VENT/Advice on how to succeed in med/surg 2?

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Specializes in ICU.

This week was tough in clinical.

There are many students on the floor this year each covering multiple patients. And there is only 1 instructor to help pass meds and perform procedures which we are not allowed to do alone. The nurses are supervising students and want to be filled in on things. And in return for sharing their patients they expect that the basic care and meds will be done before you leave. The instructor wants to be filled in on everything and be part of most activities but with 8 patients and 1 instructor it doesn't feel like there is enough time. I'm having trouble being successful accomplishing a lot of tasks in just 2-3 hours time for multiple patients and I feel like I have to learn to better cluster care that must be given while the instructor is watching instead of clustering care logically (ie a med applied to a yeast infection during the bed bath instead of 45 min later when the instructor was available).

Any advice on making good use of time and completing goals when you can't get the professor's time? Or am I just going to look incompetent for the rest of the year until I graduate and have the ability to assess, intervene and evaluate alone??? HELP!

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Cardiac, ICU.

You mean you have to give every single med with your instructor? We do our skills in the lab and then we do them in clinicals. After the instructor sees us do it, then all we do is verify any amounts with them and then go give it.

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Specializes in Palliative Care, NICU/NNP.
This week was tough in clinical.

Although I went to school decades ago, and nursing wasn't this complicated I can appreciate how you feel. We have students come to our small unit with an instructor that covers both ends of the building!

Some instructors pull the meds out of the Pyxis for the students but then they want the RN to sign for them when she probably wasn't in the room.

Everyone wants the chart, the Pyxis, room to chart and it is a hassle but having helped educate a nursing student is a nice thing.

So, the floor nurses like to help the students but we also realize that one instructor per multiple students is not a ideal way to teach a student.

So, the moral of the story is to hang in there. I'm afraid that this is just the way it is in a lot of places but when you get through the program you'll have a mentor at your new job. Best!

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Specializes in OB.

I have one instructor, 12 students on 3 different floors. this is what I do

Look up your meds, do your assessments. Write down the vitals, Bsugars. Go back to the med room, with your mar, get your drugs ready ( if you can access them) know what they are for, why and how much. WHen they are totally ready(FOR ALL OF YOUR PTS) then ask your instructor to come check them over. I keep them straight without mix up by placing the meds with the MAR they go with. you have one call to the instructor instead of several

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Specializes in NICU, High-Risk L&D, IBCLC.
I have one instructor, 12 students on 3 different floors. this is what I do

Look up your meds, do your assessments. Write down the vitals, Bsugars. Go back to the med room, with your mar, get your drugs ready ( if you can access them) know what they are for, why and how much. WHen they are totally ready(FOR ALL OF YOUR PTS) then ask your instructor to come check them over. I keep them straight without mix up by placing the meds with the MAR they go with. you have one call to the instructor instead of several

I agree completely. I always made sure to have all assessments done before trying to track down the instructor for med passes. If she was busy with another student, I would tell her I would be back at such-and-such time, then go back in with the patient and start doing care, charting, whatever I had time for. Not the most ideal way to do things (and many times I would be late on meds because I was waiting on the instructor), but when it was time to leave the floor I always had everything done....while some classmates were rushing around doing charting or whatever because they sat around and waited for the instructor. As nurses, we'll have to use all of our time wisely - might as well start practicing now!

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Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.

Wow our clinical groups have 5-6 people in them. Each group has it's own instructor. There have been times I wanted the instructor to come over but had to wait because she was with somebody. I haven't complained about the group size...but now I know not to. I can't imagine many more then 5-6 with 1 instructor.

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Specializes in ICU.

Thanks to everybody for the replies. I can't wait for the day when we don't need the instructor's watchful eye to provide meds and care. I'm grateful my instructor is on the same floor with us at least though! Unfortunately we're not allowed in the med room WITHOUT the instructor present... otherwise setting all the meds and then calling her would've been a great timesaver! In the meantime I'll try to cluster as much care as possible and write down all my questions/checks for the instructor so that I can quickly fireoff to her when I get her attention for 5 minutes.

Good luck to everyone!

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

here's some information on organizing and prioritizing. the first thing i would start doing is making a list of the things you have to do and arranging it in order of the most important at the top.

http://www.ehow.com/how_3812_make-list.html - how to make a todo list

http://www.ehow.com/how_948_manage-time.html - how to manage your time

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newmn_hte.htm - time management from mind tools

http://www.time-management-guide.com/prioritizing.html - prioritizing effectively

http://www.ecomhelp.com/kb/inspiration/kb_prioritizing-your-day.htm - prioritizing your day to accomplish more. again, another site for business, but the principles for nursing are there and sound.

you have to make a determination and distinction between which tasks are important and those that are urgent. now, for nurses, this can change at a moment's notice. something that was not so important an hour ago can suddenly become urgent. so, you need to have a little group of questions to ask yourself when deciding what you should be doing and when.

  • what is the most important thing for me to be doing right now?
  • what deadlines have i got? if deadlines are now then they win. is your deadline negotiable? can you buy extra time and do it later? (see the link below about procrastination.) if the deadline is non-negotiable, stop what you are doing and go do it.
  • what happens if i don't do this? (this is the most frequently asked time management question) question the value of everything you do and how you do it. think through your routine tasks or tasks that simply take too much time - are you doing them for a reason or from habit? is this important? is this urgent? do i have to do this? can i do this differently?

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