I feel so disrespected when different nurses/social workers/doctors ask patients, "Is it ok if the nursing student sits and listens?" when meeting with patients. I have been to a lot of interdisciplinary groups and meetings and I have NEVER EVER heard a med student or pharm student or socialwork student be asked during their training if "it's ok" if they are involved. Somehow nursing students are treated differently.
I brought this up in post-conference today. I'm in my psych rotation and was precepting with a triage nurse today in a crisis center. I sat in on an interview with a psychotic patient and the social worker. The social worker kept asking the patient if it was ok if I was in there.. "Are you sure it's ok if the student is in here-- you keep looking that direction." She said no like 4 times. I was getting so MAD! :angryfire
I do not have the policies and procedures manual for this hospital, but 2 other hospitals in the area say that students are considered part of the team, and should be treated as so. I am not saying that the patient doesn't have a right to refuse that a student be present-- they have a right to kick anyone out really. I'm done. Thanks for reading.
Just remember that the patient comes first, and if that pt will disclose more or feel more comfortable with less people in the room, so be it! I have actually removed MYSELF from a room in which I thought the pt would speak more freely to their HCP in my absence.
I never really had a problem with this. One time I went in with a PCA (along with 3 other students in my group) to watch her straight-cath this woman. Our instructor wouldn't let us do it because we really haven't practiced things like that, but she said we could observed. We walked into the room, the PCA introduced herself and asked if it was all right if all of us would observe. She was drugged up from sort procedure but she didn't care. As we watched all of a sudden she laughed and said "free show!" I thought it was so cute and I tried not to laugh but I couldn't help myself.
At my son's Opthamologist's office they often have visiting Docs from other countries. They aren't Med students but actual Docs & they always ask my permission for the extra Doc (or 2 or 3) to stay in the room & observe.
My son's kind of an odd case & apparently quite fascinating to Opthamologists everywhere!
What bothers me is when, as a patient, I am NOT asked if it's OK for a student to observe. In fact, it's my policy that if they are not polite enough to ask for my permission (it is my body after all, not your personal lab for the day) then I routinely decline and will refuse to have them participate in my care. If you treat the patients with the courtesy that I presume you would want for yourself or a family member then they are more likely to be receptive to your need to learn.
I'm sorry, but your attitude just really bothers me. It is a privilege to be present for an examination/procedure/assessment not something that you are entitled to (whether you are a nursing, student, med student or tech). It's just part of preserving the dignity of our patient.
While I think it is nice to be able to just walk into a room and provide care/learn/watch/whatever, I think that asking permission is the right thing to do. Some patients have reservations about students working on them, or males for that matter too. Its the polite thing to do and am glad all my nurses I have shadowed have asked the patients. To me it shows they really do care and are not just offering up the patient as a piece of meat.
What bothers me is when, as a patient, I am NOT asked if it's OK for a student to observe. In fact, it's my policy that if they are not polite enough to ask for my permission (it is my body after all, not your personal lab for the day) then I routinely decline and will refuse to have them participate in my care. If you treat the patients with the courtesy that I presume you would want for yourself or a family member then they are more likely to be receptive to your need to learn.
I'm sorry, but your attitude just really bothers me. It is a privilege to be present for an examination/procedure/assessment not something that you are entitled to (whether you are a nursing, student, med student or tech). It's just part of preserving the dignity of our patient.
When I was delivering my 2nd child, I was asked if it was ok if a student nurse was present. I was ok with it and didn't even have a problem with her learning how to feel how dialated I was, which if I hadn't been feeling really good about my epideral, might have been a little more akward b/c she wasn't a little unsure of what she was doing. Lol! I guess who wouldn't be the first time around! It made my husband uncomfortable though, but not enough to say anything
I think it is important to ask first and view it as a privilege since it is the patient's right. They are not recieving free medical care in exchange for being a learning module or anything like that so they don't "owe" it to anyone.
I agree that it is a privilege and not a right for us to be in the room for Dr consultations etc. Also, maybe the social worker felt that the patient was concerned that the patient was not being honest because you were in the room. If the patient had psych issues, then that would be a concern.
RNMom2010
454 Posts
Just remember that the patient comes first, and if that pt will disclose more or feel more comfortable with less people in the room, so be it! I have actually removed MYSELF from a room in which I thought the pt would speak more freely to their HCP in my absence.