i feels awkward!

You could ask about her family....whether she really wanted to sit in a chair for three hours (yikes)...the weather....was she reading, watching t.v....etc. You could ask if there's anything she needed.

I do understand the awkwardness. You don't know her, she doesn't know you. You don't want to offend, etc. But, she's a person just like you. Good luck and it will get easier!

LOL- I remember experiencing exactly the same feeling as a student (eons ago). It took me a while to understand that the nurse-patient relationship is fundamentally different from any other social encounter. Our job requires us to find out as much about the patient as possible. This means we ask about things like .. er . . uh, sexual history , family & support systems, etc. But here's the kicker -- our patients don't mind at all. It seems to me that they have a much clearer understanding than we give them credit for. They don't get upset or embarrassed - they just provide the information because they trust nurses. Talking to your patients makes a human-to-human connection - and this is the basis of a therapeutic relationship

So - you can never go wrong with asking your patients about themselves and their families. You can uncover information about things like: how they feel about illness in general; cultural-specific remedies that they like to use; how they normally decide whether they are 'ill enough' to seek help; whether they intend to adhere to follow-up instructions. . . etc. All of this is relevant to nursing care. There's nothing I enjoy more than getting old-old patients (> 85 yo) to tell me about the world in which they grew up and all the changes they have seen.

Start with some 'canned' questions and then let the conversation go where it wants to. Have fun and appreciate the unique and interesting people you have an opportunity to meet . . . your patients.

Patients, I've found, really want to be talked to in a normal everyday manner. I can remember vividly being left in the room with an 11 yr old cancer patient while my preceptor ran for supplies. I was terrified! Talk about awkward. And I had been a neonatal RN for 8 years but hadn't taken cate of kids let alone terminally I'll kids.

So just take a deep breathe. Think of an ice breaker (a compliment never hurts). I walk in and introduce myself, let them know I'll be their nurse, Ill go over whatever is due that day, antibiotics at 11 and 5pm or your test will be at 12 noon remember not to eat or drink. I'll look around the room for personal momentos, is that your dog, son, husband? After we've warmed up depending on where they are in treatment I'll ask them how they were diagnosed, what they were feeling, how they feel now. I don't hesitate to shard a little humor about my own life but I keep that minimal- mostly as a way to open the door to more communication about them. Remember it's about them and not you. With an older patient I might ask how they ended up hospitaliZed what they'd rather be doing if they weren't hospitalized, what the do for a living or did for a living. It takes time but think if this was my grandma I hadn't seen in years. It gets easier honest.

One reason that schools/instructors may not offer much guidance or modeling on how to carry out the assessment in the real world is that it's not very likely that a working nurse would have the opportunity to observe something several times before doing it oneself. Much will be taught and learned on the fly and nurses will have to determine for themselves what clarification is needed and to judge for themselves if they have understood enough and feel capable to do whatever this new thing is.

Basically, some might argue that students need to demonstrate being okay with uncertainty, awkwardness, & figuring things for themselves in the midst of juggling a bunch of other pressing responsibilities. Some people react to these things by becoming paralyzed, developing a bad attitude, asking for assurance on every little thing they are doing, avoiding the instructor in the hope that their fumbles will go unnoticed, etc.

So in nursing, you're not just learning 'what to do' and 'why you do it' but you are being tested in your coping skills as well. Most nursing schools want to graduate students who can handle certain kinds of stressful situations, so they try to weed out those who don't do well with those stresses but putting them in many stressful situations and seeing how they handle it.

It IS awkward, and you may feel that way for a little while. It does get better, though, so just keep at it.

Our first week of clinicals, I was talking to a CNA on the floor and she asked how far along we are in school. I told her that it was our first week in the hospital, and she said "Oh, no wonder y'all look so lost!" I replied "We definitely ARE!"

Hi there, don't you feel bad!!!

On my first clinical day, I was on a SNU, got report, which I barely understood, and then my instructor gave me a little pet in the back and said go get them tiger!

well I walked in the room with so much enthusiasm, thinking OMG I am becoming a nurse now, so when I got there, I got blank, and said: "h h hi m mm my name is ____ and i will be your student for the day"... so my face flushed, I walked out of the room, went to the bathroom scared for no reason, washed my face, and decided to face it for once!

well it turns around that my patient was a riot and we had so much fun!!!

thank you all for your relpys! i am taking my first clincal as a learning experience...i see now that i AM awkward when speaking with patients and am going to try very hard to work on this..maybe i will do better with a patient who is a little more responsive to me than my last one.. i am going to write down a few little things i can keep in mind when i need to strike up conversation...also things to keep in mind when assesing my patient. i feel like if i plan a little better i will do better and won't seem so awkward! i want to be a good nurse..i want that patient to tell their family that they had a great student nurse that day and want to make a difference in that person's care, so in order to have that i know that i need to change how i act towards my patient. thank you again :redpinkhe

I haven't read all of the posts and advice given but here are a few tips that might be helpful.

It is a little strange at first but after a while it gets much easier. You find things to talk about with your patients. Let them know you have an assignment and wanted to know if you could ask them some questions. Sometimes it may be helpful to have questions already written down that you can use as a reference if you get stuck. You can always ask them about their family, children, grandchildren, spouses, what they did for a living, do they belong to any clubs, what they like to do in their spare time, do they have any pets. The list can go on and on and on. You will get better as time goes by.

I am a second year student almost finished!!!!! It does get easier. I start off with my patient by introducing myself, letting them know I am a student and that I will be taking care of them today. Then before I dive into my assessment I start to ask them questions about how they are feeling. Maybe make a comment or two, ask them about nausea, vomiting, pain. What kind of symptoms they have been having. How they slept is a good one too. Oh and definately ask how they feel about being in the hospital and how they cope with it. Definately good for psychosocial nursing diagnoses for your care plan.

Then I let the patient know I will be checking their vitals and doing a quick assessment on them. If they say that a nurse has already done one I just let them know that as part of being a student I have to do one also. Then ask them if that is alright with them. I haven't gotten a no.

When finished with the assessment you might be able to ask questions about their GI or GU system, pain with urination, constipation, diarrhea, etc. Ask them if they need a snack, something to drink, help to the restroom. If not then be off on your way to chart, ask questions, help other students, CNAs and what not (if you have time). Check on your patient frequently too.

You can get a lot of information by the little 5 minute visits you get with them frequently. Things will change as you go throug school. You will have more responsibilities and need to manage your time better. It may get frustrating and overwhelming at times but keep on plugging through. Remember to ALWAYS ask if you need help or have any questions. Good luck. It will only get harder, better, more fun, more frustrating and a lot more. But remember, it is a LEARNING experience. Don't be too hard on yourself either.