Floor nurses that make clinicals a bad experience

Nurses Relations

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Specializes in LTC.

Once again I find myself having a bad clinical experience due to nurses that are rude to students and act like they were born with a RN license. First let me say I appreciate the nurses that do show us students respect and don't make us feel like a burden. I am a nurse in LTC. I'm a LPN. I have had nursing students on the floor and to say the least it is overwhelming !!!! I have 20 residents, med pass, treatments, documentation, dealing with docs, family, other emergencies and to have six students on top of that can be stressful. Having to answer a bunch of questions, being asked to look at something or to clarify something is alot on just one nurse.

With that said I have never been rude to the nursing students or acted as if they were a burden. I know what it is like to be a student nurse. Granted there are some students that are a little more needy than other but then there are some that really just want to learn but at the same time want respect.

Being on both sides I'm more aware of how they can make it better for students and how students can make it better for nurses. As students we should take initiative but at the same time realize that the nurses are busy and may not be available as soon as we want them. Also that the patients are the priority and our learning comes second. For nurses we must remember what it was like to be students and just having a little more respect. Floor nurses don't need to teach the students but allowing us to observe a thing or two would be nice.

Just a little vent.

Specializes in Med./Surg. and paramed. exams.

Very true, while students may sometimes "appear to get in the way", they are still generally a help during the day whether it is vitals, baths, meds, or just an extra set of eyes, they can be a positive for everyone on the floor. When I was in school there was an extremely rude, arrogant nurse at one clinical site...so after a run in or two, our instructor just made sure she didn't assign any of that nurse's patients to a student. In other words, all the other nurses had help on our clinical day, the rude nurse was relatively on her own, as she deserved. How many times in a day or week would we not want an extra set of eyes, hands, or legs to help with something, lets work on giving those students a positive learning experience rather than a nerve rattling day for them.

I hate when I have a rude nurse...I usually "kill her with kindness" by taking care of as many things as I can for her and watch her when she goes to look at the chart and sees that it's already been done :) they usually start to perk up to me right about then and bring me things to do or tell me when there's a procedure to be done by another nurse. Works every time.

Specializes in LTC.

I do the kill with kindness too. I love when I have students. They are so eager to learn and I love to teach !

I had one nurse at clinical yell at me and another student nurse before we can even introduce ourselves. She was very rude for no reason !

I'm currently working my way through my third round of clinicals and can say that I've had a pleasant experience overall. I feel fortunate that I've been introduced to nurses who are willing to answer my questions and allow me to actually participate in my clinical experience. Hopefully this will continue until I finish and then I hope to work in a hospital that is equally as helpful.

Specializes in Emergency; med-surg; mat-child.

I've been surprised how quickly the entire staff can seem to vanish once we hit the floor. I understand that we're doing total care for all the pts on the floor, but you are still responsible for all tx and cares. Don't go hang out in the staff room!

Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

You have to remember those nurses who are rude, belittling, etc whatever, are probably unhappy with their lives, probably older, burned out nurses, who are unhappy wherever they go. It's not just students they take their anger out on, but students are a VERY convenient scapegoat.

I've worked with older nurses in OT who thought absolutely nothing about yelling at and belittling students in front of surgeons, other nurses, etc. And I've seen that nasty, curved up smirk they try to hide, like no-one will see it. Truly nasty moles they are. I often wonder how any of them got married and raised children - I used to often wonder what their children were like.

I suppose you can only do your best as a preceptor though. One way to deal with nasty, unhappy people is to constantly smile and always be positive around them - that really REALLY annoys them!

Specializes in Gerontology.

Perhaps these rude nurses have been burnt by students who say that they will be caring for Patient A today, but then report off that they didn't do this or that because they were too busy watching another student do a procedure, or were so busy reading the chart and looking up meds that they just didn't have time to do am care.

I had a student report off to me that he didn't do am care because the pt went for an Xray. yeah - the pt was gone for approx 30 mins. The student was there from 7:30 to 12:30. Pleanty of time to do basic am care. So yes I was annoyed with him.

