Flo1216

Tell me whatI have said that describes playground antics.

Sunnygirl...are you making a general statement or referring to someone in particular?

What is it that what I am saying lacks validity? I am giving a student's perspective. But I guess the opinions of a student do not matter.

So when I practice I will be mean and nasty to anyone with less experience than myself? They forgot to teach us that in school.

lol:):roll :chuckle

Kids r fun...Maybe YOU need to get over it. I'm fine. If I justify my statements it is because I feel they are misunderstood. Take a chill pill.

Like I said ,the impression I get from Mattsmom's posts is that she is not particularly receptive to students or newcomers. I reacted to the way the post made me feel just as you reacted to the way my post made you feel.

I actually agree with you about the checklist thing. I mean if inserting a foley is on my checklist and I check it off, I wouldn't refuse to do it again just because I checked it off. How else will you become good at something unless you do it over and over? That is a silly concept and I can see where you may get frustrated.

I don't agree with that though, Fab. There is a difference between constructive criticism and the pirannah-like behavior exhibited by some nurses who simply are not receptive to students. I welcome constructive criticism because I know it can only make me a better nurse -what I do not welcome is my future coworkers grumbling and rolling their eyes at the thought of my very existence. In addition to being a minor inconvienience in their day, I am also a person. And I have feelings.

The preceptors in the hospital where I work get paid extra. And they should be. I don't think anyone disagrees with that. If someone doesn't feel comfortable precepting somone, however, they should talk it over with their supervisor, not take it out on the student. That is all I am saying.

Hey, you were the one complaining about the students coming from these programs, not me. I was just agreeing with you.

I didn't believe I was resorting to insults. I wasn't the one complaining about the nursing students that come to your hospital.. Also, my school is hospital based. That is, the hospital in which I do my clinical rotation owns my school and the preceptors do get paid exta. And I never suggested that the nurses have to TRAIN me. When I say I am assigned to a nurse, I mean that I share certain pts so they are some things that I may have to communicate with that nurse regarding that patient. But for God's sake, they could be a little nicer. But I guess they should be paid extra for that too. Some of them are just downright nasty. and it is really not necessary.

Perhaps the nursing programs in your area are inferior,Fab. I can only speak for my own program. We fill out our own check lists and come up with our own nursing diagnoses. I guess that would annoy me too if I were in your shoes. But what I am talking about is when an instructor introduces me to a staff nurse whom I wll share a patient with and she rolls her eyes and groans, " I have a student today?" I don't think I deserve to be treated that way. I don't think I deserve to be snapped at by a nurse when I tell her the pt is requesting something for pain and he has nothing ordered and students are not allowed to call the doctor. Am I wrong for relaying pt concerns to the nurse if the concern is something I cannot help them with? I don't think so. Like I said, it is tough all over. I am sorry that the nursing students in your area can't seem to think for themselves. Send them over to my school. We have a good program. We just need more instructors!

Hoolahan....how is that nervy? I have read many posts on this issue by Mattsmom and the impression she puts forth is that she is less than accomadating to newcomers and students. Not everyone is a good teacher or not everyone is willing to precept. When I graduate I want to work alongside a preceptor who doesn't resent my being there. I want to learn. In my opinion the best way to learn is to be taught by someone who WANTS to teach. DO you honestly think that we can be taught everything we need to know in nursing school? Of course not. It just seems as though a lot of the experts cannot be bothered with the beginners. However, the experts seem to forget that they were once beginners themselves. We rely on your experience to help mold us into good nurses. Nursing is SUPPOSED to be a team profession and the newcomers cannot be expected to make it on their own, without support from their coworkers. It's sad to me that we live in such a me-oriented society. I wish I could replace the word ME to the word WE. The world would be a much nicer place.:kiss

llg...I like the way you think:)

As far as starting IV's are concerned, we do a rotation with the IV therapy nurse, as that is their specialty. It works out better that way. I guess every school is different and some are better than others. The quality of students probably varies as well. I can't help but feel defensive though, being a student myself. All I want to do is learn and I don't feel I should be shortchanged simply because each student doesn't have their own personal instructor. I work in a hospital and I know how busy nurses are. I try to do as much as I can on my own but there are times(gasp) when I have to "bother" the staff nurse. Also, usually I try to go to my instructor first and they defer you to the staff nurse. A lot of times they can be of more help than the instructor because they are the ones taking care of that person every day. It's tough all over. And I would rather annoy someone with questions than to try and go it alone and make a mistake. I think some students are afraid to ask for assistance because they have been ridiculed or make to feel incompetent. So please....can't we all just get along?

