first 2 days of clinicals eye opener :(

Nursing Students Student Assist

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Ok, so for 6 months I have sat in a classroom and listened to lecture 6 hours a day (m-f). Finally we get to do our very first clinical rotation which is a nursing home. I couldn't be MORE disheartened.

So many of the rules we were taught are broken regularly. The quality of life is what struck me the most. For many..there is NONE.

I am praying that in my next rotation which is a hospital, will be better. I had high hopes of making a difference becoming an LPN, but I felt as if all I have done is maintain a residents basic human needs. Forget about Maslow..it doesn't exist in a nursing home :(

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Specializes in hospice, and home health.

I totally agree with you. I have worked in the nursing homes as well. It is really sad that some families put their family members in these places and just forget them. It truly saddens my heart.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

seeing others breaking rules should only reinforce the difference between good practice and bad practice in your mind. remember that breaking rules is a personal choice. it doesn't say much for the character of those who break the rules, does it? providing a higher quality of life is also a personal choice and a matter of an individual's nursing practice. as an lpn the aides who work under your direction will look to you as an example of how to behave as a caregiver and interact with patients. a nurse can be cold and aloof with patients. or, a nurse can be a nurturer, warm and caring with them.

nursing is the providing of basic human needs--adls. our basic nurses training is to assist patients in performing adls. there is no better training than nursing homes to learn to do this. are you sure you chose the right profession? perhaps you need to reexamine your career choice.

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Specializes in Tele, ICU, ER.

I don't think the OP has to reexamine her career choice. I vividly remember the shock I got at my first clinical, the first 2 weeks of which were in a NH. The OP is hitting the very first of many reality shocks in nursing school, which will hopefully prepare her/him for the even bigger shocks to come as a working nurse.

To the OP: Use what you see and learn to build your OWN personal ethic of care. In every care setting, not just LTC, you will see things that make you cringe, you will see rules being broken or ignored, and you will see patients that make you want to cry. You will learn to protect your patients as best you can, give the very best care YOU can, and work, within your frame, to change what you can.

Nursing school is all about culture shock, besides the actual science you learn. You will eventually learn that you can't solve every problem on your own, just like you can't provide every homeless person with a house or a meal even though you truly WANT to.

Keep heart and learn to be the BEST nurse you can be - and encourage your classmates as well. There are so many things you will be able to do, as a nurse, to improve the quality of life of people. You will also learn that some patients' quality of life IS at it's maximum and there truly is nothing more you can do. That one was hard for me to accept. Still is.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

i've been a nurse for a long time. i know that there is a big difference between the culture shock of discovering the true nature of the nursing business and the idealistic view which is often why most people chose the profession. however, i do not particularly care to work with other nurses who whine and complain about the conditions in which, and under which, we work. if they don't like it then they should find another type of work to do, but don't make my day miserable because you are miserable. i have always been interested in the character shown by a person when i was interviewing them for hire. quality of care starts with each individual. if each individual doesn't have the resolve and strength to say, "i can do better", "i will do better", "let me show you what i can do", which demonstrates a positive approach, then i'm not much interested in them as a nurse or an employee. this is how a person proves their dedication and devotion to a career. nursing care also starts with knowing exactly what the words "nursing care" mean. at it's most basic meaning it has to do with helping provide other humans with basic human needs. if a person isn't willing to do that, or have the open-mindedness to consider doing it, then why be in nursing? because that is the foundation of this profession, not the glorified procedures that we are trained to do. those are merely tasks. the nature of a true calling to nursing is what each of us feels for other human beings in our heart. and, if the compassion and drive to help them just isn't there then this is not the profession to be in.

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Specializes in Peds Urology,primary care, hem/onc.

I learned a very valuable lesson in nursing school that has helped me throughout my career. Whether you are in clinicals, in orientation, or working..... you are going to see good and bad practice wherever you are. Each situation you are in, take the good that you see and add it to your practice and take the bad that you see as an example of what not to do. Seeing less than ideal practice can be a big learning tool for you as well. Good Luck!

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Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.
I totally agree with you. I have worked in the nursing homes as well. It is really sad that some families put their family members in these places and just forget them. It truly saddens my heart.

It is sad. Keep in mind though, that the sweet little old man whose children live down the street and never visit, may have beaten the hell out of them or molested them their whole lives. It is easy to pass jugdement on families, but remember, you don't always know the whole story. I work in a facility for dementia patients, and at least 50% of the residents' dementia is drug and alcohol related. So yeah, their families don't see them often.

