Had my first bad clinical experience - L&D

[FiremedicMike, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

My overall clinical experience has been great.  I've not been treated bad at all, word quickly gets around that I have a lot of experience as a medic, and the nurses have always treated me very well and involve me in everything that is going on.

This week I had L&D.. unfortunately due to covid we only get 1 shift in L&D and the rest are in postpartum.  On arriving to the L&D unit, my school preceptor introduced me to the charge nurse who immediately ignored me and continued to actively pretend I was invisible for the entire shift.  At one point I actually asked her a question from 2 feet away and she literally ignored me and didn't answer.  In the last hour of my shift, she even had a delivery of one of her own patients and didn't bother to even tell me it was impending, and certainly didn't come get me.

Thankfully the rest of the L&D nurses and docs were awesome and involved me in 2 other deliveries including a pretty extensive PPH resuscitation (she made it).

Don't know if it was because I was a man or not, don't really care to make that distinction, just crazy that she'd take a charge nurse position on an L&D unit and not prepared or willing to have students.  L&D is literally a student rotation for every single healthcare school on the planet.. EMTs, medics, LPNs, RNs, medical students, NP/PA students.  If you don't like students, find a different unit. 

 

[cyc0sys]

Sorry to hear that. I didn't even get to do L&D because I was a male nurse and the patients had the option to choose if I was allowed on the floor. They elected not to allow me on the floor and I was sent to NICU for that portion of clinicals.

I got the cold shoulder treatment from my preceptor and the rest of the staff at the NICU much like you did on L&D. Since no one told me what to do or would even answer my questions. I took the initiative to change, feed, and rotated babies in and out of the Mamaroos.

One of the nurses came in to scold me but stopped after she realized that I reviewed that charts, feeding schedules, and was recording the weights as well as the I&Os. I wasn't going to stand around doing nothing while the NICU nurses gossiped and shopped on their phones with NAS babies incessantly crying.

The other rotations at this University ran facility were about the same. I got jammed up by one of my preceptors for holding Lovenox for a patient with an epidural on Med/Surg even after I explained the risks. They had to call the Dr. and he supported my decision for holding the medication. It didn't help me make any friends during the rest of the clinical rotation. They watched me and waited for a mistake.

I was a medic prior to becoming a nurse. You're going to see and hear a lot of things that will make you question your decision to be a nurse. Some of those thing will because you're working in a female dominated field.(I had to restraint another nurse's altered mental status postop patient because she was scared.) Some will be related to the fact you were a medic. (I had to pull my ADON off a non-responsive breathing patient because she insisted on performing high quality CPR.) Do not let those things deter you.

I've worked with some really good nurses, both female and male. I would suggest you consider a specialty such as Cath Lab, OR, or PICU/ICU. Night shift are less drama filled. 

Best of luck my friend. 

[bitter_betsy, BSN]

While it may not be fair... right now many nurses are struggling. Covid is killing any drive that we may have had a one point. Students are coming in and because they haven't touched a patient up to this point - they quite literally don't know how to do anything - can't even take a temperature or spike a bag.  So sometimes students are really a time suck when we are short staffed and already don't have enough time.  Clinical instructors are supposed to stay with the students and for whatever reason - don't.

None of it is justified by either side - but that's where we are.  Keep in mind - L&D is probably not your long term choice.  If it is - more power to you because even as a female - I don't want to deal with screaming women.

Take what you learned and move on.  When you graduate things will be different.  I love the guys that I work with.  I admit that I use them frequently to help when I need their strength, but I'm also good about doing things for them that they would prefer not to do (ie foleys on females). You work together to get things done.  Nursing school is not real life.  Just get through school - and then settle into life where ever you decide to land in nursing. 

 

Good Luck!!

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

16 hours ago, cyc0sys said:

I got the cold shoulder treatment from my preceptor and the rest of the staff at the NICU much like you did on L&D. Since no one told me what to do or would even answer my questions. I took the initiative to change, feed, and rotated babies in and out of the Mamaroos.

