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

Nurses General Nursing

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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?

Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

Standing around doing nothing. Chatting with fellow students. When you are in nursing school it is important to be friendly and assertive to the staff. Most nurses will teach and show you things if you act interested. When I was in nursing school I might have been assigned to one nurse but I spoke with the charge nurse and the other nurses and asked them to call me if they had anything interesting going on or a procedure to do that I was not familiar with. Even if I could not do the procedure I wanted to see it. Be assertive and get out there and learn everything you can.

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I'm a student nurse (May 2011 cannot come soon enough!) and I work as a tech on a busy floor so I see both sides of the spectrum.

I think its annoying when students:

-DON'T do what they're supposed to do (if you tell me you're getting vitals, then do it AND chart them, because if you don't I'm going to get ******* at).

-DON'T ask me if you're allowed to do something. You should know, and if you don't, ask your instructor.

-DON'T disappear. We have one school that is often on our floor. They come to clinical and only do about 30 minutes of actual work. The rest of the time is spent in OUR conference room eating chips and doing homework.

-DON'T slack. I'm in school too. I work my bottom off at school, clinical, and work. it irks me we're going for the same degree but you loaf around at clinical for 4, 6, 8, 10 hours.

As a nursing student I think a lot of nurses need to remember:

-We don't know everything so don't get irritated if you ask us a question or ask us to do something and we need assistance.

-Don't treat me like a tech/aide. I am hear to learn to be a RN, not to be your b*tch.

-Sometimes my teacher makes me wait to do things. I'd rather not and I know you would rather us not wait, but I don't have a choice and I can't change it.

-I am not a designated bath-giver. One nurse for my Acute Care of Adults clinical told me I was just there to give baths and get vitals. Um, no.

-At the most we are only on your unit for about nine weeks, one (maybe two) days a week for a few hours...that is NOT enough time to know where everything is, how things work, and how situations are handled, please don't get frustrated or angry when I ask questions or don't know where the linen cart is located.

-It's annoying for us to have to stack all of our belonging into a corner in the room but that is ALL your managers give us. I can't help that we do not have lockers or anything and you have to step around my belongings. Talk to management about that.

-PLEASE let me know when you are going to lunch, because it is very frustrating not to know where you are if I have a question or if my teacher needs an answer and I can't give it because you disappeared without letting me know where you were going, when you would be back, and who was covering your assignment.

-If you don't like students, tell our instructor. Most of them will not assign us to your patients then. It's that simple.

-Maybe you got your degree in 1976. It is not 1976 so please refrain from telling me, "I know what your books say, but this is how it's really done" and then do something completely against any sort of evidence-based practice I have been taught and would get in major trouble for doing.

-Sometimes there just isn't room for us, you, the docs, the respiratory therapists, PT, OT, speech, social workers, med students, aides, managers, secretaries, etc...That isn't my fault either.

-Be nice to us and we'll be nice to you in the form of a nice gift of delicious bagels/doughnuts/other dessert and coffee at the end of our rotation.

-Remember, how you treat us really does determine what hospitals we will be applying for, so when you complain about not having enough staff remember that there are buttloads of recent graduated who want jobs, but might be wary of accepting an offer on a floor where they had a terrible clinical experience.

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Specializes in FNP.

I work nights, so I don't deal with SNs a lot, but sometimes. I don't care for this method of education that dumps the SN in my unit w/o their instructor. Back in the day when I was in school, our instructor was by our side all the time. We had little or no contact with staff. That is how I think it should be. I like SNs just fine, but I don't want to be their clinical instructor, and I don't think I should be saddled with that responsibility. I am as nice as can be when I am forced by circumstance to work with SNs, but I want them to know I didn't sign up to teach Nsg school, and I'm not there to teach them, I'm there to do *MY* job, the one I am educated and trained for, the one I was offered and accepted. I'm not a teacher, and I don't want to teach you squat, sorry. So my advice is, if you are given a staff preceptor that may not have volunteered for the job, tread lightly and stay out of the way. If you have the option, go to a school that doesn't dump their responsibilities on hospital staff nurses.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

I can second that one! I read over and over students complaining about nurses on the floors and declaring "it's their job to teach us" (with and without rolleyes).

