Back in the day, during my clinicals, I was assigned to one or two patients and was responsible for vs, bathing, toileting and meds. I had to have the patients' meds written out on index cards and had to know how these meds were related to their diagnosis or PMH and why they were taking them. I was literally ignored by the regular staff and, if I needed help, was told to find my instructor.
I know it's a different world from my days in nursing school, but the nursing students that we get on my unit are assigned to a nurse, not a patient, and are told to "shadow" that nurse for their clinical time. The SN can do assessments and give meds "with me". Most times, I end up explaining the med and coaching the student through the administration process. How did this happen?
I'm not saying nursing students should be ignored like when I was in school and I don't mind answering questions or sharing information about the patient with the student, but it completely throws me off my day to have to stop and explain everything I'm doing to the student. There must be a middle ground somewhere. I feel like student supervision should ultimately be the instructor's responsibility, not mine.
