Nursing school makes you crazy but this is too far!

studentnurselisa1016 · Mar 23, 2017

I don't understand how so many student nurses who are suppose to have a job in health care say that it is okay to ignore the issue. That is not okay at all. You may not want to get involved but if it was a patient what would you do?

The solution is to get her help. That means reporting it to someone who can help her if you don't quite know how to help her. Talking to her would be a good first step and then reporting to behavior anonymously if you feel weird getting involved.

THE WRONG ANSWER IS TO DO NOTHING

la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN · Mar 23, 2017

I don't understand how so many student nurses who are suppose to have a job in health care say that it is okay to ignore the issue. That is not okay at all. You may not want to get involved but if it was a patient what would you do?
The solution is to get her help. That means reporting it to someone who can help her if you don't quite know how to help her. Talking to her would be a good first step and then reporting to behavior anonymously if you feel weird getting involved.
THE WRONG ANSWER IS TO DO NOTHING

She could also be FOS.

Now, if this was a patient confessing this type of behavior, as an RN, interventions are warranted/legally mandated. As one student to another, the best someone can do is to suggest they get help and that's the end of it. Also, don't study with them. Lying or not, that is really weird and ain't nobody got time for that.

ItsThatJenGirl, CNA · Mar 23, 2017

I don't understand how so many student nurses who are suppose to have a job in health care say that it is okay to ignore the issue. That is not okay at all. You may not want to get involved but if it was a patient what would you do?
The solution is to get her help. That means reporting it to someone who can help her if you don't quite know how to help her. Talking to her would be a good first step and then reporting to behavior anonymously if you feel weird getting involved.
THE WRONG ANSWER IS TO DO NOTHING

That's not true. If this was a one off thing, what good would reporting her do? What sort of help would she benefit from? If this was a behavior pattern, I'd agree - but reporting for an isolated incident has the potential to really screw up her future.

And that's assuming she actually did what she said she did.

Tacomaboy3 · Mar 24, 2017

Agreed. Just because you disagree with her behavior, especially in an isolated incident that you didn't even witness, doesn't mean she's a danger to herself or to others. The absolute most I would do is say, "Self-inducing barfing to get out of work, huh? Don't ya' think that's a bit extreme?"

mtngirl07 · Mar 28, 2017

Sorry for the late reply guys! End of the semester crunch is in full effect. I talked to her and convinced her to talk to someone at student health. To answer your question @cleback, apparently she tried to ask off beforehand so she could study but her employer wouldn't give her the day off. We also both made in the 90s!! She was able to laugh about it in the end.

RNikkiF · Apr 4, 2017

Wow. It doesn't matter if it is safe for pets or not. This girl clearly has some emotional or mental health issues going on right now. Encourage her to seek help and let her know that if she continues self destructing, you'll have no choice but to let the school or her family know what is going on. She clearly has to find a better way to cope. If she's self destructing in school, she's not going to adjust to the nursing world well. The stress after school can be life and death. Not pass/fail. Huge difference. Don't abandon her, be her friend by not allowing her to continue harming herself in secret.

Guest957596 · Apr 4, 2017

Report her to the Program Director through your instructor. This person has issues and I wouldn't want her to become a nurse.

Daecat · Apr 5, 2017

It sounds like this student needs to see a learning strategist. Our school offers support in helping student manage with limited time, perhaps your school offers this as well. My university also has work shops for test taking to help reduce anxiety. Perhaps she needs a Counselor to help reduce the anxiety. But in the end, you can't change her behaviour, only provide tools for her to succeed.

tidynurse · Apr 7, 2017

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170202161349.htm

Wlaurie, RN · Apr 11, 2017

I would say to her that I think you need to find a better way to manage your stress. Tests come continually in nursing school. Prior to nursing I got a bs in accounting which was so different. I tell people that want to go to nursing school that it affects you physically emotionally spiritually just on every level and you got to learn how to manage it. If she choses to continue with her destructive ways you might have to go your separate ways.

mtngirl07 · May 6, 2017

@tidynurse That is very interesting and just what I was looking for. I didn't have any scientific evidence to support potential harm besides it being cytotoxic. Thanks for finding that!

The_Muffintime · May 6, 2017

I don't understand how so many student nurses who are suppose to have a job in health care say that it is okay to ignore the issue. That is not okay at all. You may not want to get involved but if it was a patient what would you do?
The solution is to get her help. That means reporting it to someone who can help her if you don't quite know how to help her. Talking to her would be a good first step and then reporting to behavior anonymously if you feel weird getting involved.
THE WRONG ANSWER IS TO DO NOTHING

I agree. The right course of action in my opinion is to FIRST talk to her. Make it clear that you a) care for her and b) are worried about her behaviors that are harming her body. Let her know that you are and will be there for her whenever she might feel like she needs to talk to somebody. Just as importantly you should make it clear to her that you are not judging her for feeling anxious; you are only worried about her health.

Make no mistake: inducing vomiting for non-medical reasons is extremely dangerous because it sets up a terrible precedent for future behavior. A one-time event can become a pattern so easily. It sounds like your friend is at least on the cusp of beginning a terrible slide down toward a very unhealthy (emotionally AND physically) place.

I would keep an eye on her while being very very careful not to make her feel like you are constantly looking over her shoulder and crowding her. As future nurses I believe that we have the responsibility to reach out to people in need of help, if only because we are being trained to recognize bad health and habits. Additionally empathy is a skill that our nursing training should be helping us with.

It's a fine line to walk - going straight to the administration without even talking to her will backfire on you and you will lose her trust completely. Be her friend...that's the best advice I know to give you.

Edit: I wouldn't give her an ultimatum right off the bat. Going up to her and saying "you need to get help or I'm going to have to report what happened to the administration" is a guaranteed way to antagonize her and shut the door on any chance you might have had to help her. Give her a chance to do the right thing.

Edit #2: I'm sorry, I didn't see your followup post. You did the right thing! I'm very happy that you were able to convince your friend to seek help for her problems. Good for you! :cat: