pet peeves when nursing students arrive

FLboundBSN · Aug 9, 2011

i enjoy having students around, but trust me -- a student is not a help. students double or triple your work load if you're actually trying to teach them something. it may take me a half hour to teach something i could just take care of in a minute or two. also, no one is "thankful that we were doing their job for free." you're not. the nurse is still responsible, and even if your instructor is the one helping you cath the patient or give the meds, the nurse still needs to follow up.
for every "mean nurse" you say you've encountered, i've encountered a problem student. that's food for thought, isn't it?

i can see this person is not the nurse you want to be in clinicals with. too bad you have such a bad attitude and feel that we students are taking up more of your time and think we are problem children. i hope to never be in your patient room :/ so much for "supporting other fellow nursing students" !! :mad:dislike:mad:

Always_Learning, BSN, RN · Aug 9, 2011

I can see this person is not the nurse you want to be in clinicals with. Too bad you have such a bad attitude and feel that we students are taking up more of your time and think we are problem children. I hope to never be in your patient room :/ So much for "supporting other fellow nursing students" !! :mad:DISLIKE:mad:

I don't think Ruby has a bad attitude. I think she is reminding students that - as a nurse - it is an "extra task" to have a student with you. (Checking drug calcs, making sure the student catches the low BP and holds the beta blocker, still keeping in touch with the student and keeping abreast of the patient's condition, etc. etc.) This doesn't mean that most nurses dislike students; quite the opposite, I've found. What it does mean is that it behooves the student to be polite, helpful when possible, and thank the nurse for their time and effort spent teaching.

Fiona59 · Aug 9, 2011

It is not a phone. It is an Ipod Touch. No phone/camera capabilities. No different than an upgraded Palm Pilot (which our school used to use). Whats the difference between this and a computer?

WHAT!! You don't have a fourth generation IPod???

Even I have one of those. Pictures and real time chat.

Poi Dog · Aug 9, 2011

I can see this person is not the nurse you want to be in clinicals with. Too bad you have such a bad attitude and feel that we students are taking up more of your time and think we are problem children. I hope to never be in your patient room :/ So much for "supporting other fellow nursing students" !! :mad:DISLIKE:mad:

That's not fair at all. Ruby Vee stated that she likes having students around. Lighten up :down:

*dislike*

Futterwacken · Aug 9, 2011

I can see this person is not the nurse you want to be in clinicals with. Too bad you have such a bad attitude and feel that we students are taking up more of your time and think we are problem children. I hope to never be in your patient room :/ So much for "supporting other fellow nursing students" !! :mad:DISLIKE:mad:

:chair:

LuckyRN07 · Aug 9, 2011

As long as you follow the unit's rules, you shouldn't have a problem. For example leave a note whenever you take a chart, do not sit around, offer to help, be friendly and smile. Have a positive attitude towards the staff, remember you are a visitor in THEIR daily work place. Be eager to learn, most nurses love to teach. If your nurse is having a bad day, do not expect her to smile at you, try putting yourself in her position and ask yourself how would you react in the same situation?

I am a new grad and never had a bad experience.

FLboundBSN · Aug 9, 2011

my unit had a batch of students who put us through hell and managed to get our manager reprimanded by the hospital (her sin? she told the students they had to get up and giver her staff seats for report) so excuse me, if my unit dreads the arrival of students.
be willing to learn. you truly don't know it all
inserting one foley catheter into one male doesn't mean you know how to do it.
don't approach the patient with the attitude that they are a "skill to be checked off".
don't say "oh, you're an lpn and i can't learn anything from you because i'm an rn student"
don't dig into food on the staff room table. do you know the birthday nurse or why there is food there? wait for the invite, we're pretty good about telling you to chow down.
don't tell us about how you're going to be an np someday. you aren't even an independent nurse yet.
poop smells, wounds can smell, yes, ostomies are hard to deal with. just remember there is a human being with feeling behind those odours.
oh, and for the love of all that is holy, keep your iphones in your handbag. i don't care if you are doing research on it, it looks wrong, there are computers on the unit and believe it or not actual reference books.

now this is true criticism! all of these points are helpful to us new-bees coming in. thank you so much for this! :yeah:

FLboundBSN · Aug 9, 2011

that's not fair at all. ruby vee stated that she likes having students around. lighten up
*dislike*

ruby "enjoys having students around" so she can sigh, become aggravated while her bad attitude rubs off on us new students? we take up her time rather than being a mentor and being patient with us? that is what it seems to me. no thank you! :yawn:

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 9, 2011

It is not a phone. It is an Ipod Touch. No phone/camera capabilities. No different than an upgraded Palm Pilot (which our school used to use). Whats the difference between this and a computer?

Irrelevant. They are not allowed in my hospital. So it doesn't make a difference. Observers can't tell the difference between the legitimate use of a handheld device and someone checking out their personal e-mail. Also, there have been instances of staff and students taking inappropriate pictures with such devices. We've had patient complaints about staff being on their "cell phones" when they should be working.

Hence, they are no longer allowed to be used except in the lounge or some other private place. Period. It doesn't matter what your school requires you to buy. You are a guest in our hospital: you follow the rules or you leave.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Aug 9, 2011

When I go into clinicals as a student I always try to be an extra set of hands. Do common sense stuff before being asked.
Never try to tell staff that they are doing things wrong... If they are doing something other then how you were taught just say something like "I've learnt that best practice was to ______ Could you watch me and let me know what you think?" IF they were doing things wrong or cutting corners it gets them thinking about being a better example without you comming off as an annoying student.

You will find that what you learn in school is good- but experience does bring changes to how you get things done- with the same results as what the books say :)

darkangel83 · Aug 9, 2011

I think I come with a very interesting perspective...

I just graduated last August and work in a variety of settings including surgery and ER. Often, I will have students for a day or two on the surgery unit. This can be a very stressful situation for me as I am still new to this profession and am now expected to teach/demonstrate something!

As for pointers:

- Always ask questions (and yes, sometimes I do not know the answer...but I will direct you to someone who does or will find the answer for you!)

- Act interested...even though you may not be! Surgery is not for everyone...it's not even for me, but I've decided to look at each day as a learning experience.

- Seek out skills you want to learn! We used to always tell the nurses the skills we wanted to practice and nearly all of them would come to find us when an opportunity presented itself!

- Please do not let me catch you looking up stuff on eBay or playing games on your phone when the rest of us are run off our feet!!! Even if your buddy RN doesn't need help...someone else might! Make yourself available if you have the time!

- Also, although you are practicing under your instructor's license...I still shoulder a great deal of responsibility for that patient. There are meds I still have to give to that patient, procedures that need to be done that the student can't perform, and my own charting.

Purplcav...

I was a student just last year and always thought the nurses should be more appreciative of the work students do. I have had many extremely helpful students and am sure to acknowledge their help at the end of the day.

However, now that I am working independently, I realize the time and effort it takes to guide students as well as complete your own work, especially if you end up with a student who requires extra assistance. So, yes...sometimes having students does slow things down. I challenge you to come back to this topic once you are graduated and have students of your own and see if you would still respond the same way.

2011nursetobe · Aug 9, 2011

A passerby also cannot tell if someone on a computer is checking their email or doing unwork related things. I understand society frowns upon the use of cell phones at work. Med students use handheld electronic devices all the time and society can "handle" that. Why can't we change the stigma about these devices so the public is aware of what they are being used for?