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Nursing IS the providing of basic human needs--ADLs. Our basic nurses training is to assist patients in performing ADLs. There is no better training than nursing homes to learn to do this. Are you sure you chose the right profession? Perhaps you need to reexamine your career choice.

I am not sure exactly why I felt so hurt reading what you posted. But I did. Truth is, I always thought that being a nurse was MORE than just maintaining someone existence. I witnessed actions that were intentional rule violations, just for convenience. (It's easier to write in the MAR that you gave the med when you are drawing it up then coming back and doing it once you actually did administer it.)

I helped these elderely patients being provided for, ie, bathed, washed, fed, medicated. Then once that is done, they are placed back in their room and left to go to the next resident. It's hard becuase I know that at 39 I am old to be going back to school. But I know that all I can think of is what if that was my mom or dad or brother or even myself? Is that the quality of life I would want?

I was blown away when I asked about the TV in the room of my resident. There was no cable. I inquired and was told that she had cable in her permanent room, but that seeing as she is on the skilled hall, she won't get cable till she returns to her own room, which could be up to 90 days unless the family will pay the cable company to move it. This particular resident couldn't read, so what does she do all day? Stares out the window. There has to be a better way to treat our patients doesn't there?

And as to your comment that I should rethink my profession, maybe it's the emotional side that I am struggling with, but not whether I should be a nurse. I feel helpless to make changes. In reality, I am a lowly lpn student that is a "guest" in this facility. I have absolutly no way to make a change without jeapordizing my clinicals. You comment is abit unfair imo.

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Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

Dear soon_2Bnurse:

It is not a bad thing that you are feeling such distress about the horrendous circumstances you encountered in your very first first clinical. This shows great empathy and compassion, which are essential qualities in nursing. Unfortunately, many nursing homes are horribly understaffed or mostly staffed with unlicensed personnel. In fact, the term "nursing" in "nursing home" is a misnomer as there are very few licensed nurses to be found in the typical LTC facility. Hopefully, the personnel in this institution want to provide quality care, and are probably doing the best they can, given the harsh reality of their practice environment.

Please don't doubt your calling. I was reading a devotion earlier in the week and I think this really applies to you:

Discover your life's assignment

If you watch people who are fulfilling their life's assignment, their motivation is high. They have amazing endurance to overcome obstacles. They are growing and learning. There's real joy in what they do. To miss out on your life's assignment is to miss out on why God made you...

What's my raw material? God has given you a certain temperament and talents, and you have to honor your raw material. What unlocks your compassion? (Sometimes the problem that infuriates you most is the problem you were born to solve.) ...

So let's be clear: you have an assignment. It has to do with what God hard-wired into you... Your life's assignment is something you discover, not something you choose.

© The Word for You Today

Since this situation unlocks your compassion and has moved you so deeply, then it shows you have a heart for the elderly. Perhaps you are called to advocate for better conditions for our elders in LTC. Afterall, just one person with the right focus can effect much positive change and make a big difference in others' lives.

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I did find my LTC rotation to be somewhat sad, but I turned it around. Since us students only have 1-2 patients, we can make the difference for them. There was a lot of extra help around because we were there, so the quality of care increased. I'll never forget my first patients, it's touched me forever.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
I did find my LTC rotation to be somewhat sad, but I turned it around. Since us students only have 1-2 patients, we can make the difference for them. There was a lot of extra help around because we were there, so the quality of care increased. I'll never forget my first patients, it's touched me forever.

I agree, I had to adjust my expectations and find satisfaction in the small things I could do. Don't underestimate the value in giving your patient a really thorough bed bath or documenting a skin discoloration that might be the start of a pressure ulcer. You are a student for now so focus on doing what you can even if it means just sitting and holding someone's hand after you've completed their personal care. I can still picture some of my dear patients that made a huge impression on me as a student.

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Specializes in LDRP.

I think the initial "shock" of nursing is normal--I know my first clinical rotation gave me a huge reality check. It was hard but really opened my eyes!

IMHO, you don't need to rethink your career choice now...you will probably be a lot like me in that, as you learn more through clinicals and lecture, you will constantly reevaluate why you are going into nursing and your perception of nursing itself will change. The cool thing is that you CAN make a difference as a nurse. Yes, even just by performing ADL's. (Of course, the jaded would say I have my rose colored glasses on--but I believe this with my whole heart or I wouldn't be sticking out the hell that is nursing school.) It's ok to come here and post some of those negative feelings...this is a good place to vent, usually.

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