One of the nurses came in to scold me but stopped after she realized that I reviewed that charts, feeding schedules, and was recording the weights as well as the I&Os. I wasn't going to stand around doing nothing while the NICU nurses gossiped and shopped on their phones with NAS babies incessantly crying.

While I am not going to deny that I have had my own experience of nurses gossiping while alarms are going off and babies crying, that has nothing to do with you being a male. You will find these types of NICU nurses at the Lvl I & II NICUs in which you have a very small unit with nurses that have been there 20 yrs and little has changed in the way things are done for the past 20 yrs. They want to do a couple assessments, feed some babies and collect their paycheck. Lvl III and IV NICUs are male friendly. Neither me nor my 2 male coworkers have dealt with any issues of being a male NICU nurse.

I got the typical male experience in Maternity class in nursing school, sit around and do nothing. My rotation into the NICU was the origin of switching from wanting adult ICU to NICU. If it wasn't for the Maternity clinical experience, I would be in Adult ICU dealing with Covid patients and experiencing burnout instead of working in a Covid-free unit.

[cyc0sys]

1 hour ago, NICU Guy said:

While I am not going to deny that I have had my own experience of nurses gossiping while alarms are going off and babies crying, that has nothing to do with you being a male. You will find these types of NICU nurses at the Lvl I & II NICUs in which you have a very small unit with nurses that have been there 20 yrs and little has changed in the way things are done for the past 20 yrs. They want to do a couple assessments, feed some babies and collect their paycheck. Lvl III and IV NICUs are male friendly. Neither me nor my 2 male coworkers have dealt with any issues of being a male NICU nurse.

I got the typical male experience in Maternity class in nursing school, sit around and do nothing. My rotation into the NICU was the origin of switching from wanting adult ICU to NICU. If it wasn't for the Maternity clinical experience, I would be in Adult ICU dealing with Covid patients and experiencing burnout instead of working in a Covid-free unit.

I never said it had anything to do with being male nurse. I thought it was wasting time when they could've been providing education and teaching. You know, the reason I was there for clinicals at a teaching hospital. Not to mention the fact it's highly unprofessional behavior. 

That type of thing wouldn't fly if you're transporting a patient or even waiting for a clear scene as a medic. Your head is either in the game or not. If you sole purpose for being somewhere is just to collect a pay check and do the minimum amount of work possible. You're probably too comfortable and in the wrong job.

[Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN]

On 9/18/2021 at 5:29 PM, FiremedicMike said:

just crazy that she'd take a charge nurse position on an L&D unit and not prepared or willing to have students.

Hold up ,being charge is not a voluntary position unless you were hired as such. Nurses do not like it because you have all the extra work and none of the power. Did you look at the assignment sheet and see what everyone was responsible for? Students bring freshness to the unit when they are engaged in seeking info and experience, unfortunately in some large centers there is a daily flow of students from different schools just  being dumped there by lazy teachers, and nurses can get tired .Head up ,get with it ,try your best.

 

[Tegridy]

Forget it happened and just move on, the meat isn't worth the battle.

[gemswanson90]

Keep your chin up, be grateful that once you are done with that shift and rotation, that person will be out of your life.  It happens!!  Since it was your first unpleasant experience with clinicals, I'm sure it was an unexpected shock.  When you feel like telling someone off or bad-mouthing them...keep your goals in mind~Always!! What is the goal of being in nursing school and being treated like a fraternity pledge during hazing week?  That's Right.  To get your nursing degree and help optimize people's lives.  That nasty old hag will be out of your life in a few weeks or months...just think...all the other employees...they have to live with that...shift after shift.  Thank Your Lucky Stars!  Now you know where NOT to apply for a job.  Suck up to the witch, kill her with kindness, do what you need to do to keep moving forward. Heck, bake some cookies and put her name on the cellophane wrapper and say...from "..you"...to..."her...(the witch but do not write that!!)... She is inconsequential in the larger scope of your life.  Welcome to Nursing!  

