1. Turn off your mobile phone, if it absolutely must be on, let the lecturer know and keep it on the lowest possible volume or on silent (it is a rule at my school if your phone goes off you owe the lecturer chocolate or alcohol depending on the lecturers preference)
2. If you are a new student don't act like you know more than the students who have been there for longer (unless of course you do)
3. If the course has an online group and you can read previous questions, do not ask the same question again and again, the lecturer and other people will get sick of answering the same question 5 or 6 or even 7 times (you will be notified if the answer is different)
4. If you tell someone something it's bound to get around to other people so be careful what you tell people (Rumours spread extremely fast)
5. Be polite to your lecturers and respect them for who they are (They are the ones marking your assignments, and I'm afraid they know a lot more than you do presently)
6. If you have a story you are willing to share related to the current topic by all means share it but if it's not related forget it
7. Don't constantly complain about the number of hours you have to attend campus or how long it takes to do your assignments or how much study you need to do or how many readings you have, everyone is in the same boat and if you keep doing that you are likely to get offside with other students.
First off...cells phones now do exist. So people carry them and there's no need to bother a bunch of people to a message to you.
The above situation that the previous poster created...it's pretty far fetched. I'm not a child who just got out of high school. I've been in the field. I've worked. I know the realities of life. So I don't need to be lectured on it. That story is far fetched in my life. Maybe you work with some real idiots...I don't know but that is a far fetched story.
Stop assuming that just because I said my family is a priority that I would walk away from a situation that needs attention. Stop assuming that people are not responsible. You may work with people who are not responsible but those are just the people you work with.
And again...that "situation" is not reality. It is far fetched. You are working with somebody who more then likely is just that kind of person. She doesn't have those situations she creates them. So to assume that because you have a person that creates reasons to leave means that those with children at home or relatives with special needs at home will run off too is a vast assumption and generalization.
Sorry, as someone who has worked as a traveler, as management, as staff and has 15 years experience in the nursing field, and sterling references from 3 of the top 15 hospitals in the nation. One of the facilities, is consistantly listed as the top hospital in the nation. I can assure you that these situations:
- ARE NOT FARFETCHED.
- ARE NOT THAT UNUSUAL.
And many of those nurses (that you, not I, label as not responsible) make the exact same arguments that you do. They have many of the same issues with family and loved ones.
Again, I have not put down what you do. One has to do what one believes to be right in ones heart. There is no need to put one's family second. BUT YOU DO OWE IT TO YOUR PATIENT'S AND YOUR FAMILY!!!!!!!!!! if you become a nurse to choose where you work/your specialty wisely, to accomodate those beliefs.
And please don't disregard our well meant advice as a putdown of you or your beliefs. Unlike you, we have had to actually work with patients, had their lives depend on our care, and dealt with well meaning coworkers w/family conflict, that have endangered that pt care.
We know that these situations happen, because we have repeatedly seen them happen, and had to deal with the aftermath.
Please do not label as "farfetched" what some of us encounter as a regular issue. What Pfitz described in the post that you label as "farfetched" is work as a regular matter of course in most facilities, good and bad. Even in the best of them.
Be nice to your classmates, even the ones that you do not like. What you do will come back to you eventially.
Do not spread falsehoods about your classmates especially to potential employers. There is a special place in hell for those that damage another SN's reputation in the workplace. Unless you know something is completely true (you actually saw it happen) do not repeat gossip at all. I know of several SNs that had good job prospects ruined by classmates that spread false stories about them.
Choose your specialty wisely. Research the prospects well before making a choice. I continue to be amazed at GNs that finish school, move to a new area....and then complain about the job opportunities available/or lack off, and pay scales of the new area. You should have checked that out beforehand. If you move to sunny Florida, and review anything about the area, you should come here expecting the pay to be low, and substantially fewer maternity/peds/L&D positions available. If you believe that blood transfusions are sinful and refuse to do them, it might behoove you to work in a bloodless center or avoid onco/ortho units. If you want set hours, work in a clinic note a hospital, or in the endo unit. Don't choose something and then gripe everyone's ear off about having to fulfill the requirements of the job. You know that people get sick 24/7, and that there is a nursing shortage, and should expect to work within those issues.
Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
And many of those nurses (that you, not I, label as not responsible) make the exact same arguments that you do. They have many of the same issues with family and loved ones.
