New Student Rant!!!

[mater44]

First, thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this. I really just have to vent, and facebook doesn't give me enough room to do it in. Secondly, this is a rant, so before you jumped to conclusions and want to possibly berate me for being a baby about it, please read all of it.

I just started a 2nd degree BSN program. 1 year in length. Before the program started, we were given forms that asked which hospital we would prefer, and our top 2 choices for units (med/surg, ICU, Pedi, ER, etc.). I won't name the hospital, but my top 2 choices were ER, and then SICU. I had wanted PACU, but they said no, and I understood. However, after the beginning of the program, they then came to us and said, no one will be getting ER, PICU, or NICU (they were on the fence about NICU to begin with).

Well, today we received our emails telling us where we will be. Since ER was cut from my preferred list already, I figured I would at least get the hospital of choice or SICU. I got neither. I ended up at the other hospital on MICU. I then found out from some of the other students, that they got placed in units and hospitals opposite of what they wrote on their sheet. This bothers me a lot, because I know without a shadow of a doubt that where I want to take my nursing career revolves around emergency medicine. I was hoping to get experience in the ER as well as face time with potential employers.

Now, don't get me wrong, from what I have heard I will have the opportunity to experience a myriad of challenges working in a MICU, and I am truly excited about that. But, it is the principle of the matter. If you can't get everybody what they want, then make sure nobody gets what they want. Better yet, don't even make them want. If you are not going to allow students to work on certain floors, say that up front, not AFTER we have filled out our preferences. I understand COMPLETELY that as a nursing student I need to build a solid foundation in nursing, and that is primarily done on med/surg type floors. I agree with this wholeheartedly. That being said, our faculty and clinical facilitators should not even give us the choice of where we want to work as student nurses. This eliminates any hard feelings, disappointment, or in my case, anger.

Thanks for listening, or..um...reading. :-)

[sandyfeet]

I know what you mean. My clinical instructor named what floors we would be on and then asked if anyone had a preference. Everyone started requesting one floor. Obviously, they did not all get it and there were hurt feelings. I didn't make any request and got put on that floor, so now I wonder if my classmates think I don't "deserve it" because I didn't request it! It was an awkward way to start our clinicals and I would have preferred that we just got straight assignments with no input. Who knows, what we think we want may change!

[mater44]

That is awkward. My solution is either just tell them their assignment with no input (like you said) or put all the available slots on the wall, draw numbers out of a hat and that is the picking order. I know I will learn a lot in the MICU and it will be challenging, but I have had previous EMT experience and ER experience, and I want to eventually do wilderness/expeditionary medicine, so I feel the ER, for "in-hospital" units is the best place for me to learn. I am trying to take the right steps at the right time to reach my goal.

Good luck to you in nursing school.

[Streamline2010]

That would annoy me, too, mater44. I think part of being an adult returning to school is that you see just how many stupid things they (all schools, not just nursing) do. And they frequently get away with it simply because their clientele are kids who'll take orders, instead of get the parents in involved. As an 18-yr old, you just don't know or don't care. But after you've been in the real workplace for a number of years, you really see how school faculty and administration can be really out of touch, and convenience for them might take precedence over giving a good education to the students.

I simply could not believe the total lack of standardization for even the admission criteria of nursing schools. And I hate to say it, but some of this is because the people running the schools have insufficient managerial or technical training, and they can't develop an efficient work process.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I can understand your frustration ... but there may be some things going on that you students don't know about.

I am responsible for student placements in my hospital. We deal with several schools, not just one or two ... and sometimes WE, the hospital, change things around based on what's going on in the hospital, requests from other schools, etc. In other words, it might be that your school thought it would be better able to match up students with their desired units, but then the clinical sites got into the act and "mucked things up" for the school. It might not be all the school's fault that you didn't get what you want or that the plans changed at the last minute.

[mater44]

I can understand your frustration ... but there may be some things going on that you students don't know about.

I am responsible for student placements in my hospital. We deal with several schools, not just one or two ... and sometimes WE, the hospital, change things around based on what's going on in the hospital, requests from other schools, etc. In other words, it might be that your school thought it would be better able to match up students with their desired units, but then the clinical sites got into the act and "mucked things up" for the school. It might not be all the school's fault that you didn't get what you want or that the plans changed at the last minute.

You are absolutely right. One of our clinical facilitators sent out a message stating pretty much that. However, I still have a problem with handing out a "want" sheet when, even one student, may not get anything from that sheet. Simplify the process, and assign the students to the spots you have available. Take it out of the students hands. No feelings get hurt or hopes get dashed this way.

