You will still have to wipe butts even as a NURSE !

Nursing Students General Students

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Specializes in LTC.

Yesterday, I was talking to a friend of mine who graduates in May as a RN and since she is head of me in the nursing program I was asking about the second year courses and how they were. I graduate in July 09 but I'll be a LPN and still have two more semesters before getting my RN.

She tells me about theory and then she gets to the clinical part and says : " Don't worry about clinicals, just get your tech to do all the am care... second year you are a " real nurse" and don't have to wipe butts"

That comment made me soooo mad ! :angryfire Yes, I know that in nursing school and as a nurse we can delegate to the techs to provide AM care and etc. but to say that we don't have to wipe butts as a second year student or nurse is absurb. As a nurse and especially a student we are responsible for our patients and we have to make sure they are cleaned. Obviously as a nurse we won't be able to clean up every single patient, due to doing our other nursing duties, however as a nurse I will NEVER let me repeat NEVER feel as though I'm so high and mighty that I can't wipe a butt here and there. I've worked with nurses like this before and its a terrible way to be. I've worked with nurses who'd rather chit chat at the nurses station but when the patient needed a change of linen or to be cleaned up they would just go get the " tech". I've also worked with nurses that took it upon themselves to clean up a patient or to help me clean a patient.

Later that day, I also heard two more nursing students talk about not having to wipe butts as a nurse !

Well I news for you nursing students that feel this way, in bedside nursing yes you will have to clean someone up here and there, and if you don't like it you mind as well get over it now. Yes techs are wonderful because they are able to assist the nurse with these types of duties, however they are busy too and they may not always be able to help clean a patient in time, thus nurses will have to step in.

This just breaks my heart. I can't wait to get out there and start working, I want my techs to know that yes I'm a nurse but I'm also not excused from doing the " dirty" work either.

My mother works in LTC and her techs love her ! Mainly because she helps them out when it comes to bathing. Yes she's busy with her RN duties, however it doesn't take long to help assist with these things. No she doesn't do it on a regular basis and neither will I, however my techs and patients will always know that I'm never above cleaning a soiled patient. :redbeathe

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.

Personally, I don't think nursing school is the time or place for students to learn delegation. Not all students work as nurse's aids, or techs, and need hands on experience, which for some of them is only going to come in nursing school clinical. You would be surprised with how many nurses I used to work with that didn't know how to do blood sugars, but they could just delegate this to the tech. This is unacceptable, IMO. Before being able to delegate a task, a nurse must themselves know how to properly perform a task. Proper skill, is what needs to be learned in nursing school.

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Specializes in LTC.
Personally, I don't think nursing school is the time or place for students to learn delegation. Not all students work as nurse's aids, or techs, and need hands on experience, which for some of them is only going to come in nursing school clinical. You would be surprised with how many nurses I used to work with that didn't know how to do blood sugars, but they could just delegate this to the tech. This is unacceptable, IMO. Before being able to delegate a task, a nurse must themselves know how to properly perform a task. Proper skill, is what needs to be learned in nursing school.

I totally agree with you ! Which is why I was so surprised that in my second clinical rotation my INSTRUCTOR told us that we are supposed to delegate to the techs. I was shocked. At my cc instructors all through the program tell us to delegate AM care and etc. to the techs. This is what one of the girls mention also. I don't listen to my instructors though ( only for this matter)... when I'm at clinicals I let the nurse and tech know what my responsiblities are as a student, which include AM care and etc. You're right I don't believe nursing school is the place for students to delegate anything ! If anything the techs should be delegating to us !

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

I've been a nurse for 15 years and I still wipe butts. It's part of the job in many clinical venues.

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.
I totally agree with you ! Which is why I was so surprised that in my second clinical rotation my INSTRUCTOR told us that we are supposed to delegate to the techs. I was shocked. At my cc instructors all through the program tell us to delegate AM care and etc. to the techs. This is what one of the girls mention also. I don't listen to my instructors though ( only for this matter)... when I'm at clinicals I let the nurse and tech know what my responsiblities are as a student, which include AM care and etc. You're right I don't believe nursing school is the place for students to delegate anything ! If anything the techs should be delegating to us !

If a student is in their last semester (which at most schools is a transitions/internship of sorts), then I could see doing some delegating. Bottom line, though, is a nursing student needs to learn that as a nurse they never need to be opposed to lending a hand with the "dirty work."

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

I think most techs would be majorly PO'd at nursing students bossing them around. :rolleyes: They also don't appreciate seasoned nurses who hunt them down for every clean up job.

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.
Personally, I don't think nursing school is the time or place for students to learn delegation. Not all students work as nurse's aids, or techs, and need hands on experience, which for some of them is only going to come in nursing school clinical.

Student nurses need to practice delegation. It is a part of time management. That being said however, I do not think it should be done until the end of their program after the skills you mentioned have been worked on. I am in a 6 sem BSN program and we just started delegating our last semester. I try to avoid asking the aids for help unless it is for lifting a heavy patient; or asking them to do vitals when you know what is hitting the fan, and only after I worked myself up to a full patient load

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Acute Rehab.

You say that she is graduating this May?? Oh boy, is she in for a surprise!!!

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.
Student nurses need to practice delegation. It is a part of time management. That being said however, I do not think it should be done until the end of their program after the skills you mentioned have been worked on. I am in a 6 sem BSN program and we just started delegating this last semester.

If you read my second post, I basically said that delegation in school should be touched on in the internship/transitions time. I have seen many nurses/nursing students graduate from schools that put more emphasis on delegation and leadership than actual patient care, and these are the nurses that struggle more when they start working in the real world. In the real world, I don't all ways have a PCT working with me. In the real world, sometimes I have to do my own patient care.

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.
If you read my second post, I basically said that delegation in school should be touched on in the internship/transitions time. I have seen many nurses/nursing students graduate from schools that put more emphasis on delegation and leadership than actual patient care, and these are the nurses that struggle more when they start working in the real world. In the real world, I don't all ways have a PCT working with me. In the real world, sometimes I have to do my own patient care.

I agree about the whole patient care thing, some times there are no aids at all; and when there are they are too busy. We were required to use delegation as part of our Leadership and Management course. Delegation is something the nurse has to do, IMO should be included with everything else the student nurse has to do. But I can see how it would be good to have it wait until internship. I hated delegating and avoided it at all costs because I did feel as a student they would be erked at me asking.

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Specializes in ICU, PICC Nurse, Nursing Supervisor.

i don't know been a nurse a long time and i'm still up to my ears in poop...

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The second year (junior) nursing students I work with do all AM care, meds, and vitals. They don't delegate anything to me or other nursing assistants, although a few of the nursing students are very condescending. Ego-tripping? I don't know, but I don't need a nursing student telling me what to do or how to do my job. I work with nurses who help me out a little bit and then there are the nurses who won't help out at all, even for something that only takes 60 seconds. They'll wait 30 min to an hour to ask me to do it. Those are the ones I avoid working with and they usually end up getting one of the slacker nursing assistants.

Tell your friend if she finds a job, she's going to be in a for a very rude awekening. There may be no cna's on the floor or maybe a cna will call off and have to sit. Either way she'll have to wipe someone's behind. And if a nurse thinks she's too good do clean someone, I wouldn't want her for a nurse at all.

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