Again, I have not put down what you do. One has to do what one believes to be right in ones heart. There is no need to put one's family second. BUT YOU DO OWE IT TO YOUR PATIENT'S AND YOUR FAMILY!!!!!!!!!! if you become a nurse to choose where you work/your specialty wisely, to accomodate those beliefs.
And please don't disregard our well meant advice as a putdown of you or your beliefs. Unlike you, we have had to actually work with patients, had their lives depend on our care, and dealt with well meaning coworkers w/family conflict, that have endangered that pt care.
We know that these situations happen, because we have repeatedly seen them happen, and had to deal with the aftermath.
Please do not label as "farfetched" what some of us encounter as a regular issue. What Pfitz described in the post that you label as "farfetched" is work as a regular matter of course in most facilities, good and bad. Even in the best of them.
First, what I do...keep a cell phone in my pocket. Only once in geez...YEARS have I ever had to say...I need to go. I left only after things were cleared and covered and actually didn't go downstairs until my daughter was actually in the ER.
So one of my issues here is being compared to people who just run off.
Those stories are far fetched to me. I don't discredit your experience but I too have experience. I have people in my life with more experience then you. They know about this post and they have said...yeah not something to worry about. I don't care what other people do. So if you are using these as example as others...I don't care about other people. Yes I might get stuck because of what they do but I'm not going to change carrying my phone because somebody else is not responsible.
I don't see well meant advice coming because I've said time and time again...it doesn't apply to me. Family is first and work is second. This isn't because my daughter has a feeding tube. I could have the healthiest kids on the block and that is still the priority.
So is description of the situation is far fetched as it relates to me. He was trying to paint me as some horrible person because I have a cell phone in my pocket, because my family comes first...I am the average normal person and like I said his situation has no regards to me because I am responsible whether he would like to believe it or not.
So while some feel they are given advice I'm trying to point out that while it's lovely...I don't need the advice because I have common sense and I am responsible.
Sorry, as someone who has worked as a traveler, as management, as staff and has 15 years experience in the nursing field, and sterling references from 3 of the top 15 hospitals in the nation. One of the facilities, is consistantly listed as the top hospital in the nation. I can assure you that these situations:
- ARE NOT FARFETCHED.
- ARE NOT THAT UNUSUAL.
And many of those nurses (that you, not I, label as not responsible) make the exact same arguments that you do. They have many of the same issues with family and loved ones.
Again, I have not put down what you do. One has to do what one believes to be right in ones heart. There is no need to put one's family second. BUT YOU DO OWE IT TO YOUR PATIENT'S AND YOUR FAMILY!!!!!!!!!! if you become a nurse to choose where you work/your specialty wisely, to accomodate those beliefs.
And please don't disregard our well meant advice as a putdown of you or your beliefs. Unlike you, we have had to actually work with patients, had their lives depend on our care, and dealt with well meaning coworkers w/family conflict, that have endangered that pt care.
We know that these situations happen, because we have repeatedly seen them happen, and had to deal with the aftermath.
Please do not label as "farfetched" what some of us encounter as a regular issue. What Pfitz described in the post that you label as "farfetched" is work as a regular matter of course in most facilities, good and bad. Even in the best of them.
While the self-sacrifice that you seem to imply is necessary to be a good nurse may be the current reality (I don't know), it certainly shouldn't be. And doesn't need to be. There is no reason why a nurse should be chained to a bedside without relief at just about any time (people can be relieved during CODES for God's sake). It all has to do with how staff is managed. Not getting a break or being able to go home to attend to a family problem isn't a dedication issue, it's a staffing issue.
This is one of the reasons why where's a nursing shortage and so much burn out. Nursing asks too much. The love it or leave it philosophy doesn't work anymore. Everyone is leaving it! And the new crop of nurses isn't going to stand for this kind of work place abuse.
By the way, I've seen plenty of nurses who chat all day on their cell phones and their patient's are just fine. If there's an emergency, they just HANG UP. It's not that big of a deal. If they didn't maintain some connection to their families and life outside the hospital during long 12 hour shifts, I think they'd go koo koo.
Cell phones should be viewed as a way to keep workers happy and productive and connected (to people inside and outside of the hospital). Doctors have integrated them into their work lives. (I've seen doctors take personal calls during surgery!) Would being able to talk to the nanny a couple of times a day for a few minutes keep a woman at the workplace or interfer with her job? It might see rude and unprofessional to take personal calls but it's the future, like it or not.
