Walking on eggshells at clinicals

Nursing Students General Students

Published

Anyone else feel like this? My group has had a few bad encounters with the RN staff. I feel like we are bothering them and they HATE us. One of them flogged another student on Thursday evening while we were there to get our MAR's and round reports for the next day. One refuses to let us help him. He's needed a BGL, or TED hose, or vitals and when 2 different SN's said "I'll take care of it for you", he's said "no, thanks. I'll find my CNA". So to keep the peace we ask as few questions as possible and stay out of the way. It's in no way a learning experience, for sure. I had one nurse who hung blood on a patient that I was assigned to do vitals for during the transfusion. She hung the blood and left. At the first 15 minute increment, her temp had gone up 3 degrees. I went to look for her to let her know and she had left the floor. She didn't tell anyone she had just hung blood, just left the floor. I asked and they said "Oh, she went upstairs, she'll be back in a few minutes", meanwhile I'm terrified this patient is having a reaction. I've hated every minute of this semester's clinicals and I dread every Friday. :( My clinical instructor said because it's a total joint floor and they are so overworked they are just tired and cranky. I just can't accept that. This is a teaching hospital.

Are you guys having similar problems?

Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
That is very astute of you. If I ever claimed to be an RN, it would be even more astute.

I still have opinions, but if you would rather me not share them, fine. I won't.

So are you suggesting that you want the nurses you work with to treat you like crap? I find it amazing that a student wants to be abused by nurses because you have basically said they should do that.

0 Votes
So are you suggesting that you want the nurses you work with to treat you like crap? I find it amazing that a student wants to be abused by nurses because you have basically said they should do that.

That's exactly what confused me about charlies comments. :confused:

0 Votes
Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Please, let's not personalize the comments/responses.

Thank you.

0 Votes

someone who doesn't want to mentor student nurses shouldn't have to do so, and that being a mentor shouldn't be a burden to that nurse or the floor (as in, the school and the instructor should prepare the unit accordingly through information and staffing)? And no, our precepting nurses do not receive any additional compensation for their teaching time. Precepting a new nurse, yes. A student, no.

I don't see how any of Charlies sentiments are horrible. I think they are true. I also think that maybe there is a lost-in-translation thing going here, where Charlies has a very dry sense of humor (I do, too) and that doesn't always come across on a message board.

I can't see what is wrong with stating that you don't want to teach student nurses, especially when it is a burden to your floor. I agree. I also think that, if there is an issue with nurses treating the students poorly, where the he** is the instructor? This is his/her problem AND responsibility. I think a lot of people here are putting way to much of the responsibility for a good clinical experience on the backs of the nurses and way too little on the instructor and the school. Not to excuse poor or rude behavior--but it shouldn't even happen more than one day before the instructor rectifies the situation by communicating with the floor nursing staff, the director, with her own boss, and ultimately, if necessary, changing the clinical site. There is a binding contract between your school and the clinical site. If the clinical site isn't fulfilling their end of the bargain, then why on earth would your school continue to hold clinicals there?

0 Votes

I also see no post on this thread that explicitly stated or even remotely implied anyone wanting to be treated like crap or that anyone should be treated like crap.

0 Votes

OK im sorry for your situation. I have experienced that along with an instructor who is unsupportive (except with a couple of his students that he for some reason favors). He stuck me with a nurse who was unreceptive, unhelpful, rude to the PATIENT and the list goes on. Well, i complained to the instructor about her and 2 weeks later he sets me up by making me work with her again!!!! I gave up at that point which was unfortunate because its equal to shooting yourself in the foot. What i did in this situation is switched clinical groups (hospital and instructor) and hope for the best with a fresh new start. I wish you all the best with this situation and hope it works out, but i do feel for you.