There were nurses who enjoyed that role and would say things like "I'm going to do xyz wanna come with me?" but if they didn't relate well to students they were-not-to-be-annoyed end of story. It is a PITA for students to wait for the instructor to show up and possibly miss an opportunity, but it was a constant reality in clinicals.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I work nights, so I don't deal with SNs a lot, but sometimes. I don't care for this method of education that dumps the SN in my unit w/o their instructor. Back in the day when I was in school, our instructor was by our side all the time. We had little or no contact with staff. That is how I think it should be. I like SNs just fine, but I don't want to be their clinical instructor, and I don't think I should be saddled with that responsibility. I am as nice as can be when I am forced by circumstance to work with SNs, but I want them to know I didn't sign up to teach Nsg school, and I'm not there to teach them, I'm there to do *MY* job, the one I am educated and trained for, the one I was offered and accepted. I'm not a teacher, and I don't want to teach you squat, sorry. So my advice is, if you are given a staff preceptor that may not have volunteered for the job, tread lightly and stay out of the way. If you have the option, go to a school that doesn't dump their responsibilities on hospital staff nurses.

The day I stopped going out of my way was when I got eyeball rolling when I tried to get a student to go along with me to do a procedure she didn't feel like watching. Giant eyeball roll that she didn't even try to disguise. I am not exactly the teaching type but I did try, and I'll tell you what...that really set me back on my heels. After that, I basically have had nothing to do with students. If other people want to let them tag along, fine. I'm more than happy to just go about my business. I agree 100% with the post above me. Our instructors were always yapping at our heels; we were not dumped on some hapless staff nurse who had to deal with us all day. We were co-assigned with staff nurses but our instructors were always right there.

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It really bothers me, as a student, that there seems to be a mass opinion that all nursing students don't care, don't want to be there, and don't want to learn. I work my tush off and really don't appreciate the generalization. I don't judge all nurses on the bad ones I've encountered, so I wish people wouldn't judge me because of the bad apples.

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I work nights, so I don't deal with SNs a lot, but sometimes. I don't care for this method of education that dumps the SN in my unit w/o their instructor. Back in the day when I was in school, our instructor was by our side all the time. We had little or no contact with staff. That is how I think it should be. I like SNs just fine, but I don't want to be their clinical instructor, and I don't think I should be saddled with that responsibility. I am as nice as can be when I am forced by circumstance to work with SNs, but I want them to know I didn't sign up to teach Nsg school, and I'm not there to teach them, I'm there to do *MY* job, the one I am educated and trained for, the one I was offered and accepted. I'm not a teacher, and I don't want to teach you squat, sorry. So my advice is, if you are given a staff preceptor that may not have volunteered for the job, tread lightly and stay out of the way. If you have the option, go to a school that doesn't dump their responsibilities on hospital staff nurses.

And speaking as a student, I wish you would tell your charge nurse or the clinical instructor that you don't want a student. I wouldn't want to be paired with someone who didn't want me paired with them. It's not helping either of us.

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Specializes in Gerontology.

Perhaps its comments like this:

-Don't treat me like a tech/aide. I am hear to learn to be a RN, not to be your b*tch

and

Maybe you got your degree in 1976. It is not 1976 so please refrain from telling me, "I know what your books say, but this is how it's really done" and then do something completely against any sort of evidence-based practice I have been taught and would get in major trouble for doing.

and

am not a designated bath-giver

That turn me off students. And comments like "I'm not here to do baths". On my unit, we practise total pt care. I may be an RN, but I do baths and diaper changes. What you are missing is that when I am doing the bath, I am also assessing their skin. When I change the diaper, I am assessing their output and hydration. When I walk them to the bathroom, I am assessing their mobility.

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Specializes in acute care med/surg, LTC, orthopedics.