[RuralMOSchoolRN, ADN, RN]

Even if it was a teaching hospital, the clinical instructors for your school should have been on the floor helping facilitate your experience and doing the teaching.  Floor nurses in any department don't get paid extra to do their workload and teach students-that is why there are clinical instructors.  There are times where a nurse just wants to get their work done and not have to explain and make things 10x harder/longer on themselves.  I'm really sorry you had a bad experience but it sounds like your clinical instructor should have been more involved in directing you to patient care tasks and educating you if you had questions. 

L&D can be an interesting spot--but as a nurse who also has given birth twice, I denied having a student at the birth--I just wanted my nurse, doctor and husband there.  I did agree to letting them handle my baby in the nursery and postpartum care.  But it is a highly stressful, deeply personal situation to be in labor and teaching hospital or not laboring moms deserve the choice or who is in the birthing room.

Hopefully you have more involved instructors in your next clinicals and find your specialty.  

[londonflo]

On 9/22/2021 at 4:04 PM, cyc0sys said:

the patients had the option to choose if I was allowed on the floor.

1) patients cannot decide if you are allowed on the floor. Did you mean in her room?

 

On 9/22/2021 at 4:04 PM, cyc0sys said:

Since no one told me what to do or would even answer my questions. I took the initiative to change, feed, and rotated babies in and out of the Mamaroos.

 2) You had to find out when the babies were last fed or rotated. These actions alone, independent of nursing staff guidance were enough to get you kicked out of the program. I think you did this with guidance from nursing staff but decided to boost what you actually did here for AN and your boast. If you had a baby there; would you want someone who knows nothing about your baby; is an unlicensed nursing student; has contempt for the professional, experienced staff, deciding they know better, feeding, changing and rotating your fragile baby out of the Mamaroos? 

BTW this is how students become unwelcomed from nursing practice sites. I have had students to take it upon themselves to provide care with out instruction and had clinical sites complain and bar further students. 

3) Gender should not come into this. You posts specifically cite gender related stereotypes:

On 9/22/2021 at 4:04 PM, cyc0sys said:

I was a medic prior to becoming a nurse. You're going to see and hear a lot of things that will make you question your decision to be a nurse. Some of those thing will because you're working in a female dominated field.(I had to restraint another nurse's altered mental status postop patient because she was scared.) 

 

On 9/23/2021 at 10:28 AM, cyc0sys said:

I never said it had anything to do with being male nurse.

 

On 9/22/2021 at 4:04 PM, cyc0sys said:

I didn't even get to do L&D because I was a male nurse and the patients had the option to choose if I was allowed on the floor.

 

On 9/22/2021 at 4:04 PM, cyc0sys said:

 I wasn't going to stand around doing nothing while the NICU nurses gossiped and shopped on their phones with NAS babies incessantly crying.

 

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

On 9/23/2021 at 11:28 AM, cyc0sys said:

I never said it had anything to do with being male nurse.

You posted this thread under the Male Student Forum. If was not intended to be a male student issue, you should have posted it the General Students forum.

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

On 9/23/2021 at 11:28 AM, cyc0sys said:

I thought it was wasting time when they could've been providing education and teaching. You know, the reason I was there for clinicals at a teaching hospital. Not to mention the fact it's highly unprofessional behavior. 

You are also misinterpreting the definition of "Teaching Hospital". Teaching hospital is a facility that trains doctors (Residents and Fellows). All hospitals have nursing students, but they are not all Teaching Hospitals. 

Your clinical instructor is solely responsible for your clinical education. The nurses are responsible for patient care. If the nurses agree to have a student shadow them and perform skills, that is their decision. They are under no obligation to educate you. The only time a nurse is solely responsible for the student's education is during a Capstone placement which includes a written agreement between the school and the nurse.  Everything that I allow a Capstone student to do with my patients is my responsibility and under my license. Essentially, I am that student's clinical instructor for those 12-14 shifts.