Hi there...I have a question. I'm not sure if I'm over-reacting, so I need some insight here.
I'm a first semester nursing student in an RN (ADN) program (just started in August) and wondering if it's normal to be asked to perform skills during clinical that have NOT been demonstrated OR lectured on yet, and skills that students have not even tested off on yet?
It was our first week of clinicals and one instructor in particular has asked students to do things that we haven't even learned yet.
For instance, a student was asked to change a colostomy bag and the student was just like "I've never seen a colostomy bag in my life". I'm sure the teacher would have helped this person, but this teacher is also known for giving out clinical deficiencies at the drop of a hat.
Another person told me the teacher asked to check a feeding tube by pulling it out and putting it back in. Is that even right? Another person had a non-compliant patient that outright refused to have a nursing student in her room and told her she did not want to be a nursing student's guinea pig and did not her to touch her. The teacher reprimanded the student for not being assertive enough and threatened to write her up for not finishing the assessment.
Is this normal?
I spoke with a friend of mine who has been a nurse for almost 20 years and told her about this, and all she said was "Do you have malpractice insurance?" which made me wonder, is this legal? Is this safe?
And then, to make things more confusing, today in lecture someone asked if we were allowed to perform a skill we haven't tested off on and the teacher (who is not one of the clinical instructors, so I don't know if she knows what is going on in clinical) told us that we are NOT supposed to perform anything that we haven't tested off on yet.
However, despite what we were told in lecture, some instructors are still pressuring students to do things we haven't gone over yet and giving out clinical deficiencies if they don't perform, or force a patient to consent to an exam.
The whole thing is making me feel very uneasy. Am I over-reacting?
Are there any skills that are normally acceptable to perform without a test off? And which skills would you consider to be okay to perform without a test off?
Has Anyone else experienced this at school and what do you think?
Another person told me the teacher asked to check a feeding tube by pulling it out and putting it back in. Is that even right?
I spoke with a friend of mine who has been a nurse for almost 20 years and told her about this, and all she said was "Do you have malpractice insurance?" which made me wonder, is this legal? Is this safe?
Pulled it out and put it back??? I am not surprised that you friend asked you if you have malpractice insurance.
I am a first year nursing student too. To be more specific, it's my third week. I also work as a Unit Coordinator. Please correct me if I am wrong but from my experience (Unit Coordinator, entering tons of MDs orders) to be able to do anything like that with NG tube you need a doctor order! After placing NG tube xray needs to be done to confirm proper placement of NG tube.
Thanks so much guys for all your input! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.
Please correct me if I am wrong but from my experience (Unit Coordinator, entering tons of MDs orders) to be able to do anything like that with NG tube you need a doctor order! After placing NG tube xray needs to be done to confirm proper placement of NG tube.
Yes, that's what my friend who is a BSN told me, too. So I will be sure not to go near anyone's feeding tubes!!
Now, there are things I'm probably just being overly nervous about, so you've all helped me put it in perspective.
However, the worst part is feeling like I don't know what is normal and what isn't normal to do without a test off, and feeling like I can't ask my instructors for help! Like, with the feeding tube: I didn't know that you needed a doctor's order for that until my friend who is a BSN told me. So, I'm probably right to feel uneasy about other things. After all, I've only been a nursing student for about 7 weeks now. I don't know enough to know what I should and shouldn't be doing and unfortunately, it doesn't seem like I can count on my instructors to tell me!
The attitude is just really negative an un-supportive in my school. I initially felt better about it yesterday, but then came to class this morning and starting hearing these stories from people who had clinicals yesterday. Some of my friends looked like they were about to have a nervous breakdown, one of them broke down into tears when talking about how her instructor reprimanded her for not being able to convince her patient to allow her to do an assessment, which just left me with a horrible feeling.
When they said nursing school would be "hard", I felt ready for the challenge, but the hardest part for me so far has been feeling like I don't know what I should and shouldn't be doing, and feeling like I can't ask my instructors for guidance :smackingf
PS, I also want to mention that we don't even have a formal lab skills class!
We get appointments for supervised practices and then another one for a test off, and if we need a partner for a particular skill, we have to find one. We do not have assigned lab partners.
The instructors in the lab are adjuncts, not full time faculty either, so oftentimes when they teach a skill, it's a little different than what our instructors expect from us, but we don't find that out until we are threatened with a clinical deficiency.
So that probably has a lot to do with why I'm so uncomfortable. Oh man, I need a hug! lol!
Miss_Piggy.RN
199 Posts
Pulled it out and put it back???
I am not surprised that you friend asked you if you have malpractice insurance.
I am a first year nursing student too. To be more specific, it's my third week. I also work as a Unit Coordinator. Please correct me if I am wrong but from my experience (Unit Coordinator, entering tons of MDs orders) to be able to do anything like that with NG tube you need a doctor order! After placing NG tube xray needs to be done to confirm proper placement of NG tube.