treatment of students-venting

[nursejllrn]

How are you treated at clinicals by staff? I find the nurses treat us well while the unit clerks and some of the unlicensed assistive personal treat us like crap. What's up with that? Are they jealous because we are making something of ourselves and they are working for $7.00 an hour? For example one of my fellow students saw a newspaper on the desk and just leaned over to look at a picture of a wrecked car and lightly put her fingers on the paper(didn't move it or pick it up) and the unit clerk said loudly "Uh Uh" while shaking her head no and snatched the paper away! "That's my paper!" I was shocked. My friend was embarassed and upset to say the least. Then today I was going to sit in an empty chair for like two seconds to chart vital signs and apparantly it was the unit clerks chair(different floor and different unit clerk) and cleared her throat loudly"UHM UHM" and gave me a DIRTY look while shaking her head no. You know like a was a "bad little girl" ( I happen to be 43 years old and don't appreciate being treated like a child) I said "Sorry but I was only going to be here long enough to chart vital signs." She walked over and slid her chair under the desk while never speaking a word to me. I don't understand how they think being a student makes us inferior human beings. I ALWAYS get up and offer my chair if a doctor or staff member comes anywhere near me while I'm charting and alot of the time I just stand up to chart. I would never want to get in anyone's way of doing there job. I just want to be treated with the same respect as any human being. Well I console myself with the fact that I will not be a student forever and I have an EXCELLENT memory!!!

[DaFreak71]

I know the nurses have a lot to do as do the CNAs but we're all in it together, I think. I had the nurse from the hot place down under this week. She looked right through me when I spoke to her and didn't acknowledge me speaking. I kindly asked her if she would "when you have time, check on my patient because she is requesting pain medication" and proceeded to rate the pain, etc. for her. She said "I'll check when I get ready to check and not before." Said pt had pain med ordered q2h and it had been 3.5 h. since last dose and pt was still waiting when I left. Instructor said RN had "personal problems" and there were other things going on. The point is, that patient needed assistance and didn't get it. I wasn't able to give IV meds yet and no one would help her. I felt so bad. Those types of RNs give nurses a bad name. Yes, I know students are just one more thing for them to deal with but we do a lot, assessing the patient, all the charting when we are there with the exception of given IV meds, bed baths, lunches, all the total care. One would think, they would be happy to have us help out especially when they are short handed. I will never, ever, treat a student nurse like a problem when I've got my RNs. It's a team effort, plain and simple. And yes, even though she wasn't kind to say the least, when I left the floor to give report, I said to her "Thanks for letting me work with you today." Ok, I will admit I hope I don't have to do it again but . . . .

You post brings up a good point. As student nurses, we are helping the RN's and the CNA's by being on the floor. We bathe, do meds, assess, do personal care, chart, bandage, etc. If the RN's and CNA's are so horribly busy when they have 10 nursing students on the floor doing all this basic care, what would they do without us? I suppose ten patients every Thursday and Friday would go without bathing, meds, bandaging, assessments, etc.

I have never had a clinical shift where I wasn't able to get everything for my patient done and still be able to have time left over to assist (or at least offer to assist) my classmates with anything they might need.

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

Speaking up for the little person I want to give my . How much experience do you have working with doctors in a clinical setting? It does not sound to me like you have very much, if any at all.

I doubt the clerk is jealous of either you or your friends. Some people have NO DESIRE TO BE NURSES. The clerk corrected your behavior and was not polite. But the two of you were not polite either. You and your friend were very very rude.

First your friend was touching papers on her desk. Even if it was just a newspaper that should have been off limits to you two. If anything comes up missing or is a violation of confidentiality or HIPPA, it is her behind and not yours.

Secondly, you sat down in her seat. It is not her problem you have nowhere to sit. No one should have to tell you to stay out of people's workspace. Use some maturity and discretion when working in other people's space.

Lastly, if you think the clerk being chewed out by the doctor was any indication that "what goes around comes around" then you are in for a shock. If you work in a clinical setting directly with doctors you are going to get your share of being chewed out (notice how I did not write the word "fair").

In any case, I do agree that what goes around comes around. Since you and your friend do not realize you were being rude to the clerk, then some day you will have rude student nurses violate your workspace then run off and post it on the internet as a "poor me" scenario. Maybe then you two will understand?

This woman - the OP - is 43 years old. I doubt that she was intending to be 'very, very rude' when she sat in an obviously empty chair. And it appears that this newspaper was sitting on a desk in plain view - this was not HIPAA-protected material, it was a NEWSPAPER that apparently the student didn't even TOUCH. (And if, as you pointed out, it HAD been HIPAA material, I would have reported the unit clerk to my clinical instructor myself for having it lying out in plain view. Sorry - that happens to be the law.)

This has been blown out of proportion - and not just by the rude staff, who were EXTREMELY rude and extremely childish. What a wonderful, professional example to set for students.

I don't blame the OP for wanting to vent - but I think she's been judged a bit too quickly. Maybe some of her thoughts weren't charitable, but maybe she'd just had enough.

I too happen to believe what goes around comes around - as long as we all realize it's a two-way street. I'm sure I've gotten mine for stupid stuff I've done myself....I feel safe in saying we ALL have at one time or another.

[BlueEyedRN]

Thanks for this perspective...having only spent 3 full days in clinicals and just going into my 7th (?) week, it's great to have this insight....I will try also to be more understanding....

I will also try to do a better job of communicating to my RN what I'm doing, but basically I'm in assessment, vitals, and now meds mode only....oh, and baths & changing bed.....and the meds are only done under the supervision of my instructor....

And we do kind of tend to conglomerate when we're done the above and don't get any more direction or interaction from the CNA or RN (we're the only ones we feel safe with!!)....but there's not a one of us who comments on any dr's...heck, we don't even know who they are yet...but then our group as a whole it a bit older, mostly married, and maybe scared to death to even LOOK at an M.D. at this point!! :)

Thanks again....food for thought next time I'm at the hospital!!

And I really will try to be more accommodating towards students. It's already gotten easier since the first couple of days. I know that there are excellent students who are willing to learn and spend their whole clinical day working their tails off. I was one. :) One particular day I was kind of getting panicky and it seemed like all the students were in the way, but I should have just calmed down and thought about what a neat experience it would be for them to participate in what was going on. Even when patients are coding, students can be in the room without getting in the way. So, yeah, even new nurses need to be nice and there are no excuses. It's so much easier to see how you should act after the fact, hey? We haven't had students for a little while and I kind of regret being a jerk. Sorry. And the neurosurgeon is gorgeous. It isn't just the students that talk about him. :) Thanks for listening.