I've had student flat out lie to me about the care they have provided.

I've had students tell me that they plan to work in ER when they graduate, so they don't need to learn how to provide am care. I've had students say that Rehab nursing is "boring" and they only want to work in "important" areas like ICU so they really don't need to learn how to provide good am care.

so yes, there may be rude floor nurses - but remember, they be that way because they've had to deal with rude students.

That's the point- there's rude/lazy students and rude/lazy preceptors and people trying their best to get along with other people...that's the way the world works. We are ultimately in charge of our own learning experiences. Most of the time the above posters are right--they are miserable and burned out doing their jobs, they may have things going on outside of work, etc. etc. We don't know. The best thing that we can do as students is to prove ourselves to be helpful and competent to these nurses and make their lives a little easier. They'll end up loving and respecting you for it! And possibly changing some attitudes about future nursing students they may have...can't take things personally when they treat you like that it most likely has absolutely nothing to do with you. You're there to do a job- so do it.

I enjoy teaching new students, and sharing information with them just as I share information/education with my patients. Teaching is GOOD. If you help one person, you may in turn help many. I am always nice to students, and remember what it was like to be one. I will give opportunities, and help as much as possible. It's also nice to have an extra pair of hands. I want every student to have a good experience, and be a good nurse. It doesn't have to be an awful experience to go to clinicals, or to be a new nurse on the floor, but more often than not, it is. It can be the most difficult experience of your life.

Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

It's also part of the job of a RN to work through problems with students, not just be rude to them. Being rude doesn't achieve anything. We have to be managers and try to manage all and every problem to the best of our ability.

I do not think personally there is any excuse for being rude. I can't stand it, and am not like that towards other people. I don't see any reason for it - most of these nurses I've met are just burned out and don't know how to cope anymore. I think a lot of them LIKE being rude actually - it brightens up their boring lives.

Very true, while students may sometimes "appear to get in the way", they are still generally a help during the day whether it is vitals, baths, meds, or just an extra set of eyes, they can be a positive for everyone on the floor. When I was in school there was an extremely rude, arrogant nurse at one clinical site...so after a run in or two, our instructor just made sure she didn't assign any of that nurse's patients to a student. In other words, all the other nurses had help on our clinical day, the rude nurse was relatively on her own, as she deserved. How many times in a day or week would we not want an extra set of eyes, hands, or legs to help with something, lets work on giving those students a positive learning experience rather than a nerve rattling day for them.

I for one will never forget the staff nurse from hell who would refuse to TALK to me when she was given the task of allowing me to shadow her for my clinical team leading. I could DO nothing, but when I had a question during my shadow role, she was cynical and dismissive.That's why I always swore to become a teacher of nurses.

I would love to find a student TO teach! We start the day with the student listening to report with me. I tell them to catch up with me in 15 minutes in the med room after I have had a chance to proritize my day and figure out teaching experiences. We will do this together. I then find out that said NS has found out her asssignment at 0700 and has not had any time to research this pt, his disease or co-morbidities. I then tell the student to take 15 minutes to do some chart research BEFORE meeting me in the med room.

Never to see said student again, for whatever reason. No, it' not me. I have successfully precepted 4th semester management students, ICU interns and CNA's . These students seem to have no focus, no plan and no growth pathway that they are SUPPOSED to be focused on. Is it the students, is it the nursing education that they get?

Who can say?

What I know is that I do not have the time to teach BASIC nursing skills to an eager young student/grad; and thier anger at me for not being fabulously THRILLED having to do thier teacher's job does NOT make me a "Nurse WHO EATS THIER YOUNG"

And thier instructors are no better. I have seen COMPLETELY inappropriate assignments made, obviously without ANY research by the instructor being done .Note to instructors: get your self into the hospital the night before and ACTUALLY think about meeting your students clinical needs.

Sorry about the spelling errors.

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