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I'd like to know why students hide in the break room or hide at the nurse's station while call lights are going off and the RNs are running around like chickens w/their heads cut off. They'll even sit right next to a ringing phone while you're in the middle of doing something important. I never did this as a student. And why do they get to the hospital the same time as I do and want report from me instead of listening to it w/the rest of us?

Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.

Perhaps this is something you should discuss with their instructor. Let him or her know what your expectations of students are and see how those fit in with his/her expectations and how to address actions that fall short of these expectations.

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

Uhh. . .because they are lazy and selfish and don't care about teamwork and helping the others around them?

I resolved this problem years ago. I finally decided that I would just ignore these kinds of idiots. If that's the way they want to live their life, let them. I do what I feel is the right thing. If I run around all shift answering lights and going out of my way to do things for others and never get a potty break, I'm OK with it because I give myself permission to do it. I went home at the end of every shift feeling pretty good about things.

If you let these people get to you, it will ruin your work day. Just let them live their little lives as they want just as we live ours as we want. Then, everyone is happy. You can't make anyone do anything they don't want to do unless you are the boss. And, even then, there is only so much pushing you can do.

I feel your frustration, but remember they are there to learn, not ease the load for employees. They aren't getting paid, but working, gratis, while trying to learn enough to complete the program.

Don't get me wrong, though. I'd feel awful if I sat on my lazy butt when there were things that I could be doing!

It is my experience that students are intimidated, especially in the beginning of their clinicals and sometimes just need someone to tell them "Hey, from now on when the phone rings, please answer it." It's pretty simple and often false judgement is passed due to something that was likely just miscommunication or lack there of. Give them a break! We were all there, and some of us :idea: are going back to being one of them!

I know I've never intentionally sat on my rear and ignored anything - on the other hand, I didn't know what the lights above the door meant until probably my fourth week of clinical. No one ever told us. Until I read your post, I didn't know students were allowed to answer the phone - and if I did, what am I supposed to say? How do I put someone on hold? How do I answer the person's questions on the other end? My school just assigns us a preceptor and then checks on us every few hours, and I know that I keep busy the whole time. I'm always happy to help out a nurse or a tech with anything they need - but since I'm still in first semester, I generally don't know what they need unless they ask me. Otherwise I take care of my patient, and if I have "free" time I'll shadow my preceptor, read my patient's chart, or look up his/her patho and meds in the computer. As far as report, we arrive at the hospital before 0630 - but we have preconference in the cafeteria clear across the hospital. We're supposed to be out by 0645, but our instructor often keeps us late. Then we have to get to the opposite side and up several floors. It's usually almost 7, and report is almost over. I then have to report to the charge nurse, who assigns me a preceptor. If he/she isn't finished getting report, I'll take it on the remaining patients, but if my preceptor wants to assign me to someone else, I get report from him/her. It's not that we "want" to get it from our nurse, we just have to get it from someone.

I'm sure there are lazy students out there, but the vast majority of us are excited to be there and very willing to help out and learn anything we can. What about those nurses who "sit on their rears at the nurses' station all day?" Some are probably lazy, but most are doing mandated charting. We also have paperwork that we are required to complete before post-conference, while we're on the floor. I'd rather spent that time with patients, but my CI makes the rules. Still, if I'm working on it I probably have a little down time if you need me to help with something - just ask, I'll be there in a heartbeat. Maybe the school(s) that your hospital works with puts out students who don't care, or maybe they just don't know there's anything else they could be doing to help.

Specializes in ED.
I'd like to know why students hide in the break room or hide at the nurse's station while call lights are going off and the RNs are running around like chickens w/their heads cut off. They'll even sit right next to a ringing phone while you're in the middle of doing something important. I never did this as a student. And why do they get to the hospital the same time as I do and want report from me instead of listening to it w/the rest of us?

This is a pretty generalized view of students... I know that I always answer call lights, (especially if they are my patient). Some students do not answer call lights for other patients and that is because they know nothing about them and probably won't be of much help (don't know if they can get out of bed, eat, etc etc). We are not allowed to answer phones at our clinical site. It woudnt' really make sense to have a student who has just started on the floor to answer a phone when they don't know anything about the unit. It wouldnt' be professional. Many new students do not know the first thing about how a hospital runs and aren't just going to jump in and start answering phones. We have been told we are not to answer phones on the unit at all. Some schools have rules for the students that the nurses aren't aware of. And whether or not students are allowed in report is something that is between the instructor and the charge nurse. I have found that most units don't allow the students into report because in many places it is a small room and 9-10 students would be too many. And so that is why we need to get report from the nurse. It isn't that we wouldn't love to be in report. I would learn so much from it, but the charge nurse doe not let us come. I don't think it is fair to think that all students are like you descibed. I don't know any that hide in the break room. tHey would probably get sent home. Most nurses really appreciate our help during clinical and once we get the hang of how things run, it can be a good thing.

