Going to have a student!

[ShayRN]

I love to teach, so when my boss asked me if I would be interested in having a senior student with me for the next 2 months I said YES! So anyway, I met her tonight and she seems very sweet, articulate and smart. So my question to you students is this...what can I do to make her feel comfortable? How can I make this experience a positive one for her and mostly where do I begin? I mean, with new nurses I would just have them follow me for a few days, then slowly increase their responsibiliies. I am only going to have 2 months to show her the ropes. How can I get the most "bang for her buck?" Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[NurseJeanB]

Gosh, I love that you are so excited and willing to have a student. I am about to apply for preceptorship and here are my thoughts on what I would really appreciate from a mentor nurse. #1 Has an attitude that they really want to help the student nurse. I have had nurses in clinical who clearly did not want a student nurse and ignored me, or went ahead and did everything without giving me a chance to do anything. #2 gives the student nurse the opportunities to do procedures. A lot of student nurses have practiced skills in lab, but have not had a chance to do them in real life. #3 Is able to judge the student nurse's confidence level and tailors the amount of instruction towards that. For example, if the student has never put in a foley, the mentor may want to demonstrate one first, then let the student try the next one, or they may want to have the student nurse dive in and put it in with the mentor instructing. #5 Instructs with hospital policy and safety in mind. There are some "shortcuts" that are good to know, but emphasize the activities that are most important for hospital policy and patient safety. For example, I always do this because, it prevents the patient from falling. Never do this, the patient's line can get caught and pull out. etc...

#6 Has patience. Student nurses most likely have not had a lot of practice with each skill and so their confidence level may not be very high and it very likely will take them longer to do things. #7 Seeks learning opportunities.I had a clinical instructor who would quiz me. If I didn't know the answer she never made me feel bad, she would ask further questions that pointed me in the right direction, or she would thoroughly explain the answer. I felt like I learned so much from her. #8. Uses all their resources. One nurse told her coworkers that she had a student nurse so the other nurses would call us over if they were doing an interesting procedure.

I can't tell you how appreciative we student nurses are to mentor nurses who are willing to put up with a student and share some knowledge.