Make up your mind about what will be on the exam before the day of the exam, and make up your mind about when the exam will start before the day of the exam (both happened for my exam today, but why I am not surprised I don't know considering past antics of the school).
This is one of the reasons why where's a nursing shortage and so much burn out. Nursing asks too much. The love it or leave it philosophy doesn't work anymore. Everyone is leaving it! And the new crop of nurses isn't going to stand for this kind of work place abuse.
By the way, I've seen plenty of nurses who chat all day on their cell phones and their patient's are just fine. If there's an emergency, they just HANG UP. It's not that big of a deal. If they didn't maintain some connection to their families and life outside the hospital during long 12 hour shifts, I think they'd go koo koo.
Cell phones should be viewed as a way to keep workers happy and productive and connected (to people inside and outside of the hospital). Doctors have integrated them into their work lives. (I've seen doctors take personal calls during surgery!) Would being able to talk to the nanny a couple of times a day for a few minutes keep a woman at the workplace or interfer with her job? It might see rude and unprofessional to take personal calls but it's the future, like it or not.
No one is saying that you cannot talk on your break. That is what your break is for.
And if you cannot go 12 hours (using your breaks to talk to people), then 8 hour shifts would be advised.
No one goes "Kookoo" from doing their work when they are supposed to do their work and handling their personal life on the time alotted for it, barring emergencies. People have done so for centuries, without any harm to their mental health and were the better for it. If they do go "kookoo" from this then they have no business working at all, in nursing or any profession. They need to be seeking professional help.
ANY PROFESSIONAL - not just nurses - need to keep the personal to personal time and the work to work time, again BARRING EMERGENCIES. And, no, you don't need to chit chat the shift away.
What causes nursing burnout for many of us, is when we follow the nurse that spent hours chattering away on the phone. We have to fix the errors that s/he made, initiate the orders that s/he missed ("oops"), do something about the pressure areas on the patients that s/he didn't turn ("well, I thought the patient was turning themself"), clarify orders ("Well, I couldn't read them"). That is a big contributor to nurse burnout. Not to mention the ones that call family/friends and then get so caught up in drama on an hour by hour basis, that they are ruminating for the rest of shift.
We all have family lives and we all discuss them periodically at work. And that is okay. But when you spend much of shift chatting about your latest breakup, you are not checking your patients, orders, stocking the carts....all things that you should be doing instead.
I also get annoyed with the "Well, MDs do it and I see other nurses do it - so it must be okay". In the words of our elders (who raised several much more productive generations than our current one), "If everyone was jumping off a 1000 foot cliff, would you do it...because it must be okay?". It is not okay, and just because others do it, does not mean one should follow their example.
I do not begrudge SAH her phone as long as she uses it responsibly. But mature adults do not have any reason to chit chat (excluding their breaks) at work. That goes for all professionals and is appropriate work ethic. It is not a major burden to ask that work time be work time....that is after all what we are getting paid for and what we owe our patients and our fellow nurses.
You do not have to like what I say and it is not a putdown of your beliefs. When you are a nursing instructor/charge/manager you can feel free to permit what you wish. But you may note that many experienced nurses as well as students and instructors have restrictions on phone use. There are reasons for it.
Enough with the cell phone rules. I think we all have idea on what to do or not do in NS. Is there any rules that may help new students entering NS. So far everyone has great advice, would love to hear more even on how CI grade in the hospital setting. Thanks in advance.
Enough with the cell phone rules. I think we all have idea on what to do or not do in NS. Is there any rules that may help new students entering NS. So far everyone has great advice, would love to hear more even on how CI grade in the hospital setting. Thanks in advance.
Amen!! Time to take THAT subject offline!!
As for clinicals, if you pay attention in class to the safety issues you are taught, use the critical thinking being taught in class, and don't try to overstep your boundaries, you'll be in pretty good shape.
Don't bother the staff if they're obviously busy (RNs, clerks, techs, etc). Don't question why they do something different than the way you were taught in school -- save that for your instructor!!
Don't let less-than-friendly staff bother you. From reading older threads, that's not necessarily uncommon. Do what you're there to do and learn what you can, then get out, lol!!
