I could not believe this student I had the other night. I picked up a shift on my old unit (telemetry) and the charge asked me if I minded having a student with me as his preceptor had called off sick. Ofcourse not! I love having students. So, I grab my MAR's, Kardexes and tell him we are going to check them over for mistakes. This usually takes about 30 minutes. In that time, NO LIE, he got 2 text messages and an actual phone call. All of which he took.
When I was done I said are you ready? (I will admit, this was said through clenched teeth) and he said, Yeah. CHECKED HIS PHONE ONE MORE TIME:angryfire Then I said, Good. Because the FIRST thing your going to do is take that phone out of your pocket, put it in your coat and leave it there for the rest of the shift.
OMG! I mean, I will call my husband during my break, but I can't think of anyone I need to talk to while I am at work. It was SOOOO inappropriate. Has anyone else encountered anything like this?
I HATE having to use the cell phone that I am required to carry with me while at work. The call bell system is integrated into it (sort of like a pager) and when that thing goes off, it is so loud it gives me headaches. And of course, it goes off when you've got your hands full or are elbow deep in poop.
I have tried several times to turn down the noise, but not successful. I hate that darn phone.
Not appropriate at all. If you must carry your phone (which I don't), you had better not be answering it when you have work to do. I hate all that texting crap anyway. How did the student react when you said this to him? Did you report him to his instructor? The last time I had a student, I had a few days off during her rotation, and she needed to go with another nurse for a day to get her hours in that week. That nurse had to fill out a substitute preceptor form, and there was a place for comments on it - did you get anything like that? I probably wouldn't make a HUGE deal about it unless he was a jerk after you told him to put it away. Just make some comment like "remember, cell phones are not appropriate in the clinical setting", or something like that.
Now here's my rant: I hate cell phones so much!!! I have one, and I will admit that it is nice in an emergency, but I seriously hate them. I have texting diabled on my phone, and the only reason it has a camera on it is that there were no camera-free models available at the time. People are so inappropriate with them! If people would use some common sense, not to mention common courtesy, we would be n a better place. I am so tired of walking through the grocery store, almost getting hit by carts and being bumped into by people because they are too busy talking on the phone to pay attention to what they're doing. Not to mention their kids, who are running wild all over the place while they chat away. And don't even get me started on talking and driving at the same time. And those dumb bluetooth headsets - we had a pt who I thought might be a little "off" because he was pushing his IV pole around the hallway muttering to himself, but it turns out that he had a bluetooth headset on and was talking on the phone, lol. Okay, sorry, rant over!!
You are right. He needs to be told that cell phones are not to be used in either clinical or the classroom as this is the time to focus solely on learning to be a nurse. I also think it is very rude to the nurse who was willing to take the time to teach him and he should apologize to her.
I agree the student was rude, and it sounds like you handled it appropriately.
However....cell phones are not going to go away any time soon. They are a part of contemporary culture.
I carry my cell phone on my person everywhere, including to work and to clinical. I keep it in silent mode, and never take or make calls or texts while working or in the clinical area. However, when I am on a break, I will check to see if I missed any calls or have any texts. It is much easier for me to do this in the limited amount of break time I get if I keep the phone in my pocket rather than in my locker, where it is inaccessible to me.
I have two young adult daughters, one at home and one away at college, and I worry about them. It is important to me that they be able to contact me at any time. Also, I was in a long distance relationship for two years. Texting was how we communicated. Now that we are together, we continue to text when we are apart.
As an adult human being, I do not expect to be told whether I can or cannot carry my cell phone in my pocket, in silent mode.
Specializes in med-surg, psych, ER, school nurse-CRNP.
I'll admit it, I kept my phone, on vibrate, of course, in my pocket when I worked agency at a local hospital. My hubby worked nights, too, could only call at odd times, and the desk clerk was notorious for not giving messages. If I missed him, it might be hours before he could call again. If he had been hurt (he worked in a mill) I needed to know THEN. No one had a problem with it, and yes, it did ring in rooms at times. I even had patients answer it, they'd hear it buzz and pull it out of my pocket (very small hospital) and say "Angel's phone...oh, yes, she's here, she's getting me my Phenergan." or whatever.
Point is, I was not the only one, no one cared, we kept iPods, too. Now that I am an NP student, the only time I kept my phone was whan my Daddy had had a heart cath and was in the hospital, the preceptor TOLD me to keep it.
