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.
An account made this month with 10 posts and she throws "THAT" phrase around
Another message board I visit has now made using the word "troll" against TOS. I wish the admins here would make the NETY phrase against our TOS. It's thrown around constantly, and most of the time has nothing to do with the issue being discussed in the original post. "I don't like what I'm hearing" seems to always be attributed to NETY.
A beautiful thought, but text speak is against TOS and I see it here daily, no exaggeration. TOS means little without enforcement.
Another message board I visit has now made using the word "troll" against TOS. I wish the admins here would make the NETY phrase against our TOS. It's thrown around constantly, and most of the time has nothing to do with the issue being discussed in the original post. "I don't like what I'm hearing" seems to always be attributed to NETY.
A beautiful thought, but text speak is against TOS and I see it here daily, no exaggeration. TOS means little without enforcement.
The TOS discourages text speak, it doesn't actually prohibit it. I don't think there are enough staff to enforce it if it were a violation of the TOS. I guess we pick our battles. :)
Every time I post, it says English only, no text/chat speak. I guess I've been interpreting that incorrectly
The TOS discourages text speak, it doesn't actually prohibit it. I don't think there are enough staff to enforce it if it were a violation of the TOS. I guess we pick our battles. :)
I know that some nurses get dumped on by nursing instructors. I have been a student coordinator for a multi-hospital system and have nursing floors call me wanting to know if I know where the instructor is, because he/she was not on the floor with the students. Unless it is a DNU the instructor should be there and be responsibel for the students. I have also been a clinical instructor and my director told me that these students were working under my license. So, my students do not get put with a nurse, I assign patients, we are there for report, and I am with them for any procedures or med passes, unless it is something we have done before then I allow them to do it such as a dressing change. I have to co-sign all charting and med passes. The hospital where we do clinicals is great, we do Saturdays- best time ever to do clinical more layed back, they usually have a list of skills for us such as IV starts, NG tubes, dressing changes, etc. Some nurses are just burned out by students. There are students on some units every day of the week and then they are also trying to precept new nurses. It can be stressful for the nurse and the student.
I've been an RN for a little over five years, so I feel like I understand both sides of this. I do remember my clinical experiences and sure, some of the nurses were rude to us for no reason. However, the majority of them were just trying to get through the day and do their job.
Honestly, I think the standards nursing students are held to have changed a lot. When I was a student, we were expected to know our stuff inside and out before even showing up at the clinical site. We looked up our patient and did extensive prep work the night before, and if we weren't on time for report and adequately prepared for clinical there were consequences. While on the floor we were expected to constantly make ourselves useful...answering call bells, rounding on patients to see if they needed anything, and asking nurses what we could do to lighten their load. Maybe I was spoiled because I had excellent clinical instructors, but this practice of staff nurses being excepted to take on students is completely foreign to me. when I was in school, we were assigned to a patient, not a nurse.
As a current RN, I can say that I generally don't mind having students on the floor...when they are prepared, helpful, and respectful. I'm well aware that you're there to learn, and I'm happy to help as much as possible. I have absolutely no problem answering intelligent questions but I get irritated when students ask things they could have easily looked up on their own, or come across like they're quizzing me to try and prove how smart they are. There is a sense of entitlement and cockiness I notice among many nursing students today that is honestly scary to me. You don't know everything and you never will...and if you think you're above doing "aide work" or that you can stand around ignoring call lights then you're in for a rude awakening once you graduate. In addition to the attitude problems, many clinical groups arrive after shift change, and I've had multiple students approach me at 7:30 or 8 am asking for "report" as I'm trying to look up meds and labs, assess my patients and start my day. And then there have been a few times when I've said to a group of students standing in the hallway, "I'm about to go change this dressing/hang blood/insert a foley/etc., would you like to come watch?" and they say, "nahh I already know how to do that." Another frustrating thing that would have NEVER been allowed when I was in nursing school, is when I finally get a chance to run back and eat something, and I have nowhere to sit because the nursing students are camped out in the lounge doing homework or just hanging out. I've also had some clinical instructors sign patients into the computer and then walk away, leaving them to give meds with zero supervision (one of these times a student gave lasix and lisinopril to a patient with a BP of 80/40). Another time an instructor gave meds with a student but didn't chart it in the MAR, so the RN caring for the patient came along afterwards and re-administered the same meds. But honestly a lot of those things reflect more on the instructors than they do on the students.
Aside from those things though , I think most reasonable nurses will respect and help a student as much as possible, provided that the respect and help goes both ways. sure, there are "bad" nurses and nurses who are mean for no reason. but most of us are more than willing to help if you approach us respectfully and understand that teaching you is not our primary responsibility or concern.
Your director is full of carp and it's a little scary that you are TEACHING students and believe the whole "they work under my license" shizz
I know that some nurses get dumped on by nursing instructors. I have been a student coordinator for a multi-hospital system and have nursing floors call me wanting to know if I know where the instructor is, because he/she was not on the floor with the students. Unless it is a DNU the instructor should be there and be responsibel for the students. I have also been a clinical instructor and my director told me that these students were working under my license. So, my students do not get put with a nurse, I assign patients, we are there for report, and I am with them for any procedures or med passes, unless it is something we have done before then I allow them to do it such as a dressing change. I have to co-sign all charting and med passes. The hospital where we do clinicals is great, we do Saturdays- best time ever to do clinical more layed back, they usually have a list of skills for us such as IV starts, NG tubes, dressing changes, etc. Some nurses are just burned out by students. There are students on some units every day of the week and then they are also trying to precept new nurses. It can be stressful for the nurse and the student.
Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
I have also been a clinical instructor and my director told me that these students were working under my license.
Your director is either a believer of Myth 3 from this website (it's page 192 of the book) or deliberately misinforming you. The only person who works under a license is the person named on the license. Students work under the exception rule to licensure. They themselves are responsible for their actions.
Another frustrating thing that would have NEVER been allowed when I was in nursing school, is when I finally get a chance to run back and eat something, and I have nowhere to sit because the nursing students are camped out in the lounge doing homework or just hanging out. I've also had some clinical instructors sign patients into the computer and then walk away, leaving them to give meds with zero supervision (one of these times a student gave lasix and lisinopril to a patient with a BP of 80/40). Another time an instructor gave meds with a student but didn't chart it in the MAR, so the RN caring for the patient came along afterwards and re-administered the same meds. But honestly a lot of those things reflect more on the instructors than they do on the students.
BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN
3,520 Posts
An account made this month with 10 posts and she throws "THAT" phrase around