rules for student nurses

Nurses General Nursing

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I've seen the thread rules for the ER, rules for the OB, and the one about wackos in the class and I thought of starting one for students.

Rules for student nurses.

1. If you didn't study, taking extra time on the test won't make the answers fall into your head.

2. Changing schools won't help. No, the teachers aren't mean. See rule 1.

3. Sooner or later, people will get tired of you wanting to copy their homework, especially if they were up half the night finishing it and missed their favorite TV show.

1. You are a visitor, don't take over the report room, nurses station, lounge etc...

2. Be assertive, if you are not allowed to do something, say so!

3. Take the initiative to do things that you are allowed to do, get your vitals and assessments done on time, if yo are giving meds, get the MAR and the meds from pyxis and have it ready to be checked by the nurse. USE COMMON SENSE, if an abnormal vital is found, report it to the nurse, if it is REALLY abnormal, report it immediately along with further assessment.

4. Don't complain about the facility to the staff members or to your classmates. (you'd be surprised just how many people you though were trustworthy really are not)

5. If you don't understand a lab test or a medication, make it your mission to try and learn everything about it, and start by looking in a text, not by asking a busy doctor or nurse.

6. If you are unsure of how to do something, or are inexperienced, then ask for help.

7. Never correct a nurse or doctor in front of a patient, and you probably shouldn't be correcting them at all.

8. Trust your instincts. If you are unsure of your school's policy rgarding _____, then don't do _____.

9. Be professional. Don't chew gum and use slang at clinical, Always introduce yourself and state your role when first meeting the patient, don't barge into the room and flip on lights and 6'oclock in the morning!

10. Never promise a patient something that you can't personally deliver. For example: you can say "I will make sure that we contact lactation services to let them know that you have some concerns", but don't say "I will make sure that lactation gets in here to see you before lunch."

11. Learn to read people! If Nurse _____ hates answering questions, then don't ask her/him anything that isn't essential at that moment.

12. If you are not busy, and you are allowed to take vitals, give meds, etc... to patients that aren't "yours", GO FOR IT! Help the nurses, and CNA's.

13. Take the time to see other disciplines at work if possible. What is RT doing, what exercises are the PT crew going to work on, what is OT etc...

14. Get yourself into a positive frame of mind before you walk in the door. Trust me when i say that this helps.

15. Keep busy, the more work you avoid, the longer your day will seem.

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Specializes in L & D.

These are wonderful. Thanks to everyone for sharing.

Here are some more....

If you have a comment about a disease in class, make the point clearly and without detail. We had one student who told everyone every detail about each situation, "My cousin's next-door neighbor had a sister with that disease, and it prevented her from working. Well - eventually she went back to work but it took years of treatment until she felt better."

Never correct your instructor in front of the class by saying, "My husband is a doctor, and he said.....". Your instructor will not think kindly of you! (Same student as above! Every class has at least one pain in the a**)

Don't be nasty to the students in the class who do well on tests. Chances are good that they were studying while you were shopping with your friends, out drinking at a bar until 2 AM or sleeping over at your boyfriend's apartment.

If you are doing your clinicals at a hospital that does not perform abortions or prescribe birth control due to religious affiliation, don't complain!! You are a guest of the facility. If you don't like their belief system, ask for another clincal location or shut up!!!

Don't put classmates down to faculty members to make yourself look better. They know what you are doing, and it will reflect badly on you.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Pediatrics, Geriatrics.

If it is a group project, do your share of the work.

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Specializes in Neuro.
Don't put classmates down to faculty members to make yourself look better. They know what you are doing, and it will reflect badly on you.

Ooh, yes. One of my classmates last quarter felt targetted by our director for some unprofessional comments she made (she said it was nurses eating their young, I say they were really inappropriate and jaw-dropping comments). In retaliation for these accusations against her, she told the director "But AMY said ____________ and JESSICA said _______________ and THEY didn't get in trouble!" and then TOLD other students (not the ones she tattled on) that she tattled on them.

Now none of us trust her and barely say anything in her presence for fear of being ratted out to the director. A rule along those lines:

Nursing school is like your first nursing job, and your instructors may one day be your coworkers. Treat them as colleagues and watch your mouth.

