ml NS into a protonix vial and then pull the syringe out before drawing up the med. She had a nice shower from that one!
ALWAYS offer help when you have time, as a tech, a student, an RN. Even if you don't feel like helping out, do it! You'll be glad when the time comes that you are the one who needs the help!
That's all I can think of right now, hope it helps!
I remember when I was a student one of the tutors saying. The only dumb question is the one not asked. Also I read a saying once which said Patients may not remember what you did, how you did it, but they will always remember the way you made them feel.
Enjoy being a student ask all the questions you can and remember we all started out as a student at one time or another. Good Luck.
Specializes in Trauma acute surgery, surgical ICU, PACU.
I've seen MANY students when confronted with a beeping alarm on an IV pump or monitor - hit silence or turn it off and walk away. Because they don't know what else to do.
Always remember to get help when you need it, for the sake of the patient. Even if the nurses around seem too busy to help you, go to your instructor or assigned buddy-nurse/preceptor - don't walk away!
I am a student now I will be done in less than 6 months and cant wait. I have worked in the health care field for the past 6 years, starting out small and working my way up the chain. Now that I will be a nurse in time, the feeling of helping someone get better or to be there to comfort than is a dream in itself. I leave this for you all. We were all students at one point in time, mistakes were made and will be made, no matter how long you have been a nurse, I am sure that mistakes happen, health care changes daily and new medicine and techniques are discovered. I am sure D.O 's and M.D 's make mistakes.... guess who takes the blame?????? We do, so before you think the students are dumb/stupid remember that we all were a student at one point in time and we all have made mistakes.:yelclap:
Best piece of advice I got was from a nurse working on a floor when I was doing a clinical back in 1983.
Find a unit with a good charge nurse, make friends with them, and don't be afraid to ask questions. Never give a med you don't know and always run the 5 rights over prior to med administration.
This advice served me well for years. Still do the 5 rights.
i am a dr nurse and we have students rotate in the area in order to acquire cases.
after a lady partsl delivery i asked the student what is the most important sign to asses, especially in multiparas..so she answered "watch for hemorrhage".
okay..as a follow up question i asked her, what amount of blood loss is considered normal in a normal delivery.
here comes the frustrating part,:zzzzz she answered
in an innocent tone of voice 20CC?
to conceal my dismay i joked about, i said what?? raise the number higher please.. then she answered 30? 50?
i simply asked her, have you ever seen a 20cc syringe? is the blood loss more or less equal to what that syringe can hold?
how about c sections, what amount is considered within the normal range?
then she asked me with this innocent tone of voice again is there more blood loss in a c section?
this time i was a bit alarmed, in a firm, authoritative tone i asked, miss are you jerking me around, bec f you are it is not funny! this is not funny!
then she said "no ma'am, why would I even do that? I only answered what I thought was right.
the incident left me consternated, i answered my questions for her anyway and told her to read her Pilliterri...
We were paired up in sets of two at a local nursing home, and each given a patient to care for. Our job was to get them up, bathed, dressed and out to the solarium for breakfast. My partner Marianna and I each got an Alzheimer's patient to care for, and they shared a room together. Marianna approached the bathing issue first, while I changed bed linens in their room. As I was in the middle of this task, the most incredible odor overcame me, so strong that I almost could not stand it. Apparently, Marianna had attempted to wheel her pt over the toilet for her morning BM, and when she had waited for a few minutes and nothing resulted, she deemed it safe to roll her on into the shower for her morning wash-up. Baad timing... as this is about when a very large bowel movement resulted, clumping into a steaming pile (very large and wet I might add!) on the shower floor. Marianna had the great (not) idea of using the hand-held shower hose to wash this steaming pile of deficant down the tiny shower drain. This became an important lesson for us all... 1) horrible smells become overwelming when encapsulated in steam 2) stool does not go down shower drains.... and .... 3) you cannot hide a poopy flood (water travels UNDER walls and into adjoining rooms! 4) Marianna was a straight A student, and eventually the valedictorian of our class, so ya never know!
than for you more experienced nurses to get a chuckle!
:yeah:
Each and every one of them had a stethoscope hanging around their neck and there was a BP cuff and pulse ox machine in every room. Only thing they would have had to do was share one of the thermometers because the techs had the other ones. NOPE!!!! Do your vitals by hand! You need to practice BPs, even though we have monitors, because some day you're going to need to do one, and you won't be able to hear it if you don't practice on the tricky people now!!!
this time i was a bit alarmed, in a firm, authoritative tone i asked, miss are you jerking me around, bec f you are it is not funny! this is not funny!
forrester
197 Posts
Yes, pt survived. Student had already graduated by the time we found out.