kbtully

Your time with this patient is what nursing is all about!!! I can r/t the RN students avoid. I have dealt eith one of them in the clinical setting. She was so rude and disrespectful to my students that I no longer assign patients on her team. Luckily, she is rarely there when we are there for clinical days. Unfortunately, she is the same way with new hires to the unit, even to the point that some of them do not complete their orientation.

As a nursing instructor and a practicing RN, I can see exactly where you are coming from. The CNAs can be extremely disrespectful to the LPN students. I have also worked as a clinical unit manager, and I tried to make sure our students on the unit were treated well. Most of the students were great, but there are always a coule of exceptions. This can make it difficult for all the students in the group. I make sure the staff on the unit I take my students to for clinicals are aware of exactly what we will do. I no longer assign "beds and baths". We are at the point where we perform skilled nursing tasks. I don't want a student to miss doing a foley cath or sterile dsg because they are doing a bath. They've already become experts at bathing. This doesn't mean we leave a pt. in a mess. I expect my students to jump in and help with whatever comes up on the floor. This is part of the clinical experience. I just refuse to allow the CNAs to "send" a student to do their job, while they sit in the breakroom. The staff has to realize there is only one instructor for ten students, and I must be with a student who performs any procedure. This is another factor most staff has forgotten. Just hang in there and remember your experience in clinicals when you are on the other side.