Also, before you complain to an instructor about how awful the assigned book is, look through the front of it to make sure they didn't write the book. :uhoh21:

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Specializes in NICU.
Also, before you complain to an instructor about how awful the assigned book is, look through the front of it to make sure they didn't write the book. :uhoh21:

Yeah, that one could get ugly :rolleyes:

Stick with your nurse--or at least stay close enough to know what's going on. Lots of students miss opportunities to do "cool stuff" because they're off looking busy instead of being busy. The nurses don't have time to come look for you when the doctor is in the room and needs assistance with an exam or when the pt is at the right stage of pre-medication for a dressing change. And if you DO happen to miss something, please don't whine about it :nono: .

Also let your nurse know if there's something you'd like experience with--even if they don't have patients who need that done, most are willing to keep an ear open for the opportunity and tell you--even if the pt belongs to another nurse.

And although hanging with your classmates is lots more comfortable than staying around a crowded nurses station, at some point you're going to have to make that leap from identifying yourself as a student to identifying yourself as a nurse and you may as well start now:wink2:

I sound kind of bossy here, don't I . . .

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Also, before you complain to an instructor about how awful the assigned book is, look through the front of it to make sure they didn't write the book. :uhoh21:

That could be aquward.

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Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.

10. ALWAYS, and I repeat, ALWAYS, have your ducks in a row. And if that means not sleeping more than 2 hours the night before clinical, then so be it. You have to be prepared.

Yes, going to clinicals on no sleep sounds like a great preparation. NOT!

I say give it your best shot to be prepared (not leaving it all to the last minute might help) but being well-rested trumps staying up all night "preparing."

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Specializes in Medical, Paeds, Ob gyn, NICU.
before you complain to an instructor about how awful the assigned book is, look through the front of it to make sure they didn't write the book. :uhoh21:

Also before you decide to plagarise a large section of an essay from a book you found in the library, make sure that your instructer did not write it using their maiden name, insist that it is your own work and then try to complain when you are removed from the nursing program :saint: :roll .

True story, very funny :clown:

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Beg to differ.

No, carefully considering questions I'm unsure about won't make the answers "fall into my head," but it may allow me to reason out the correct answer. Our teachers mainly use NCLEX-style questions, and I often do take extra time on the test to go back and ponder the questions I was unsure of. Very often, this helps me derive the correct response.

Not that I don't study before tests....

I've done that myself, and it does help when I get a question I have trouble with. Sometimes one of the other questions I did get will lead me to the answer on the one I have trouble with.

The classmate I was talking about didn't study at all, and got extra time to finish the test. She got an F, and one of the tests she didn't finish the terms definitions part, because she didn't know them. Another classmate also needed the extra time to take the test. She studied and passed the test.

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14. When you're at clinical, having only 1 or maybe 2 pts to take care of, give the CNAs (caring for probably 3x that many pts) a break; empty the laundry bags...change the bedding...feed your pts their supper...don't ask the CNA to feed your pt for your because it's "their job," & don't expect a big thank you for it afterwards. You have one patient!

we all did that. We were supposed to do everything for the pt. The CNAs have a lot to do.:smilecoffeeIlovecof

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Yes, going to clinicals on no sleep sounds like a great preparation. NOT!

I say give it your best shot to be prepared (not leaving it all to the last minute might help) but being well-rested trumps staying up all night "preparing."

I agree with this. How well can anyone do with only 2 hours of sleep before clinicals.

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Great thread!!! I loved the ones about helping the CNAs out..when I was a CNA it made me crazy that some students would do the assesments and charting..never making the bed, straightening up the patients room, setting up meal trays, etc....its all a part of taking care of the patient!!! I also saw a lot of student nurses go through the ringer the moment they played know it all b/c family member was a nurse or a doctor..or the student herself was a CNA..instructors dont like students who pretend to know it all....never mention your experiences as a CNA b/c those are the ones I saw picked on all through clinical. Thanks for the rest of the advice, will keep it all in mind !!!!

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