Specializes in SICU/CVICU.

Because they are obviously intimidated. Especially if they are in th beginning of their clinicals. Personally, I would never even think about answering a phone somewhere that I didn't work. I would have NO clue what to say because I don't work there...most likely it will be someone that I don't know asking me a question that I don't know the answer to. I don't think that it is laziness or selfishness.

And I agree with the person above. It isn't a nursing student's job to ease the workload of the nurse. They are there to learn.

I speak only for me and my clinical classmates..we are FORBIDDEN from having any patient contact (toileting, am care, feeding, passing trays, treatments, etc) with any patients other than those assigned to us and our fellow classmates unless our CI says its ok. We routinely do the blood sugars for the whole floor even though not all our our patients, but its ok'd by the instructor. We do the entire floors treatments again, with the ok of the instructor.

I do not answer phones, I don't know the workings of the phone system, paging system etc of the facilities I am at. Never been shown and its never been expected of us to do it. I don't hide in the break room. I am on the floor at all times and can easily be found with my patient or in an area that has been designated by our CI to look through the chart and get the info needed for our paperwork that gets graded. I am always more than willing to pitch in to help the nurses or CNA's out as long as my CI is ok with me doing the things that are needed to do.

I do not answer call lights from the nurses station, again for the reason stated above, I don't know HOW to use their system. We've never been shown and its never been expected of us. However, if I am passing a room with a call light on, I will go in and ask the pt what they need, if its a simple request that I can do without worrying about getting in trouble, I'll do it my self. If its something I know I cannot do (toilet, give a drink..I don't know if this person is NPO or on a thickened liquid diet etc) I'll find a CNA for the pt. If standing at the nurses station (I NEVER sit because know the nurses need the space and the chairs) and I see/hear the call light box go off, I'll find out which room, walk down to it and find out if I can help the pt..if not, again, I will find someone who can.

We are there under the direction of our clinical instructor, not the floor nurse. We cannot do anything anybody says (including the DON) unless its approved by our CI. Its her/his license on the line if we screw up, and our butts on the line too. there are a lot of rules/regulations we have to follow that I am sure the majority of the floor nurses don't realize. We aren't being lazy (ok..some ARE lazy but the majority of us aren't) we are doing or not doing exactly what was told of us.

Most of the places my school goes to know that we aren't allowed to do certain things..ever, other things we can do with autonomy, other things need the OK from the instructor.

It could very well be that these students you are speaking of are also under the same restrictions that I am, and that most student nurses are. Thats not to say that there aren't some VERY lazy student nurses..just as there are some VERY lazy LPN's and RN's.

Specializes in LDRP.
I'd like to know why students hide in the break room or hide at the nurse's station while call lights are going off and the RNs are running around like chickens w/their heads cut off. They'll even sit right next to a ringing phone while you're in the middle of doing something important. I never did this as a student. And why do they get to the hospital the same time as I do and want report from me instead of listening to it w/the rest of us?

I think you may be making generalizations based on what you saw on your floor. Not all students are like this--I know I was not!

Maybe it would be helpful to clarify with the clinical instructor what the students are supposed to be doing. Sounds like there is a lack of communication.

Please be kind to students and remember they are learning--just as you did when you were a student! :) Best wishes!

As a first semester student I can only speak for myself. I am in a whole new world when I step onto a hospital unit. Besides a few basic skills I have learned in lab I don't know what is standard procedure to follow and what is not. I never sit in the break room or at the nurses station, and always keep busy but if a call light went off I don't know that I'd notice it. I am taking in so many new sites and sounds and each week I notice things about the environment that I didn't pick up on the week before. I am the first one to help someone out if needed and if the nurse asked me to answer a call light or do something I would very gladly (and eagerly) do it. I know there are probably some "not so hard working" nursing students, but I would think the majority are just in culture shock and if you asked them, they'd step up to the plate, and be thankful you made them feel useful. I know I would.

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