So as a third semester nursing student, myself and many of my fellow colleagues often wonder the same thing. Why is it that when we go to clinical, about 75% of the nurses act snobby and like it's some huge ordeal that we are there in "their space"? They were all nursing students at some point as well, students who wanted to learn skills and gain experience while at their clinicals. I often dread clinical due to feeling as I am in the way or that I am annoying a "seasoned" nurse. One would think, that as a nurse you'd want future nurses to gain as much experience and knowledge as they can while they're in school. So the point of this post, I would like to and I'm sure many other nursing students would like to know; why is it necessary to be rude and someone who doesn't want to help students learn or why is it necessary to not explain stuff to the student when they ask? I'm not trying to be conniving, I honestly just want to know, so that maybe I can understand.
P.S. I'm not saying this is true for ALL nurse's, as there are some that are amazing and share their knowledge and expertise.
OP, I made a thread awhile ago regarding tips for students in clinical placements, explaining the perspectives of floor nurses and how to help you better understand and tips that can help you avoid doing things that are very annoying/frustrating/alarming to floor nurses that you may not even realize. I made this thread after a similar post was made here and many of the comments from students, (plus many of my own experiences) made me want to write this out.
It is your teacher's job to teach and it is your job to ask the nurse whose patients you may be caring for if you can watch him/her do procedures, treatments, etc. To be honest, when all the student nurses are taking up all the computer space and the nurses NEED to document and give medications... because that's our job, it is annoying. I'm more than willing to let a student follow me and I have pulled students into a room to do a wound dressing or see something interesting. I was there as a student too but instead of being the student that mopes around and complains, be proactive and act enthusiastic. I didn't let it get me down when I was in school. Going in with a positive attitude and not complaining about the nurses with all the other students actually gave me a great clinical experience. You'd be surprised what some nurses would teach you if you just asked.
I think I need a drink after reading this post. And I really only drink 1-2 with dinner while on vacation.
So glad to hear someone like you is willing to protect vulnerable people from these attitudes. They border on sounding narcissistic, to be honest.
They passed her with flying colors even with all her red flags at every turn. In our last term she had to be told she can not tell patients to take medications that is considered prescribing. She proceeded to argue that everything she tells patients to take is over the counter... still prescribing. About 2 weeks before we took our exit exam she said in theory with the assistant director present "WOW you can really just do anything you want to patients because NOBODY would ever know!" She is very proficient in memorization but has no real comprehension of what she's memorized. I literally am scared of what will happen because someone will have to die before lose her license, but even then she has the personality and attitude that she lies and changes her story to cover her own butt. I've witnessed it first hand. She'll keep changing her story at every turn. She didn't even pass her exit exam but they went ahead and sent her BRN papers and she's scheduled her boards.
It it literally has given me nightmares knowing someone will fall victim. It saddens me to actually hope it is only one that will fall victim before she has lost her license. I've seen her making horrific parenting choices and I'm a witness in a custody case where she is a defendant's witness in relation to child endangerment and neglect even though she is one of the acting parties. There's even evidence of her committing perjury in a case where she was the actual dependent.
Just watching what is being set free on patients during my RN program has actually really sullied me on dreams and my joy in my career
OP, I made a thread awhile ago regarding tips for students in clinical placements, explaining the perspectives of floor nurses and how to help you better understand and tips that can help you avoid doing things that are very annoying/frustrating/alarming to floor nurses that you may not even realize. I made this thread after a similar post was made here and many of the comments from students, (plus many of my own experiences) made me want to write this out.
State BONs set limits on how many nursing students a school is allowed to enroll and set standards for faculty to students ratios. In my experience, there's no limit on how many students can be in a lecture class, but the BON has a standard for the maximum number of students allowed in a clinical group with an instructor. Schools that "spew out students by the hundreds" have documented to the BON that they have sufficient qualified clinical faculty and clinical settings to accommodate that many students.
Wow. WOW. When I was in school, I had to go to the unit the night before and research my patient and was expected to know all about them, including their scheduled meds, by the time I arrived bright and early 1 hour before shift change. The *only* exception to this was L&D.
Interesting. Things sure have changed.
No that's how it is for me right now.
And to touch on the subject so far every rn I have del with have been extremely nice and willing to teach, but I don't ask 100 common sense questions.
The only time I was rude to a student was when she spent 30 minutes in the patients room doing her assessment, then came to me and said "hi, I have your patient in room xxx and I just finished his assessment. Could you tell me his initials? I need it for my paperwork."
When I was in my nursing program, we actually had a nurse yell at a student to move out of her chair and computer. There was at least five other computers open. We had nurses that complained about us and our teacher while we were in the room. The set a very poor example of what a work environment should be like. I heard multiple students say they would never work there. It gave a bad reputation to the hospital.
Some nurses are very disrespectful to students, they see us as extra work. I would take this as a lesson to not be like them in the future. Granted I understand why they were mad at us, our clinical instructor sat in the break room the whole entire time.
I take the student with me with no problem. I remember what it is like. I take u on a tour of my ER Trauma center. Introduce u to my friends. Most of the students r happy. Because we know u need to get your feet wet starting IV,foleys etc... Even go in a code and do compressions
When I was in my nursing program, we actually had a nurse yell at a student to move out of her chair and computer. There was at least five other computers open.
Maybe the nurse shouldn't have yelled, but if she was already logged into that computer, I can see where she may have been frustrated. Our computers can be slower than dirt and trying to get logged back in elsewhere can be infuriating. Also, I'd say if she actually works there, she gets dibs on which computer she wants.
You've also deleted some pretty inflammatory words, I guess if we can't see them anymore that means you haven't been disrespectful? It doesn't work that way, grasshopper.
I have, and I disagree. I don't see anywhere in this post where I've been disrespectful. What I do see is, a lot of people being disrespectful towards me, and towards nursing students in general. I believe people took my post the wrong way and assumed that I was disrespecting nurse's, which I wasn't. Maybe I exaggerated when I said the percentage of nurses whom are snobby and bitter, but I didn't say anything out of line. It's troublesome so many of the responses here are so negative about students being on their units. That's perfectly fine. When I graduate in a few months, I will NOT be that nurse who gets ill and takes my stressful day out on a student who is there because that's where they got placed for their rotation.
NurseStorm, BSN, RN
153 Posts
OP, I made a thread awhile ago regarding tips for students in clinical placements, explaining the perspectives of floor nurses and how to help you better understand and tips that can help you avoid doing things that are very annoying/frustrating/alarming to floor nurses that you may not even realize. I made this thread after a similar post was made here and many of the comments from students, (plus many of my own experiences) made me want to write this out.
https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/tips-for-nursing-1028295.html