Nurses: What do you want to see from a student in clinical?

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Hi nurses!!

I am currently in my Med-Surg II clinical and I really love it.

However, I am still sometimes feeling in the way, or that I am not spending enough time doing "hands-on" learning. Some days I am assigned to nurses who clearly love to teach, they will debrief the patient with me, pull me in to the pt's room when they give meds, have me watch as they do foley insertions, trach suctioning ect. I am SO grateful for this and I am not naive to the fact that having a nursing student around makes a nurses day more difficult. It is not your job to teach me, you have your own patients and plenty to do without me following you around.

That being said, I have watched nurses roll their eyes and swear when my clinical instructor informs them that I have their patient.

Any tips for being pro-active at clinical when I am feeling like the nurse wants me out of her hair? I do morning ADL's and morning+noon vitals but then I usually just chat with the pt or read up on their chart. I always ask the nurses if I can help with anything, but I typically get a "No, I'm okay!"

Is there anything you like to see out of nursing students on your floor?

P.S. A BIG FAT thankyou to all of you nurses out there who go out of your way to help students learn. You are so appreciated. :happy::happy:

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