It Seems Like It's Student Nurses vs The Nursing Staff

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele, IM, OB/GYN, neuro, GI.

I'm currently in the clinical portion of my nursing program and I have a question for the nurses. We're there to help them and learn and 90% of the time we get brushed off. I've had several experiences with this as have other students in my class. At a LTC facility we were told by the Nursing Manager that the staff loved having nurses and when we got on the floor they treated us like garbage. For example there was an aide that needed help getting a patient into bed and I offered because there was no one else around and she tells me that she doesn't want to break her back for me to get experience. Mind you I had worked in a hospital previously and had lift training so I know how to properly lift a patient. I tell her that I know how so she reluctantly lets me help her. Well when we lift the patient she does nothing so I'm strugling to keep the patient up as she tells me what to do. This patient weighed over 200 lbs. When I set the patient in the bed she grabs her legs an throws them up on the bed and says to me that's why I wanted someone who knew what they were doing. I thought to myself you let go and you're the one who didn't to break your back but I guess getting my back broke is ok because I'm just a student.

Right now we are currently in a hospital annd it's the same thing. The Nurse Manager comes in during orientation and tells us how the staff loves the students. We get on the floor and they won't let us do things that were allowed to even when we ask, if we tell them a patient needs something they look at us like we're from another planet, and we've asked them to let us do procedures that we need for check-offs and they do them anyways. We've been yelled at by the unit coordinator on several occasions for talking by her when we were getting our room assignments of the grease board and several nurses have told us not to bother the patients because we've gone to them to tell them that the patients need something. The only time they love us is when there short staffed and they need vital signs on their patients or someone needs to be cleaned up which we don't mind doing but if they have an accucheck or a IV d/c then they have no time for us. The floor we're currently on now has 4 out of 12 nurses that actually treat us like equals and are willing to show us things. It just seems to me that these nurses have forgotten what it's like to be in school and the things that are required of you in the clinical setting to pass. They also have forgotten that these nursing students that they are treating so badly could possibly be co-workers in a few months.

So the question is why do nurses treat students this way? We are there to help and I know that not every nurse is this way but it gives not only a bad impression of how the profession is but also how these facilities are representd.

Somehow this turned into a rant. If you read this far thanks.

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I understand your frustration, but this topic has been covered exhaustively (is that even a word? my mind gets fuzzy at 4:30 a.m.). If you do a search of this topic I am sure that you will come up with hundreds of stories like yours and all of the relevant advice/ranting/etc. that go with them. Good luck.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele, IM, OB/GYN, neuro, GI.

I searched and couldn't find anything but I'll try again thanks.

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When I was at school, I went through the same also about nurses who did not care less or who were very hostile....But you know some nurses do like to help students...It all depends on the individual..

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
Well when we lift the patient she does nothing so I'm struggling to keep the patient up as she tells me what to do. This patient weighed over 200 lbs. When I set the patient in the bed she grabs her legs an throws them up on the bed and says to me that's why I wanted someone who knew what they were doing. I thought to myself you let go and you're the one who didn't to break your back but I guess getting my back broke is OK because I'm just a student.

I would have said this out-loud!

Right now we are currently in a hospital and it's the same thing.

So the question is why do nurses treat students this way? We are there to help and I know that not every nurse is this way but it gives not only a bad impression of how the profession is but also how these facilities are represented.

I fully expect this to occur too. I work at the hospital I will be doing my clinicals at and much of the nursing and medical staff are jerks. I do not expect them to be wonderful once I am in my student nursing uniform. Therefore, I will know your pain soon enough! :o

My advice is to be respectful as possible but let the Nurse Manager and your instructor know that you and your fellow students are trying your best to do your job and that you are NOT getting much cooperation from the staff. If you have a clinical/lab Representative for your group, this is a good time for that person to show some initiative and speak out for the group if you are too afraid to do so. GL.

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this happened to me as a student, as a pca, and now as a rn. some people just suck.

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Specializes in Cardiac Care, ICU.

hi tampa, I understand your frustration, you are just trying to help and get some experience along the way and you get treated like you are dirt. I am teaching clinicals this year and I have seen a little of this ( I teach on the unit where I work so the nurses don't act too bad). All I can say is try to be patient w/ the nurses. Not to excuse poor manners and meaness on their part, but they have probably had things overlooked when students were on the floor and they are leary of trusting you to get things done. If you go to them w/ a plan in hand they are more likely to let you take care of their pts. For ex. "Nurse Ratchet your pt in room 4 is c/o pain at their incision site. I assessed the site and did not see any bleeding or other problems so I checked their MAR and saw that they can have 4 mg of morphine. may I give it to her?" instead of "the pt in room 4 is hurting. what do you want to do?" Prove to them you know what your doing and most of them will let you do it. Good luck.