I would not work in a place that had a problem with it, I am professional with my phone, but, since I AM agency, often my family gets confused about which number to call, and that phone is it in the event of an emergency. The hospitals know that, and they have never said anything.
In the case of the OP, the student is young, and needs to know that there is a time and a place, and that was NOT it.
Not appropriate at all. If you must carry your phone (which I don't), you had better not be answering it when you have work to do. I hate all that texting crap anyway. How did the student react when you said this to him? Did you report him to his instructor? The last time I had a student, I had a few days off during her rotation, and she needed to go with another nurse for a day to get her hours in that week. That nurse had to fill out a substitute preceptor form, and there was a place for comments on it - did you get anything like that? I probably wouldn't make a HUGE deal about it unless he was a jerk after you told him to put it away. Just make some comment like "remember, cell phones are not appropriate in the clinical setting", or something like that.
Now here's my rant: I hate cell phones so much!!! I have one, and I will admit that it is nice in an emergency, but I seriously hate them. I have texting diabled on my phone, and the only reason it has a camera on it is that there were no camera-free models available at the time. People are so inappropriate with them! If people would use some common sense, not to mention common courtesy, we would be n a better place. I am so tired of walking through the grocery store, almost getting hit by carts and being bumped into by people because they are too busy talking on the phone to pay attention to what they're doing. Not to mention their kids, who are running wild all over the place while they chat away. And don't even get me started on talking and driving at the same time. And those dumb bluetooth headsets - we had a pt who I thought might be a little "off" because he was pushing his IV pole around the hallway muttering to himself, but it turns out that he had a bluetooth headset on and was talking on the phone, lol. Okay, sorry, rant over!!
You sound like me! Mine stays in the bottom of my purse - turned OFF - unless I really need it - and most months I never turn it on.
I lived a whole lifetime before cell phones came out - and we did OK, made it thru and all that. Now I see people who can't seem to function unless they have one plastered to their ear. Sad!
BTW, one of my DIL's just had a serious accident, when a woman on a cell phone pulled out in front of her on the highway. By the time the cops got there, she had it put away, and denied that she had been talking on it at the time.:angryfire
Cell phone courtesy is what is lacking in most cases, IMHO. I was just at the grocery store this morning. there is a serious winter storm warning out so the store was PACKED and almost everyone was on a cell phone. I cannot count the cart collisions and near misses I witnessed. It was insane.
At work, normally my cell phone is in my purse in the break room or in my work bag at the desk. The exceptions included when my sister had open heart surgery and then a stroke just a few weeks later. I carried it with me, on vibrate, with my managers blessings. I wouldn't have answered it in my pts room though. You can always excuse yourself and go somewhere private to call back. Who wants to answer a phone call that might get intensely emotional in a pt room anyway? Not me. The only other exceptions include when I have not been feeling well. I have heart disease and unstable angina with coronary artery spasms. If I have had a day or two of chest pain, that cell phone stays right in my pocket. Oh, and if dear hubby is ill.
They have a rule not to carry your cell phone. One of the nurses actually answered a call in the pts room!
I have seen nurses and CNAs do this. I have also seen nurses and CNAs talking on their cell phone while doing patient care and during a med pass (i.e. while preparing an insulin injection). And no, these were not "emergency" calls, which is the reason many people claim they need to keep their cell phones on all of the time. These infractions were reported, but all management does is remind us that cell phones are only to be used during a break.
Do healthcare employees really need boyfriend and school updates during work hours? Cell phones should be kept on vibrate, and usage should be limited to breaks, unless it is a "real" emegency (i.e. death, illness, accident), and no nurses or CNAs should be on them while taking care of patients/residents. I would think that this would be common courtesy, and the higher ups need to be more vigilant in enforcing cell phone rules. (Don't even get me started on CNAs and nurses who go around wearing those Bluetooth headsets, who look like they work for Mission Control instead of a nursing home.)
I have a Bluetooth headset but it never goes to work with me. I use it only when driving long distance so I do not have to answer or hold a cell phone.
Mine stays in the bottom of my purse - turned OFF - unless I really need it - and most months I never turn it on.
And no, these were not "emergency" calls, which is the reason many people claim they need to keep their cell phones on all of the time. These infractions were reported, but all management does is remind us that cell phones are only to be used during a break.
EmmaG, RN
2,999 Posts
Heck. You weren't nasty at all. You certainly handled it with more composure and finesse than I would, I'm afraid.
That is one of my big pet peeves--- at and away from work. The only reason I have a cell is because of my travel job. Period.