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.
Sorry to hear about your experiences. I'm not a student nurse yet, but when I had clinical rotation for CNA training, I had nothing but good experiences with the nurses there. I even had a nurse help me shower a resident (it was my first day) because there were no other aides available at the time. So all nurses definitely aren't like that. I hope clinical gets better for you!
Being that nursing is still predominenty a female profession alot is explained in this alone. Woman are horrible to woman. I have never understood the reason why, but it is what it is. Hence the shortage of nurses. MAny coming into the profession will not tolerate how they are treated and either leave or go on to other areas. Lateral work violence is currently a "hot topic". I have seen it and experienced it. Until institutions take this on and make it unexceptable,it will always be. I always take the approach of hitting it head on. When u feel this from staff,ask them nicely and quietly if they have a problem with u. Most of the time, people back down if approached in the right way.It does not just happen to students. Taking a new job,changing shifts.....it is everywhere. Good luck and please do not let the few discourage you. Most of us are realy nice and willing to help and be mentors!
Man, it seems like nothing has changed since I started nursing!! I try to be patient and helpful as much as possible to students...I never know who might be taking care of me in the future!! This has actually happened to me, a former floor nurse who was very rude and nasty ended up 8 years later being a patient of mine.
I did get a bunch of the crabs back though, one evening I was over on the med surg unit doing my research for the next day clinicals and I over heard the staf ranting about "Those +++### students" this went on for a while and I got fed up. Meek, quiet little me (all of 90 lbs at that time) piped up and let loose!! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM??? The freshman students take care of the semi walkie talkies, the preops etc, junior students take care of the more involved patients, and the seniors do charge and supervise the lower classmen. So what does that leave you to do???? They hushed up after that! BTW we had instructors there with all of us students at ALL times. on nasty nurses
Sorry to hear about your experiences. I'm not a student nurse yet, but when I had clinical rotation for CNA training, I had nothing but good experiences with the nurses there. I even had a nurse help me shower a resident (it was my first day) because there were no other aides available at the time. So all nurses definitely aren't like that. I hope clinical gets better for you!
Let me just say this, give me good CNAs, LPNs on my team and we can kick BUTT!! I've been doiing the total care thing since 1977.
That sucks. I remember being treated like that in nursing school. Where is your clinical instructor when all of this badness occurs? We used our instructor as the forum to vent these things, and she would talk to the manager of the unit. The instructors always looked out for us.
Just remember how crappy it feels, and when you are an RN you can utilize those memories to become a good teacher/preceptor yourself. Some nurses act like they were born knowing everything.
Specializes in Day Surgery, Agency, Cath Lab, LTC/Psych.
I, too, had experiences like this in nursing school. Unfortunately burned out staff often take out their frustrations on students. Not every facility is like this. Hopefully you will have the opportunity to do clinical in hospitals that treat nursing students more professionally.
In the mean time try to use this experience as a learning opportunity. Over your nursing career you will work with a variety rude, disrespectful, arrogant, and unhelpful coworkers, physicians, students and patients. This is a great time to develop a "thick skin" and not to take the rude behavior of others personally. Remember, you cannot control their behavior only your own. So...show them up by being the most professional, caring and competent nursing student they have ever seen.
No one is going to roll out the red carpet and treat students like celebrities that we should be greatful to have around.
However, if you are being "yelled at" and "treated like garbage" that is a serious problem. You can take the lead and organize your students, instructors, etc. and try to address the problem with the dean of nursing. Be sure to have specific examples. There are plenty of places in Tampa to have clinicals and you shouldn't be subjected to this type of behavior.
We are polite to our students but lately we've getting students with major attitudes. We are almost at the point where we will not be accepting students on the unit.
The instructor is responsible for picking the assignments and somehow we've wound up with some bedblockers due to a shortage of nursing home beds. Who do the instructors pick time after time for their students (and usually the ones who didn't do to well in their LTC rotation), yup the bedblockers. Their surgical wounds have long since healed so they are LTC patients, bathe, toilet, help with ADLs. The problem is once the students leave, the floor staff can't do one on one care and jump every time the call bell rings. The families of these patients want us to jump but you know what SURGICAL patients on a Surgical unit need our attention immediately, not the bedblockers.
We've also had students be rude to unit clerks, our NA's and several have said they don't want to be buddied with PNs. If you are assigned a patient that is being cared for by a PN that is who your buddy is.
Our manager has even asked the instructors to tell the students that the limited seats in report are for her staff and if there are extras then the students can have them. But we wind up standing. We are on mandatory overtime and often wind up working 16 hour shifts to come back 8 hours later for our next scheduled shift, so we really do need the chairs.
Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele, IM, OB/GYN, neuro, GI.
No one is going to roll out the red carpet and treat students like celebrities that we should be greatful to have around.
However, if you are being "yelled at" and "treated like garbage" that is a serious problem. You can take the lead and organize your students, instructors, etc. and try to address the problem with the dean of nursing. Be sure to have specific examples. There are plenty of places in Tampa to have clinicals and you shouldn't be subjected to this type of behavior.
I know that we shouldn't think that the nurses are greatful that we are there. Everytime we've had a problem with staff we tell the instructor and she says that she'll take care of it. They have also seen this happen to us and have come to our defense when this happens. The way I see it though is that even if we were a co worker and this happened we shouldn't run to the higher ups to complain about every single thing. I'm more than willing to stand up for myself and have but it's a double edge sword you stand up for yourself they're even nastier and then they turn around and report you to their manager about how the students are being rude to the staff (this has happened in the past to several students).
As for the clinical sites in Tampa yes there are alot but I'm currently in a LPN program so the RN programs have first pick then us and several hospials won't allow us to do clinicals because "there's no need to allow them to train at our facility if we don't hire them when they're licensed" (at least that's what we've been told). I'll just be glad when I can start my RN program and go to different facilities.
. 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.\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.
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.
If a baby girl has a member cross out the "girl", write "boy", and don't make a speech about how you just saved the world. The family would have figured it out at the first diaper change anyway.
If you do paperwork and affix fall risk bracelets while your patient struggles to breathe we WILL crab at you about tunnel vision.
BUT, it doesn't mean you won't grow into an excellent nurse, so long as we let you live through the "perfection because I followed the book" stage.
Hello, Regarding my experience as a student nurse in hospital im not with you cuz they treat us in a good way they dont ignore us in opposite they ask for many things that has it resposibilities
A lot of us can still relate to the student in their inexperience and feeling intimidated by the setting and all that. However, if I'm working on the floor that probably doesn't even make the top ten list of my priorities. There is simply so much to do that ensuring basic safety of patients is a challenge, let alone rolling-out the welcome mat for nursing students. I could sit here and try and make you understand, but suffice it to say you won't until you've graduated. I was you one year ago, I remember feeling upset at similar experiences and coming up with every reason in the book why my fellow students and I didn't have to be treated that way.
The reality is - don't blame the nurses, blame the system.
on nasty nurses
DreamyEyes
474 Posts
Sorry to hear about your experiences. I'm not a student nurse yet, but when I had clinical rotation for CNA training, I had nothing but good experiences with the nurses there. I even had a nurse help me shower a resident (it was my first day) because there were no other aides available at the time. So all nurses definitely aren't like that. I hope clinical gets better for you!