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AAHH! I remember that feeling well. I have been a nurse for five years now et I try to remember what that felt like when I was treated that way. We have here nurses that hate it when the students come. I always try to say, "Remember what it was like when you were the student?" If there is no other reason to enjoy a student, I try to remember that they are extra help for the patients. But honestly, I always enjoy when we have them here.

P.S. I also am one who enjoys training new nurses to the facility/unit.

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Specializes in CCRN-CMC-CSC: CTICU, MICU, SICU, TRAUMA.
I'm currently in the clinical portion of my nursing program and I have a question for the nurses. We're there to help them and learn and 90% of the time we get brushed off. I've had several experiences with this as have other students in my class. At a LTC facility we were told by the Nursing Manager that the staff loved having nurses and when we got on the floor they treated us like garbage. For example there was an aide that needed help getting a patient into bed and I offered because there was no one else around and she tells me that she doesn't want to break her back for me to get experience. Mind you I had worked in a hospital previously and had lift training so I know how to properly lift a patient. I tell her that I know how so she reluctantly lets me help her. Well when we lift the patient she does nothing so I'm strugling to keep the patient up as she tells me what to do. This patient weighed over 200 lbs. When I set the patient in the bed she grabs her legs an throws them up on the bed and says to me that's why I wanted someone who knew what they were doing. I thought to myself you let go and you're the one who didn't to break your back but I guess getting my back broke is ok because I'm just a student.

Right now we are currently in a hospital annd it's the same thing. The Nurse Manager comes in during orientation and tells us how the staff loves the students. We get on the floor and they won't let us do things that were allowed to even when we ask, if we tell them a patient needs something they look at us like we're from another planet, and we've asked them to let us do procedures that we need for check-offs and they do them anyways. We've been yelled at by the unit coordinator on several occasions for talking by her when we were getting our room assignments of the grease board and several nurses have told us not to bother the patients because we've gone to them to tell them that the patients need something. The only time they love us is when there short staffed and they need vital signs on their patients or someone needs to be cleaned up which we don't mind doing but if they have an accucheck or a IV d/c then they have no time for us. The floor we're currently on now has 4 out of 12 nurses that actually treat us like equals and are willing to show us things. It just seems to me that these nurses have forgotten what it's like to be in school and the things that are required of you in the clinical setting to pass. They also have forgotten that these nursing students that they are treating so badly could possibly be co-workers in a few months.

So the question is why do nurses treat students this way? We are there to help and I know that not every nurse is this way but it gives not only a bad impression of how the profession is but also how these facilities are representd.

Somehow this turned into a rant. If you read this far thanks.

Your story is all too familiar. You are by no means alone. This behavior says more about the nurses you have been in contact with than it does about you!

When I was a student, not too long ago, I did my preplanning for a patient with quadriplegia. I was intimidated because I knew this acuity would require a lot of care and I was at the beginning of my junior year as a BSN. I arrived on the unit, did the usual things, then went to the patient's room, who was at this point standing in front of the mirror combing his hair.

Okay... hmmmmm... So I go back to the desk, as a student I had to get a nurse to let me into the computer again. I recheck active conditions... quadriplegia! I go back in the room, have the patient identify himself... What am I gonna do, right? So I go back to the NP running the unit and ask about this, stating that the patient is quadriplegic but has mobility of all four extremitites... She, in front of my peers, the staff, and my professor threw her hand up in a "stop" gesture and stated... "Look buddy... there are different levels of quadriplegia... you wouldn't understand... just worry about passing your NCLEX right now!" Wow... @&*$#&%&* !!!!!

Of course my professor didn't stand up for me. Nor other staff. So I was left to care for this "quadriplegic." I went to the hospital's medical library to make sure I wasn't crazy. As it turns out, I astutely noticed he had a brand new top-of-the-line several thousand dollar zippy scooter that just came in (he is a permanent resident of this faciliity by the way, fully covered)... yes, he had some neuro issues, he could stand but not really ambulate, but he had full arm mobility and normal arm strength... but I suppose a zippy scooter would come in handy and make life easier for the staff... and I really don't think (wink) those are covered by insurance without the appropriate diagnosis coding... hmmmm.... guadriplegia.... scooter.... cool....

If that's what goes on in that unit/hospital that's none of my business... but a student never should have even been assigned that patient. I thought about reporting it up the chain but was afraid to cause problems for my school. Talk about reality shock!

