I am currently participating in an evening clinical, on a med/surg floor. This is my second quarter; my previous clinical was in a LTC. I am really excited (and nervous) to be in school, as this is a career change for me. I always have made sure to thank all of the nurses and/or techs that I work with, and understand how important it is to maintain a good relationship with the facility the students are assigned to. Anyway......the other night I was standing next to the nurse I was assigned to, listening as she received report from the day nurse. When they got to my patient, there was a comment made about a procedure. Our instructor has encouraged us to ask questions about things we aren't familiar with, so I asked "what is a ...". (I had already introduced myself to the nurse, identified which patient I had been assigned to, and she seemed open to sharing information). There was another nurse, with her back to us that turned quickly towards the group, and said "don't answer that, make her look it up". I chuckled, and said "of course I have to look it up". That was the entire exchange, but it turns out that nurse was the charge nurse, and she complained to my instructor about my response. So, even though I meant NO disrespect what so ever, she was certainly ticked off. I couldn't have been more shocked when my instructor held me over after class, and told me this. At this point I explained the situation to the instructor, and guaranteed that I would apologize to the charge nurse. My intention was to simply ask to speak to her in private, and offer a sincere apology. Not because I am trying to get out of trouble with my CI, but a real apology, as I never meant any disrespect, and appreciate the opportunity that working on her floor presents to me. My question is......would it be better to do this one on one, or would it be better to have a witness? If I ticked her off enough to have her report me to my CI, do you think it wise for me to talk to her alone? Odds are that I will be back at that hospital in the future, and I want to offer the apology, and lay low for the rest of the quarter. What do you suggest?
I am a clinical instructor and so I understand the complex dynamics between the floor nurses and students. You could give an apology but after that I would just let it go. So many times I see the nurses take out their aggressions on the students but never say anything to me about it. Often the next day it was like nothing ever happened. Just hold your head up high and show those nurses and your instructor that you aren't going to let what people say affect you or your patient care.
LEGALLY, the Clinical Instructor needs to know -- i know b/c i am one. secondly, you cloud the issue and try to shift attention to what YOU perceive as an inexperienced Instructor. the FACT remains that this Instructor is an RN (with education and experience that qualifies them to take a faculty position) who is responsible for supervising, directing, and evaluating your performance.
look. you tried to take a 'short cut' and get the 'easy' answer by asking the RN during report instead of looking it up on your own. you got caught. and now you're whining. get use to it!
and the Charge Nurse was probably reponding to the "package" (attitude, appearance, tone of voice, timing, culture, etc.) -- not just to the interuption.
I am quite appreciative of all of the responses I received to my inquiry…..except for this.
I do not have a problem with advice that guides me to become a better student. I am glad to know that interruptions during report are unacceptable. I will grow my “thick skin”.
I will however not bow to a CI that states that I “got caught” trying to obtain patient information “the easy” way by asking a question. In no way were my actions the result of laziness, rather of curiosity, and my desire to learn. In fact, as previously stated, I did research this particular question, and was pleased to have learned something new.
As for “clouding the issue” when referring to my instructors level of experience, I did no such thing. She has never taught a class before…….so does she have that experience…NO. Does she have the education to do so…..well, she will once she finishes teaching our class. Does she have years and years of clinical experience, you betcha………did she mention that interrupting report was a no no……nope. Interpret that as you may.
I do believe I just felt my skin grow a whole new layer.
LEGALLY, the Clinical Instructor needs to know -- i know b/c i am one. secondly, you cloud the issue and try to shift attention to what YOU perceive as an inexperienced Instructor. the FACT remains that this Instructor is an RN (with education and experience that qualifies them to take a faculty position) who is responsible for supervising, directing, and evaluating your performance.
look. you tried to take a 'short cut' and get the 'easy' answer by asking the RN during report instead of looking it up on your own. you got caught. and now you're whining. get use to it!
and the Charge Nurse was probably reponding to the "package" (attitude, appearance, tone of voice, timing, culture, etc.) -- not just to the interuption.
good Lord.
i can't see any sn attempt to grow in his/her role if all ci's were downright bullying. you're supposed to foster an environment that embraces approachability, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. it doesn't take a whole lot of insight to see the op is a conscientous and responsible person who takes her studies very seriously. i need to stop here.
i can't see any sn attempt to grow in his/her role if all ci's were downright bullying. you're supposed to foster an environment that embraces approachability, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. it doesn't take a whole lot of insight to see the op is a conscientous and responsible person who takes her studies very seriously. i need to stop here.
leslie
I appreciate your response Leslie. I am a clinical instructor and I try to foster such an environment as you mentioned. We learn in nursing school that patients who have moderate to high anxiety levels are not able to learn and retain information very well. So why should we do that to our nursing students where the information they are learning affects patient's lives ??
I don't believe that the OP meant to be disrespectful, but chuckling in response to the charge nurse's instructions to look the procedure up WAS inappropriate.
Students are on the unit to learn, not to make comments or get laughs. They should hold their questions until report is complete. By offering a sincere apology for inappropriate behavior, I'm sure the student could get off on a better foot. Making excuses for such behavior is counter-productive, and will set the student in a well-deserved bad light.
As a fellow student i will repeat my mantra: Cooperate and graduate! So far all of our instructors seem open to questions (even the "dumb" ones) and really are supportive. It is sad when this is not the case...
I personally thing the whole thing got blown out of proportion. One they could have said "the prodedure is......." or "I'll explain it later" and then you could have looked it up further. Two I guess I could see how ....maybe...they took you answer as a smart aleck one, but they could have just asked you to rephrase you questions next time and to wait for report to end
that's it
not drag it all out and make it sound like you are this rotten interrupting student.
Like you said...live and learn....don't sweat it. Good luck with school! :)
yes, indeed...hhhmmm what a pleasure you must be to work with!
These are the type of comments that get student nurses in trouble. Believe me, I'm an aide working on my RN and (as an aide) I've had nurses commiserate with me about some smarty pants student they had that day. On the other hand, I've seen the same nurse(s) go out of their way to help and mentor a mature and respectful student. Don't bite the hand that feeds you.
LEGALLY, the Clinical Instructor needs to know -- i know b/c i am one. secondly, you cloud the issue and try to shift attention to what YOU perceive as an inexperienced Instructor. the FACT remains that this Instructor is an RN (with education and experience that qualifies them to take a faculty position) who is responsible for supervising, directing, and evaluating your performance.
look. you tried to take a 'short cut' and get the 'easy' answer by asking the RN during report instead of looking it up on your own. you got caught. and now you're whining. get use to it!
and the Charge Nurse was probably reponding to the "package" (attitude, appearance, tone of voice, timing, culture, etc.) -- not just to the interuption.
This is an interesting thread but where I come from in the UK, 'ticked off' means the same as reprimanded! It took me a while to figure out you meant ' annoyed the charge nurse'!
njy11801
5 Posts
I am a clinical instructor and so I understand the complex dynamics between the floor nurses and students. You could give an apology but after that I would just let it go. So many times I see the nurses take out their aggressions on the students but never say anything to me about it. Often the next day it was like nothing ever happened. Just hold your head up high and show those nurses and your instructor that you aren't going to let what people say affect you or your patient care.