0 Votes
OK im sorry for your situation. I have experienced that along with an instructor who is unsupportive (except with a couple of his students that he for some reason favors). He stuck me with a nurse who was unreceptive, unhelpful, rude to the PATIENT and the list goes on. Well, i complained to the instructor about her and 2 weeks later he sets me up by making me work with her again!!!! I gave up at that point which was unfortunate because its equal to shooting yourself in the foot. What i did in this situation is switched clinical groups (hospital and instructor) and hope for the best with a fresh new start. I wish you all the best with this situation and hope it works out, but i do feel for you.

bbgrl: Lucky you! The school I went to was so rigid that if you wanted a different group, tough luck! As I read these posts, I ask myself, "What's wrong with some people?" Are they so downright nasty they want to share their misery with others? If I had a nickel for every person in a supervisory position I encountered in school that was a real jerk, I'd be rich. I just don't get it - so much of life is being kind to others. There are nurses who don't want to work with students, but if it's part of the job, then it's part of the job. This thread hit a raw nerve for me because I remember how much unpleasantness I encountered as a student. Only thing I can think of as to why this is so is that there must be a lot of miserable people out there. Life is hard anyway, why make it even worse for some people?

Diahni

0 Votes

Last semester there was a nurse who would always say things like, "when are you guys leaving?", you're in my way" if she walked in when a student or two were in the medication room most likely waiting for the CI to test us before passing meds, "what are you people doing here?", "again?", etc, etc... It was our first semester and second floor that we rotated to. Our CI was informed, and she went to the manager with it who the first couple of times was "too busy" to listen. My CI did not give up and soon we found out that the nurses contract was almost up. Fortunate for next years class-the hospital did not renew her contract. But she really discouraged a few students since we were still new nursing students. At first some people thought that they were the ones doing something wrong, until more students complained and we realized that it was HER that was wrong.

Regarding the post about nurses being informed ahead of time about what students learned already and/or what the focus is on: it's kinda hard to do that with all schools. We started clinicals on the 2nd day of school. Many of our CI's, most of who are also professors, tell us that they want us and the staff that we should do anything that comes our way (of course with their supervision). The skills werent geared towards anything specific just because we may have been on a particular topic in lecture. We had 3 groups in the hospital on different floors simultaneously so its a waste to follow what we were learning about in class and miss opportunities to learn skills. It was a decent experience for me because many of the nurses there were graduates of the school (they LOVE to help and to see their old CI's). Not only that-they know that they are in a teaching hospital. I do understand that we dont know the nurses side of it (and some days they had a 6:1 nurse to pt ratio), but a good number of the nurses did what they could to make it a good experience for themselves and for the students and we got soooo much out of it. It made us communicate, pay attention to each other, not mind having to spend an extra minute on waiting to be guided or guiding a student through a skill, and avoid the nitpicking (except for a few). One nurse even began as a clinical instructor in the same hospital this semester. The hospital that I have clinicals in this semester always welcomes the students from our school over the other schools because we can do more (which goes back to the experience from the 1st semester). There are nurses here that are inquiring about being CI's for our school also. As a medical assistant and cna, I have taught a few nurses things that they didnt know and they appreciated it. I could have started gossip and call them dumb or question their competence but even long after I become a nurse, I will still be learning becasuse new info is being found everyday. So some programs just cant oblige that request.

0 Votes

I'm having the same kind of experience in my clinicals too. I spoke to my instructor about it and she point blank said "Yup, it's because they are annoyed that we're here!" So, that was my answer lol I just try to lay low and kill 'em with kindness! It's a sad thing but I will learn from this experience of how NOT to act with students. :)

0 Votes
I'm having the same kind of experience in my clinicals too. I spoke to my instructor about it and she point blank said "Yup, it's because they are annoyed that we're here!" So, that was my answer lol I just try to lay low and kill 'em with kindness! It's a sad thing but I will learn from this experience of how NOT to act with students. :)

This is really awful - would any other professional training program have "instructors" who don't want to teach you all the while letting you know about it by being nasty? It really is a disgrace, I think

Diahni

0 Votes
+ Add a Comment