Perhaps the phrase of nurses "eating their young" wouldn't be heard so often if there wasn't an element of truth to it. The object is to attract more people to the profession, not drive them away from it. If students are treated like dirt, why will they want to be part of a profession that doesn't welcome them? It's not about students not getting their way...it's about courtesty and mutual respect. Most students are scared to death and could benefit from the guidance and support of a seasoned nurse. Sure, there will always be some students with attitude problems but that goes for any profession. Just as there will always be a lot of nurses with attitude problems. It doesnt' have to be that way. I have been mentored by wonderful nurses who are just as overworked, stressed and tired as the next person. They didn't snap at me for no reason, or complain about having a student, as if I were deaf. They didn't make me feel like a burden. They weren't rude or nasty. They had patience and made my clinical experiences valuable. In my opinion, these people truly define the word nurse. Too bad these lovely souls seem to be few and far between:(

Remember guys...not only is there a shortage of nurses, there is also a shortage of instructors. They do their best but they cannot do it all. I always remember the nurses, not matter how overworked they have been who have taken time to make my clinical experiences valuable. Their pride in caring extends beyond their patients to their future coworkers as well. I think perhaps nurses should nurture their young instead of eat them.:kiss

Mattsmom-I hope I never have you as a preceptor, no offense. I have never once heard you say a positive thing about students or new nurses. In general, I have noticed that the people who refuse to be supportive of newcomers are the same ones who gripe about them when they start working because they don't know anything. Or if they ask for help they are made to feel incompetent or foolish. I guess these nurses came out of the womb with a stethoscope around their necks and already knew everything. As for the nurse's license being on the line, students ARE responsible for their actions and carry malpractice insurance. The nurse would only be liable if she delegated inappropriately. I cannot speak for other nursing schools but I have to say that I don't feel that I nor my peers feel a sense of entitlement about anything other than receiving respect. It's not like we are sitting at the nurse's station with our feet up reading a magazine. However I see a lot of the staff doing similar things. I shouldn't be snapped at by an RN because a pt wants his IV reconnected and students cannot touch PICC lines. I don't know...I am in my final semester and out of the 3 years I have been here I have found few nurses that are helpful or even friendly. However, the doctors/residents, respiratory therapists, IV therapists, social workers, etc. have been wonderful and I have learned so much from them. Mostly from the nurses, I have learned what NOT to do. It's really sad because we are supposed to be a team and the students depend on them. The instructors can't teach us EVERYTHING. I am sure a large part of our knowledge will be acquired on the job. but I am starting to feel like it is every man for himself.

No one will have to worry about me asking questions. However, some people view this as a sign of weakness and use it against you, as though you are incompetent. For example, I am doing my clinical rotation in the ER and I asked a question about interpreting a rythym strip or something. I know how to read strips, but I am no expert. I mean I just learned it, for crying out loud. Well, this nurse goes to me, " And you're graduating soon,"? and rolled her eyes. I felt that was unnecessary. I find that a lot of nurses don't like to teach or answer questions. I try to stick with the ones who do. I like the ones who quiz me better. It keeps me on my toes.

I just got finished my ICU/CCU rotation and I would not be comfortable with 6 weeks orientation....I was blown away by all the technology...

Our orientation is 6 mos for ICU and 3 mos for ER. I don't think our new grads have killed anyone yet... Of course the new grads aren't given then most critical pts either and they aren't just thrown to the dogs. There is always someone there if they are unsure of something. However, they DO throw you to the wolves if you are a new med-surg nurse. A girl from my school who just passed her boards was charge nurse last week. I would be scared. I think the new residents are scarier than the new nurses...

Our new grads start out at $22.50. If you start out in a specialty area, once you get certified in ACLS and everything and if you work evenings and get the shift differential, it goes up to $28.50. I am a CNA and make $10.50 an hour so any pay increase once I get my license will be welcome. But if it means anything, I think you're all worth a million bucks:>)

I am a petite person and have very small hands and very few floors carry small gloves. The gloves are way too big for me and when I am doing a dressing, I often times have to remove my gloves because I have all of this extra finger space and they get caught in the tape and stuff. The sterile gloves fit better but if it's not a sterile procedure you get yelled at for wasting them. I keep meaning to get myself a box of small gloves, but I never do. Someone please yell at me.

And while I am on the subject...I work in a predominately hispanic community and a large number of my patients speak ONLY Spanish. It can get extremely frustrating, especially in places like the ER, maternity and the clinic. We constantly have to get Spanish speaking staff to interpret, which they resent because they weren't hired to be interpreters and they have their own jobs to do. I don't know why this country makes it so easy for the hispanic population to get by without learning English. It just makes it harder on everyone else, especially in the medical profession. Immigrants from non-spanish speaking countries do not have the luxury of having everthing translated into their native language, thus they are forced to learn English. Hey, I think it is wonderful to be bilingual and I am working on my Spanish because I want to be able to communicate with my patients. However, I do think that if you move to a foreign nation you should at least make an attempt to learn the language, for crying out loud.