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Discussion

Finding faults

I started a new rotation recently. Im working with 2-4 nurses on a regular basis, however im meant to be learning form them and theres a lot that i do not like/deem appropriate about their actions.

For instance: 1) Going into isolation rooms without the proper precautions- gowns, gloves, alcohol wipes (fine if in emergency but its not)

2) Ignoring patients who are in pain becuase they do not understand their pain (ive gone to someone else to get meds administered for these patients)

3) Being unnecessarily rough with patients

4) Ignoring patients needs, tutting at them, saying OH God not again when someone asks for a commode/needs assistance to transfer/getting over major surgery

5) Ignoring me when i try to give a handover of important information that i then have to write out clearly in the nursing notes for oncoming night staff.

6) Not disposing of sharps correctly proposing serious health risks to others

7) Not washing hands in between patient care

I see these nurses and know exactly what i dont want to be like but i want to have some way of improving the situation for the patients/ infection control/ staff safety and i dont know where to start. As its only my second/third week i dont want to go **** stirring and the ward manager isnt exactly approachable. Ideas? Thanks

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one of my clinical rotations was like this. some of my classmates and i spoke with my instructor who arranged a meeting with the DON. nothing was done about it except the attitudes from the nurses got worse.

one nurse flung a patients leg up on a dirty trash can on the bed and did a sterile dressing change, saying "oh well, they're gonna cut it off anyway".

another nurse had a patient die and ripped off all the dressings she had in place during post mortem, causing the patient to bleed and bruise, and said "oops, dead people don't usually bleed."

another nurse gave the patient an enema, let the patient squirt stool all over the bed, took her gloves off, put them in the pile of BM, hit the call light for the CNA to come in the room, and walked out.

there are alot of bad nurses out there. but there are also lots and lots and lots of excellent ones. im sorry you had this experience... but learn something from it..... our instructor told us "if you take nothing else away from this.... this is what NOT to do when you become a nurse".

  • Experts

so, you are learning a lot from them, i see. what you are learning is the results of doing those things the wrong way. i think what you are meaning to say is that there is nothing you can do about their wrong doing, right? that takes time, experience and being in a position of authority.

i saw plenty of that, as well, when i was a student and as a young inexperienced nurse. i stuck to my guns and did as i was taught and what was right. i didn't give in to temptation or peer pressure. what will you do? when i became a supervisor and manager i supported nurses like you and i and i did what had to be done to "those other nurses". if you feel you have to do something, report their behavior up the proper chain of command. as a student, your chain of command starts with your instructor; on the job, it is with your immediate supervisor.

  • Author

Thanks, its happened on previous placements too and i waited until the end of the placement to say something. Ill see if things improve during this week and decided whether some things can wait or others need to be dealt with immediately. Ill talk to the other two students that are with me and see what they think too, at least then it won't just be me that would be saying it back to my instructor. :nurse:

We were told to bring those type of things up in post conference. One of our CIs was in mgmt at the hospital, and if she thought something needed to be discussed with the unit manager, she'd take care of it. Otherwise, we talked about it in post conference and we all learned from it.

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