When I was a student, I was a keener. No joke. There was no task considered beneath me, I truly felt doing the smut work a right of passage, and I sucked up my share of it, but this generation of students? I don't know what the schools are feeding them but it seems they're only interested in the "fun" stuff - starting IVs, inserting caths, pulling drains, but ask them to change a brief, empty a K basin or swab a mouth, and immediately the attitude starts, complete with eye rolling, heavy sighs and badmouthing me to their peers. And yes, I'm generalizing based on my own recent experiences, although on the flip side I've had some awesome, keener students as well but those seem to come fewer and farther between.

I had one particular young lady say to me last week, "Oh, I'm only going through nursing school to meet a rich, handsome doctor." :eek: Which by her translation meant "don't expect me to lift a finger 'cause I'm busy cruising the hallways for McDreamy." Good luck with that, sista.

Hey, you wanna tag along with me, do as I tell ya, I'm not paid any more to teach you, but carry your own weight as you're seriously cramping my style, or I'll leave you in my dust..... and we'll get along just fine.

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I guess I'm one of the rare ones, I will help out in anyway that I can. However, I have charting to do, meds to give, assessments, etc. That is where prioritizing and delegating comes in, I have not figured that out(I'm the one that will drop what I am doing to go and help...then I am even further behind..usually meds, grr). Sometimes there is just not enough time in a clinical day to get all the experence that we can before going out on our own. If asked, I will be more than happy to help change a pt, make beds, do baths, assist with taking pt to the bathroom, to a chair, whatever. I usually know if the nurse is stressed out, annoyed with me or is just having a bad day. I try to help in anyway that I can, usually answering call lights and assisting pts to the bathroom. I hope for some instruction, but if they don't have time, that is fine. I am a scrub tech so I have seen quite a bit, but I am more than happy to watch any procedure(even if i have seen dozens), It is very facinating to see a different veiw point as a RN. Please RN's preceptors, don't put all students into one basket, there are a lot of us out there that really enjoy being there and are there for the long haul. Thank you very much for picking your brain when you are frazzled and tired, we really appreciate that :yeah: Sorry about the rambling, I think studying for my cardiac exam is starting to get to me:D

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Perhaps its comments like this:

and

and

That turn me off students. And comments like "I'm not here to do baths". On my unit, we practise total pt care. I may be an RN, but I do baths and diaper changes. What you are missing is that when I am doing the bath, I am also assessing their skin. When I change the diaper, I am assessing their output and hydration. When I walk them to the bathroom, I am assessing their mobility.

I did not say I wouldn't do them. I do not mind, but please do not give me problems if they do not get done. I am not here only for bathing patients. I am here to learn how to be an RN which involves a lot more than bathing, changing, and obtaining vital signs. I want to do a foley or an IV, hang some bags, learn some meds, practice my assessment, learn about disorders and my patients, interact with the care team, finish my care plan, blood draws, understand my pathophys better. I am NOT there ONLY to do basic things. When I graduate I want to be able to say I feel confident in my skills and that I will be able to fine tune the things I learned in nursing school BECAUSE I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THEM, NOT that I'm a really excellent bather. I am not paying thousands upon thousands of dollars every semester for that. I'm sorry, but I am a STUDENT and I understand that we get annoying and in the way, but I am not there just to make your day easier, though I certainly do not mind helping.

My point in this whole post and my previous ones is that respect can go both ways. You're a seasoned professional and I'm a student. That doesn't mean you, as a nurse, get to be unwelcoming to me while I have to go out of my way to please you. Respect is a two way street. I'm there to learn, but it is really hard to WANT to be somewhere when you are obviously unwelcome.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

And the RN on the floor is paid zero extra in most cases to teach you, so it is your school's responsibility to make sure your thousands and thousands of dollars are not wasted doing bed baths all day. If you are not pleased with the situation, demanding respect because it's a two-way street will get you nowhere. The staff nurse shouldn't be rude or verbally abusive, but neither is your education her responsibility and if she seems "unwelcoming" that's just the way some people are.

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