Nursing school hellions!

NurzofFaith · May 21, 2002

I must say that it isnt just your class or college!!

First semester for me there were classmates that wanted to sponge off those of us that actually did the work, they truly believed we didnt mind. :devil:

We had students try and cheat on care plans by copying off another student, lie when it came to learning meds..that was a laugh! My instructors chewed that student and spit him out real fast!!

There were so many inappropriate comments I cant even name them all! I just know that the first year of clinicals with some of these people was an eye opening experience, both good and bad!

Our last year of class/clinicals topped them all!! The personalities and the lack of compassion really came out to the point where students wanted to kill one another and I am not kidding!!

Some of my classmates have not a compassionate bone in their bodies, and this really gets under my skin!! Not only this but there were times when we were listening to taped report and certain students would cut down the nurses who were giving the report. I was HOT ! :devil: How could they talk about nurses that had more years of wisdom and experience than they had years on this earth..UGH!!!! There was NO respect given by some. I also felt so bad for the instructors because at times when they should have been able to kick them out, they had to sit on their hands and take the attitudes and actions of a few.

I think the one thing for me that really was the biggest upset was when an arrogant student commented on a patient who was in sickle cell crisis. She sat there in front of myself, 20 of my classmates and one instructor and told us how this man wasn't in pain he just wanted medications! She did not know him, never cared for him but knew he was a drug seeker..GRRRRR This is where that saying comes in handy. Its better to look stupid than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

I guess to end this, believe me this is the tip of the iceburg, I could go on and on but wont because it makes me angry!! I can honestly say that if some of my fellow classmates wanted to care for me, a friend or my family I would tell them to go get a real nurse!! I know that is bad to say...and I hope nobody will hold it against me, its just the way I feel!! I have many classmates that are wonderful compassionate students /GNs and I am proud to share this profession with them :) I just wish things could have been different in school. I knew it was pretty bad when

my instructors said every year they graduate students who dont need to be nurses, and I am sure it happens everywhere. Sorry this got so long, maybe I needed to blow off some built up steam also:)

~Channa

crnasomeday · May 21, 2002

I totally agree with what you were saying Channa about the patient in sickle cell crisis and pain. I hate it when other people want to judge someone else's pain. Man that infuriates me!

Now as far as stupid things said by classmates....there is one that really stands out in my mind. You know how the term bolus is used to describe the ball formed when you chew food before you swallow it? Well, when I was in pharmacology, the instructor said something about giving a bolus of some particular drug and this student next to me asked me after class "Why do we want to give the patient a wad of chewed up food?" LOL! I was just floored, and really wanted to slap this guy silly. That was just one of the many, many stupid things this guy said and did. He didn't make it through the nursing program, Thank God, cause he really frightened me!

Rena RN 2003, RN · May 22, 2002

:lol this must be a college wide thing cause i have several people in my class that have made me wonder why they ever decided to be nurses.

read my signature line....it says it all. :lol

Kaleigh · May 22, 2002

Well, unfortunately, the little AIDS in Africa thing was only one of many, many comments made by supposedly knowledgeable students.

About the sickle cell thing, I also have a classmate who's brother died at 40 from complications of sickle cell. She had to leave the room one day when an instructor, not a student, an instructor mind you, made the comment that 95% of sickle cell crisis pt's were drug seekers or just plain stupid. I believe her exact words were " Most sickle cell crisis pt's, about 95%, are just drug seeking, the other 5% are just too stupid to realize what brings on a crisis."

Okay, now where did she come up with the 95% and, yeah, lets just teach all sickle cell pt's what precipitates a crisis and force them not to do those things. We might as well tell them not to breathe or blink!

Kaleigh · May 22, 2002

OH, and by the way, this one's a little on the lighter side...

we also had a student who was ordered to do a simple accucheck on DM pt. Well, the instructor happened to check her supplies on the way out of the medicine room. Lo and behold, the chick was going to draw blood.

pkmom · May 22, 2002

I was in class with a few that had a hard time converting CCs to mLs.

amblessing · May 22, 2002

Originally posted by pkmom
I was in class with a few that had a hard time converting CCs to mLs.

That's bad! Hopefully they'll never pass the state board exam! :rolleyes:

Jennipherlynn · May 23, 2002

heres one for you, we just finished endocrine, Just took the Unitexam and this poor girl looks up and says

Whats IDDM mean?

However, this girl is not stupid and will make a good nurse some day, I think the problem is to many hours trying to work the night job and it was a friday afternoon...... lol

delirium · May 23, 2002

There are a few in my program that give cause to worry, but one in particular. She's latched on to me for whatever reason and sort of follows me around in clinical.

Ok, so one of our last clinical days last semester we're in with a laboring patient who is in transition, about 9 cms, anxious but still pretty comfortable with the epidural.

So MsStudentNurse of the year says, "Don't worry Mrs. _____, most people don't die in labor, although one did here just last week."

I literally had no words at that point. It was true, a patient had expired last week due to bilateral pulmonary emboli while on postpartum. It, of course, shook up the whole department.

So, the woman asked the doc was it true, the doc said it was, the woman said that student was never to come back in again, she got in a bit of trouble with the instructor, missed the delivery, in fact never returned to the birthing center. Spent the next 2 days in the antepartal testing center across the parking lot.

How's that for a truly crass thing to say to a patient?

No common sense, no bedside manner, no diplomacy.

subec · May 23, 2002

How do these people get accepted into school?

USA987, MSN, RN, NP · May 23, 2002

We had one guy in LPN school who always tried to do the minimum to get by. He never believed in teamwork, etc.

One day out clinically the staff nurse comes to me and says, "what would you do if you were taking vitals on a patient and their respirations were 64?" Of course, I responded that I would call for help and questioned whether or not that was even physiologically possible. My dear classmate charted vitals as 97.6, 128/84, 78 (P), 64. My instructor asked me to check. When I went in the room resp. 22. Until the day we graduated he insisted they were 64...

Now I am entering an ADN program. At orientation one professor was giving us the "talk". How we represent the college, how we act reflects on the school, our school has such a good reputation, etc. Of course, one of my fellow students had to chime in and say, "Well, I'm only going to represent the school positively if you treat me well and give me what I want". The professor took one look at her and said, "with an attitude like that, maybe you should reconsider entering the program". I thought she had a lot of nerve. It should be an interesting year...

Good luck all,

Christine