Nursing Students in Home Health...who would of thought?

[DutchgirlRN]

We've been having BSN nursing students ride with us for the past 3 weeks and will be with us for another 6 weeks. I have thoroughly enjoyed having the students ride with me. Yesterday I had a recert visit to do on a patient with advanced ALS, vent dependent, J-tube, foley, PICC line and port-a-cath. One student jumped up "I'm going with you"!!!! I let her do the assessment which she really nailed and let her change the PICC drsg and she nailed that too. She was soooo excited. She wants to work in ICU after graduation this May. Said this is the closest I've gotten to an ICU type patient. She desperately wanted to suction the patient but the pt didn't need it. These students have been such a joy to have around. I never realized nursing students rotated through HH. I'm glad they do!!

[purplemania, BSN, RN]

NOt every school does this but the value is the student sees how independent critical thinking is applied. Glad you were so willing to teach!

[HappyNurse2005, RN]

When i was in my ADN program, we had no home health clinical experience. Same ADN program, 2 years later, is now doing home health. i think its great and wish i could have done it. as acute care nurses we often send people home with home health but maybe dont always understand what goes on.

[TigerGalLE, BSN, RN]

It is so nice to hear from nurses who are excited to have students! I just graduated in December and sometimes the nurses were great and sometimes the nurses seemed so annoyed by us. I loved my community clinical. We rotated through hospice, home health, the health department, and school nursing. I really learned a lot and extremely enjoyed the autonomy of home health nurses.

[caliotter3]

I attempted to get one of my mgrs interested in establishing a contract with my school for hh nrsg stdt clinicals, but nobody wanted to be bothered. Used the liability excuse without even discussing the details (several competitors in the area sponsor students so obviously there is an answer to the liability issue). Then they wonder why they have a hard time finding employees. Every clinical rotation I went to while in nrsg school established relationships w/students that sometimes led to job prospects. And I loved my hh clinicals.