This doesn't change when you graduate, by the way. I have racked up a good chunk of hideous experiences like the one I relayed, like the one you relayed, etc. The criteria for bullying includes belittling a colleague or student. It's that simple. Some people just don't get it and never will.

The question is how do you buffer yourself and let yourself get through school without being a basket case by the end. You have to share your stories with peers and get the reinforcement that it is not about you.

It's a real challenge when you have a real clinical issue to handle and you have to report something. In those instances you cannot ignore an issue or blend into the wallpaper. For example... I had, also junior year, an assignment in the nursery. My charted baby girl had a member! True story... Baby Girl So-and-So... had not only a member but descended testicles... absolutely non-ambiguous!!! By this point I thought the nurses were setting me up. But no... it was a real error. But what did I know... I was just a junior nursing student saving the hospital from multi-million dollar lawsuits.

You are in a short while going to have a pocketful of experiences where you know you made a difference. And you will have those to fall back on, to bolster your confidence that you are a valuable and competent participant. As those build up it will be easier to blow off these other events. Mark Twain said "Never let what you know to be embarrassed by what you don't know!" He meant that you'll never know everything... but you do know something... and when you know your facts and you are right... have confidence in that and don't doubt yourself.

If you are lucky you'll have some good experiences thrown in to.

Just be careful who you vent to, that can come back and bite you as well. Sometimes suggestions even to your school will not be welcome. And you will have, more than likely, issues that come up with school faculty similar to hospital staff on rotations.

When you start working full-time you'll also find that the better you do your job the more problems you'll have. You'll hear jokes like "How can you tell the new nurse?... She's the one with scissors in her pocket!" But then they'll be the first to ask you for them when they are unprepared. If you designate your patient a fall risk as per protocol, get the bracelet and coded socks, then you'll be told your "fixating on the wrong things." Don't let that stop you. Don't end up three years from now answering to a judge as to why the patient wasn't properly designated a fall risk when there is a lawsuit over a broken hip during a hospital stay.

You are going to see a mind-boggling number of mistakes, a disgusting ratio of uncompassionate nurses, and you will wonder why still show up. But still show up. Students have a huge amount of stress because when you see stuff like this, there's nothing you can do... it's out of your jurisdiction so to speak... so you have no control. That's why mid-level executives are more stresses than high-level executives... they have less control over the outcomes... but still have high responsibility... and it is a very difficult combination to negotiate.

Best of luck to you... and if you have any questions feel free to contact me at any time in the future... I for one would be more than happy to give you my support.

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Sorry about your unpleasant experiences with staff nurses being unpleasant to nursing students.

It says something about the negative climate tolerated at those particular facilities. I've found that there are some nurses who are just bitter/burnt out and they should move on to a different job or retire...

Take each day as it comes - once you've established a 'nasty nurse' learn how to deal with this person because some day they may be a 'collegue' and you'll have to deal with this unpleasant negative type.

It takes work to be so unhappy in their job - and I could never function effectively as a nurse if I was like that.

Sometimes a staff RN maybe very stressed because of patient load or acuity and they may not have all the time to explain things to you. I've seen this occur on my floor.....if that's the case pick up on the vibe and let them know you want to help and is there something you can do ...(feed a patient/walk someone to bathroom) etc.....

Also try and learn from all experiences (negative and positive) it's reality in healthcare - and you will develop coping skills and inner strength to deal with 'difficult types'....

best of luck/don't give up! :)

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

I love working with students and always try to do my best by them but sometimes time constrants don't allow it and in that situation I hope the student understands that and where ever possible I try to catch up at a later time to discuss things with them. I always warn the student at the beginning of the shift that is this happens then it will be a case of go with the flow and we will catch up at a later time and never had any problems.

I am sorry you are going through this but sometimes you need to stand up for yourself and make your voice heard. It can be hard but persistence works and sometimes they have to remember that they was once a student in something at some time

Good luck with your training

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Specializes in Telemetry.
I understand your frustration, but this topic has been covered exhaustively (is that even a word? my mind gets fuzzy at 4:30 a.m.). If you do a search of this topic I am sure that you will come up with hundreds of stories like yours and all of the relevant advice/ranting/etc. that go with them. Good luck.

Is there any reason why we can't discuss it again with new ideas and input?

To the OP... sorry for your bad experiences. Just remember that not all nurses or departments or facilities, for that matter, treat students as you've been treated. It is a shame. I don't know that there is anything you can do in these bad situations other than gathering what experience you can and remembering how frustrating it is for students once you become a practicing nurse.

Good luck.

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