[Aurora77]

It's been my experience that that's the way it goes in nursing school. The first time it happened to us, we were a bit put out. There's nothing you can do about it--unless there's a really good reason (and not just "this isn't where I wanted to go"), there's no point in discussing it. Yeah it stinks, but that's the way it works. Schedules are not what they say they'll be and you never know where you'll be. You'll get used to it.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

You are absolutely right. One of our clinical facilitators sent out a message stating pretty much that. However, I still have a problem with handing out a "want" sheet when, even one student, may not get anything from that sheet. Simplify the process, and assign the students to the spots you have available. Take it out of the students hands. No feelings get hurt or hopes get dashed this way.

See I wouldn't want this done. We have 4 hospitals we can be placed out. Just looking at distance from our school, one is about 45-50 mins from our school, 2 are about 15-20 mins from our school and another is about 10 mins from our school. We do day and evening shifts.

A lot of people don't want nights, a lot do, a lot may want the hospital 45 mins away because they commute to school and live closer to that hospital, where as I live close to school and that hospital is 45 mins for me.

So at least by giving the "preference" sheet, they can get an idea and hopefully get at least majority where they want to go. Those that didn't get where they wanted we have noticed got it the next time around to where it was someone elses turn to not get there choice that previously got it.

If it was just done randomly without any input it would really suck for my to get sent to hospital A 50 mins away, and my friend to get hospital B 50 mins away when if we switched hospitals it would only be like 5 mins away for each of us but the staff picking had no way of knowing this. Same with days and evening shifts.

No you can't always still please everyone and some people may get hurt feelings, but that's life regardless. Our handbook states there are no guarantees in clinical placement with requests and we need to be prepared to travel up to X amount of miles from the school. They are doing the requests as a favor to us.

Hopefully that made sense.

[Lennonninja, MSN, APRN, NP]

At least you can write in preferences, even though you might not get them. For my school, our clinicals are Med Surg, Med Surg, or... Med Surg! We have no options and no input into where we do clinicals at all.

You're just going to have to get used to them messing your schedule all around, your wants and needs aren't important anymore. That's what we've learned at my school!

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

It's been my experience that that's the way it goes in nursing school. The first time it happened to us, we were a bit put out. There's nothing you can do about it--unless there's a really good reason (and not just "this isn't where I wanted to go"), there's no point in discussing it. Yeah it stinks, but that's the way it works. Schedules are not what they say they'll be and you never know where you'll be. You'll get used to it.

Yep you have to learn to be very flexible. We have had so many changes I pretty much take my schedule one day at a time LOL

[melmarie23, MSN, RN]

That would annoy me, too, mater44. I think part of being an adult returning to school is that you see just how many stupid things they (all schools, not just nursing) do. And they frequently get away with it simply because their clientele are kids who'll take orders, instead of get the parents in involved. As an 18-yr old, you just don't know or don't care. But after you've been in the real workplace for a number of years, you really see how school faculty and administration can be really out of touch, and convenience for them might take precedence over giving a good education to the students.

I simply could not believe the total lack of standardization for even the admission criteria of nursing schools. And I hate to say it, but some of this is because the people running the schools have insufficient managerial or technical training, and they can't develop an efficient work process.

omg, you are in my brain! These are my same exact sentiments that I have of my program! Thankfully I am outta there in Dec!

[mater44]

So at least by giving the "preference" sheet, they can get an idea and hopefully get at least majority where they want to go. Those that didn't get where they wanted we have noticed got it the next time around to where it was someone elses turn to not get there choice that previously got it.

This would be nice, except at my nursing program, wherever you are placed is where you will be for the whole year, or at least that's what they tell you. So in your situation, whoever had to commute would have to do so for the entire year, and of course, that is not fair. If we rotated, then it wouldn't be a big deal.

Essentially, I'm over it. I'm not going to lose sleep over not getting my ideal placement. This particular faculty has already proven that while they may be great nurses, they are poor in teaching and in managing. Trust me, this is not the first time in my life I have come across this situation. I am flexible, thank goodness. Some of the students who have kids and families have already been screwed over by last minute notifications of clinicals and trying to find babysitters and such. One of my biggest pet peeves is communication, or lack thereof, and that is the biggest problem I have with this program.

But, at the end of the day, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not quitting, no matter how mad they make me, because I want to be a nurse so bad, they would literally have to drag me out of school kicking and screaming.