nursiee

Thank you! I did already have my interview, and a lot of those questions were asked!

I have an interview next week for a clinical instructor. Does anyone have any tips? Common questions asked? I know a question about how to deal with difficult students will definitely be asked. TIA!

Peds nurses just play with kids all day!

28 years old, been a nurse for 4 years.

I agree with what a lot of the others said with regards to doing something non-bedside. Bedside nursing is not for everyone, and that's okay! Nurses are needed in many areas, not only at the bedside. Do what works for you, Ashley!

Coworkers giving you the silent treatment - would that be considered passive-aggressive? Let's say another nurse gives you report before going on break and asks you to a complete a task (which is not high priority, but has to be done at some point during the day). You're not able to do this task because you get caught up handling a situation with one of your other patients. You make this nurse aware of what happened, and she doesn't look pleased, and gives you the silent treatment for a while after that.

I've heard a bit about it, but I haven't done in-depth research on the subject.

Excellent points, everyone! Thanks for your responses. I like hearing different perspectives.

Do you think that most nursing schools use a lot of fear tactics? In the particular nursing school I went to there seemed to have been particular instructors who, while teaching skills in lab, would always say things like, "This nurse put the wrong thing in the wrong lumen and the patient died." "Oh, this and this happened and the patient died and the nurse didn't continue with their career." One year, my peers and I did a presentation on suicide and nurses. We talked about a nurse who made a fatal med error and ended up taking her own life as a result. There is a lot of rhetoric on protecting your license. "Don't do this, you need to protect your license." Isn't protecting your patient more important? What about the value of human life? It can make you afraid to make a mistake. When you do make a mistake, it can make you afraid to tell anyone. A lot of times, you don't know if you'll be supported when you make a mistake. Don't get me wrong at all! I know that we as nurses have to be super meticulous and careful, because we are caring for human lives. I get it. However, I don't think it should be motivated by fear of losing your license. I'd be interested to hear what your thoughts are on this issue!

Aren't nurses considered the eyes and ears of the physician? Still pretty important. And, don't you mean learn how to help & assist him or her?

Whoa!

To be honest, I'm not completely sure if they ask or not. It goes both ways - when you see another nurse very busy on the floor, the polite thing to do would be to ask if he/she needs help and to help them. However, no one is a mind reader. So, if there is a super busy nurse who needs help, he/she should be forthcoming and just ask for it. If a nurse asks, and they refuse to help, then welp, that's a problem.

They're float pool nurses. I do hear the same complaints as well; it seems to be a common trend in a lot of places.

To be more specific, the unit I'm referring to is a pediatric oncology unit. Some of the float nurses have a few years of experience on other pediatric units, but are new to this unit. Some are new grads who previously worked in adults who've since switched to pediatrics and have had orientation shifts on this unit.

Thanks for all your replies! I'm getting the sense that the way things work in the hospital I work at is different from everyone else's. I apologize for not being clear. To clarify, these newer float nurses were doing orientation/buddy shifts. For those three weeks or so of orientation shifts, they are paired with a preceptor during each shift and share the same patient load. The preceptor is required to orientate that nurse, and obviously by the end of these buddy shifts, the preceptee should demonstrate some competence. This unit has a very specialized patient population, and they do things a lot differently than the general units do. There are many medications given on that unit that aren't given on other units. They handle IV infusions differently. When a patient has a fever, an antipyretic is not routinely given right away like it is on other units; the source of infection needs to be determined before going forward. They only administer one type of narcotic on that unit. They also only administer one type of anti-emetic. Hence, there is a bit of a learning curve. What these nurses are used to doing on other units (e.g., the way in which an IV infusion is set up, preparing a medication), doesn't fly on this particular unit. At our hospital, float staff are included in the baseline staffing numbers, they're not only needed when the unit is short-staffed.