Try to be aware of constraints on your CI's time. They are often in charge of many students in addition to you, so if it's a question that can wait until post-conference or when you're back on campus, do that. If it can't wait, be sure to wait for a good time to approach her, not when she's got three other students all clamoring for her attention.
Specializes in Flight, ER, Transport, ICU/Critical Care.
my humble additions:
1. cooperate to graduate. everyone arrives with their own "reality", school is not going to revolve around you or what you think, saw, heard, etc... in order to get out of school, with a degree in hand demands that you complete the program. it is the way it is! accept it and work with it. if you fail to acknowledge the reality of any situation and refuse to work within it - it (reality) will automatically work to hurt you!
2. organization is the key to keeping your sanity. the time you spend getting a system down that works for you in the beginning - will pay off big time, the entire time.
3. as for "sharing" your "stories". it is okay only if it is short, relevant (means valuable lesson) and you have not shared in the past 30 classes. otherwise, stop. think. tylenol. nah, i didn't really mean that - but, it is a great ad! well, i did mean the stop. think. parts!
4. as pfitz noted in an earlier post about questions, i'll add my $0.02 --- everyone will have questions from time to time - if you find that you have lots of the questions/comments/clarifications all the time - a meeting (private) with the professor/clinical instructor/graduate assistant is now necessary. i have been in classes that run way over due to these "questions". spare us! your fellow classmates will be grateful.
5. this will not last forever. plan accordingly. keep perspective.
6. prepared is the new pretty. i am pretty. i have always been pretty (sometimes it takes a little work). big deal. being clean, polished and professional is important. being prepared is more important. (once i realized that pretty can make things a bit harder, i had to be super prepared!) don't get me wrong - i am trying to be delicate here - but, at the risk that you just can't get it - i'll be direct. if you come to class/clinicals as if you are "hitting the club" - it will get attention. you do not want this type of attention. if you show up with very "done" nails, $200 highlights, heavy make-up/fragrance/jewelery, always in provocative and revealing dress, choose to get a "boob job" (or other enhancements) mid semester - believe me, it will be noticed. you can be pretty, just be pretty careful and conservative too!
7. when all your hard work pays off and you have made it - remember that you set the standard now! do not allow lateral violence in the workplace, ever - be involved in making professional nursing practice a great profession.
. instructors stop lecturing if a cell phone goes off in class and won't start up again until the cell phone is turned off.
the nursing instructors insist you don't even bring your phone to class. if you do, and are caught, 1-2 points are removed from your next test score.
once, someone's phone went off during a test. we all froze. the purses and coats were in a big pile on the floor in the front of the class, and the teacher absolutely dove into the pile to try to find the purse that held the contraband phone. we watched her incredulously as she threw things aside, holding purse after purse up to her ear trying to discover which bag was ringing. mercifully, the phone stopped ringing and she couldn't figure out which purse it was. boy, was she steamed. we all sat there, frozen, staring wide-eyed at the scene that we just witnessed. it was really hard to return to the test after that. i laugh now, but we were dying at the time. :sofahider:
caroladybelle, BSN, RN
5,486 Posts
Sorry, as someone who has worked as a traveler, as management, as staff and has 15 years experience in the nursing field, and sterling references from 3 of the top 15 hospitals in the nation. One of the facilities, is consistantly listed as the top hospital in the nation. I can assure you that these situations:
- ARE NOT FARFETCHED.
- ARE NOT THAT UNUSUAL.
And many of those nurses (that you, not I, label as not responsible) make the exact same arguments that you do. They have many of the same issues with family and loved ones.
Again, I have not put down what you do. One has to do what one believes to be right in ones heart. There is no need to put one's family second. BUT YOU DO OWE IT TO YOUR PATIENT'S AND YOUR FAMILY!!!!!!!!!! if you become a nurse to choose where you work/your specialty wisely, to accomodate those beliefs.
And please don't disregard our well meant advice as a putdown of you or your beliefs. Unlike you, we have had to actually work with patients, had their lives depend on our care, and dealt with well meaning coworkers w/family conflict, that have endangered that pt care.
We know that these situations happen, because we have repeatedly seen them happen, and had to deal with the aftermath.
Please do not label as "farfetched" what some of us encounter as a regular issue. What Pfitz described in the post that you label as "farfetched" is work as a regular matter of course in most facilities, good and bad. Even in the best of them.