Experienced nurses: What do student nurses do that drives you nuts?

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And what do we do that you like/appreciate? I'm kind of worried that just my being there (and sort of "in the way") will be enough to drive the nurses bonkers. Anything we can do to make it better for you?

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Annoying: gathering as a group in the nurses' station, not putting charts back where you found them, doing homework while at clinicals.

Appreciation for : students who are eager to learn, eager to help with pt care.

I know there is "safety in numbers" but it is humorous when I ask a student to take vital signs and 4 go into a pt room! It is also overwhelming to pts and can be a violation of their privacy when you are doing say a cath and 6 students show up!

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I think as students we should show nurses that we want to be there and learn. We should have knowledge before we get on the floor so we are not asking them alot of questions and be willing to take criticism. The majority of nurses I have been with during my clinicals have been eager to help me learn as long as I can respect them. Just my 2 cents!

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Specializes in Med/surg, rural CCU.

I love having students. THe only time a student has ever bothered me- we had one that would constantly interrupt whatever nurse she was working with to try to but in the information first. (I was doing pt educaiton- she kept interrupting)

If you feel the nurse is wrong- TRULY wrong- ask her about it outof the patient's room. It makes everyone in the room uncomfortable- regardless of who is right.

(same nurse tried to correct me about something. She didn't have all the information- and in a normal situation would have been correct- but patients are patients because something is abnormal. If you don't know the patient- don't act like you know what's going on.)

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

I get frustrated when students are glad they DONT have to do something....or they try to get out of doing something. For instance I overheard a student asking her instructor if she really had to give a suppository to her patient....the instructor looked at the MAR and said "no, look it only says Tues, Thurs, and Saturday." (It was a Weds.) When the instructor walked away the student said "whew, I really dodged a bullet there." I thought Really??? Its just a suppository....I wanted to say "you are here to learn and you should welcome any experience you can get. I cant tell you how many times Ive seen students try to get out of doing things because they are shy or scared.

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Specializes in ER.
And what do we do that you like/appreciate? I'm kind of worried that just my being there (and sort of "in the way") will be enough to drive the nurses bonkers. Anything we can do to make it better for you?

Just a few things off the top of my head that makes a student nurse stand out are being on time, being appropriately attired, being courteous, having the necessary equipment, being interested but not under foot, listening well, asking questions, reading up on a relevant issue and discussing it, and most important ...bringing chocolate, either in pure form or as a major ingredient in something.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho.

It drives me nuts when students sit at the nurse's station working on their care plans. That can be done at home, they're at the hospital for a reason and that is to work and learn. I've had very few students that work like if on the payroll. They offer to give baths and have initiative to do other things other than sit around for 6 hours. ugh!

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Specializes in pediatrics, public health.

I worked with students at my last job, at a peds hospital. Being a relatively new nurse myself, I felt that I was very sympathetic to students, and I really enjoyed working with them.

Having said that, here's my list of annoying things that SOME (not all) students did:

1) Showed up late and, worse yet, didn't even apologize. Expected to still be able to jump in and do patient care, and expected me to give her report and tell her what to do! For heaven's sake, show up on time, or at least apologize for being late!

2) Didn't know what they were allowed or not allowed to do -- had to go ask the instructor if they were giving meds that day, half an hour into the shift. You should know this in advance. I didn't care if students were or were not giving meds, but I needed to know, and you should know before you get there!

3) Took all the chairs in the report room/at nurses station. Let the nurses sit first, then if there's any extra chairs, go ahead and sit (I always did this in nursing school). I developed plantar fasciitis and my feet always hurt like hell -- having to stand always put me in a grumpy mood.

4) Took the charts into another room and didn't leave a note (as they are asked to do) saying where it was.

What I appreciated was students who showed up prepared and ready and eager to jump in and do the work. Even if you know you're not going into peds, you can still learn something from the rotation, if you have the right attitude.

Good luck!

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Specializes in ED.

I hope these nursing students you speak of are brand new to nursing, work, life.

As for my classmates we were all working Fulltime in college full-time and sleeping seeing our families No- time soon

The 70s and 80s are long gone. Most of us work. And go to school. And yes I did homework. /. The 3-4 pounds of clinical paperwork. Right there at clinicals. I call that time management. If the schools really wanted us to be with the patients. The homework would be one question. What did you do for patient care today.

I graduated with one individual that I never saw touch a patient but their paperwork was flawless and complete.

And yes we had our share if know it alls and they graduated too

And it seemed to me that for most nurse we were in the way. Slowing the flow. Etc

In the Back of my rig. I see each paramedic student as a welcome site, extra hands, a vessel to fill with my knowledge and experience. Helping those that follow. With my lessons learned. Not as a burden or hinderance.

Nursing students as a rule are scared stiff so they tend to clunk together. Fir safety Sorry we ruined your day.

Maybe Nursing would be more respected as a profession. If they treated each other with the respect they seek from health care providers and the public

Just a thought

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Specializes in Surgical/MedSurg/Oncology/Hospice.

I love having students, they're very helpful and I enjoy teaching...however, my biggest pet peave is when I'm charting at the nursing station and there's a group of 2-5 students standing at the desk chattering away to one another, makes it hard for me to concentrate of charting correctly. We have a break room, a report room and a conference room...please take your various conversations somewhere else so the RN's who are charting or trying to talk to the physicians on the phone can hear themselves think!

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Annoying: gathering as a group in the nurses' station, not putting charts back where you found them, doing homework while at clinicals.

Appreciation for : students who are eager to learn, eager to help with pt care.

I know there is "safety in numbers" but it is humorous when I ask a student to take vital signs and 4 go into a pt room! It is also overwhelming to pts and can be a violation of their privacy when you are doing say a cath and 6 students show up!

As a prior nursing student, our clinical instructors wanted mulitples of us to go in when a cath was being done, especially if we hadn't seen it or done it...........

The annoyances, ok - agree with ya there, but the humorous items under "appreciation for"......unfortunately we have to do as we're told...........we have ALL been there!:rolleyes:

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And what do we do that you like/appreciate? I'm kind of worried that just my being there (and sort of "in the way") will be enough to drive the nurses bonkers. Anything we can do to make it better for you?

Just show up with donuts.

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