ok well i hear that alot of nurses do not like to mentor the new grads.
is it because we are new and dont have much experience and nurses get annoyed with us? or are we simply a drag. while doing my clinical hours i have encountered alot of good and bad mentors.but mostly bad its as if we are bugging them i tyr to stay out of the way and just take notes on what they do but even that buggs some of the nurse why is this? is it because they do not remember what it was like being a new grad or a student?
i would like to get some feedback thank yout so much. and what can i do to try and be a charming new grad/student on the floor. =]
Specializes in Case Management, Psychiatric Nursing.
I i remmeber the first time my class was on the floor we were assigned to CNA'S to learn the basics & my teacher came up to a lady and she said no i dont take students. then we left to another and she said the same thing it felt so bad almost as if we were not wanted. its was pretty sad but eventually a CNA came to us and offered it was good form there on, but it does feel kind of bad when the nurses dont want us i can understand why they wouldnt want us aorund but then again why be so rude? i mean everyone starts somewhere why not offer a helping hand
Oh, and I forgot to mention that last week my instructor SAVED a patient. The nurse gave pt insulin, no food, and went on break. My friend went in the room a few minutes later and noticed something was CLEARLY wrong. She grabbed my instructor, my instructor immediately grabbed the doc. Now I'm not exactly sure what they did, but my instructor said 10-15 more minutes and that pt would be dead. The nurse brushed it off her shoulder when she came back from break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The student just saved your ass- SHOCKING.
Good for your instructor. However, silently learn from others mistakes and don't verbally disagree when you are a new grad or student. I guarantee that you'll make more enemies than friends going that route.
I i remmeber the first time my class was on the floor we were assigned to CNA'S to learn the basics & my teacher came up to a lady and she said no i dont take students. then we left to another and she said the same thing it felt so bad almost as if we were not wanted. its was pretty sad but eventually a CNA came to us and offered it was good form there on, but it does feel kind of bad when the nurses dont want us i can understand why they wouldnt want us aorund but then again why be so rude? i mean everyone starts somewhere why not offer a helping hand
ThanK You All !!
I'd rather them speak up and say they don't want me than spend all day following a silent robot. You generally don't learn anything if they don't want you around.
2) I don't care how your textbook or school instructor said to do it.
When I was out on my first prac I noticed a lot of things were done differently from how they were in school. One thing I really appreciated was when my preceptors would let me ask why there was a difference and give me a good answer. Having a rationale behind differences in technique made it easier to understand why there were differences and why things were done in a certain way in that particular facility.
When I was out on my first prac I noticed a lot of things were done differently from how they were in school. One thing I really appreciated was when my preceptors would let me ask why there was a difference and give me a good answer. Having a rationale behind differences in technique made it easier to understand why there were differences and why things were done in a certain way in that particular facility.
I think you make a really good point. Couple of things come to mind for me:
1. There is a difference b/n asking why things are done and correcting someone. Sounds like you get it and probably are great to work with.
2. I have learned several things from new grads (and I'm sure I could from students too). Students and new grads bring with them a fresh view and some of the latest evidence based care.
3. Just know that sometimes it gets way to busy to answer all the questions. When there is time I think it works best to talk things through at the moment, but if there is not time, then save up your questions and try asking at a not so busy time (if you can find such a thing).
Good luck with school. Sounds like you are going to be a nurse with some great critical thinking skills
Sometimes people don't like to precept because they already are shortstaffed and adding another huge responsibility such as teaching (and doing it well!) is just too much.
I haven't gotten the chance to mentor anyone per se, I'm still relatively new myself. But, I try to provide encouragement to students. I have several coworkers who are in pre-reqs or in NS and I try to help them out, give them my old notes and textbooks etc. I do like to teach, so hopefully, one day I'll get to be a preceptor.
We all start out somewhere..none of us popped out of the womb as RNs. I think some people forget this.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i am a student and i feel the same. why do some nurses do anything possible to steer clear of the nurses?? if anything, they should be happy b/c 1.) more nurses are getting into the field .. shortage will help with understaffing and 2.) we are here to hellp!!!! answer call bells, bed baths, vitals, anything they ask
i find that the younger nurses are sooo much more helpful than the older ones. uhg, i just want to scream at some of the nurses and tell them to get over themselves, i will be a nurse just like you in a year!:bowingpur
today, one actually genuinely thanked me for my help.
i can't wait to mentor new nurses, i love to teach when i know something well.
because you're a student you cannot possibly understand what it's like to be slammed with a heavy assignment and then told "and you'll have john to orient, too." i remember being new, although i'm sure you won't believe that. but you have no idea what your mentors are going through.
neither students nor orientees are all that helpful. it's easier to just answer the danged call light by myself than to answer twenty questions about each call light. "why can't she walk to the bathroom by herself?" "where do i get the bedpans?" "how do i get it underneath her?" "where do i empty it?" "what do you mean, i have to clean it out? isn't that the housekeeper's job?"
and having students (or even new orientees) around doesn't help all that much for short staffing. the truth is that most of the newbies are coming through our unit just to get their required icu experience before applying to anesthesia school. so we lose an experienced nurse who can independently manage a full assignment and gain a newbie who requires help with the simplest task.
and no, sweetie. you won't be a nurse just like me next year at this time. you'll be a new nurse with no experience who will need a lot of mentoring before you'll be able to pull your share of the load in a few years.
lest you dismiss me as just another cranky old nurse who hates students, let me assure you that i love precepting and enjoy students. mostly. but mentoring, if it's done right, is a lot of work. students and orientees add to the work load rather than subtract from it. it's far easier to just do a thing myself than it is to explain it, answer questions about it, supervise it to make sure that the newbie doesn't make a big mistake that hurts someone and then offer constructive feedback afterward. as a student, or as a new nurse, there's no possible way you could understand that.
Specializes in Gyn Onc, OB, L&D, HH/Hospice/Palliative.
k
i find that the younger nurses are sooo much more helpful than the older ones.(real nice :icon_roll)uhg, i just want to scream at some of the nurses and tell them to get over themselves, i will be a nurse just like you in a year!:bowingpur--too bad a lot of them will leave about that time, and us witches will be the only ones still hanging in there year after year...
today, one actually genuinely thanked me for my help. sounds historic
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i hope you find the fountain of youth and never age so you don't turn into an older nurse ratchet like myself ( you may be too young to know who that is tho)
The thing is though part of being an RN is about being an educator. It's in our competency standards and unless we are supportive and willing to share our knowledge then we're really just contributing to the nursing shortage. I try my best with students because they are our future. I'm always happy to help students who are interested in learning and show some sort of enthusiasm in their work.
When you have a huge workload and short staffed a bad student can really just make the day a whole lot worse. If it's a student with no initiative and doesn't really want to be there at all I'd actually prefer these sorts of students to just go home because quite frankly they are hard work.
You'll have to figure out what way works best for YOU.
LVN2010M
91 Posts
I i remmeber the first time my class was on the floor we were assigned to CNA'S to learn the basics & my teacher came up to a lady and she said no i dont take students. then we left to another and she said the same thing it felt so bad almost as if we were not wanted. its was pretty sad but eventually a CNA came to us and offered it was good form there on, but it does feel kind of bad when the nurses dont want us i can understand why they wouldnt want us aorund but then again why be so rude? i mean everyone starts somewhere why not offer a helping hand
ThanK You All !!