Student Nurse Clinical Site

Published

Good morning!

I'm new to this message board and haven't found a great way to search within the School Nurse Specialties section yet.

I have a student nurse who is completing a clinical rotation with me and am looking for ideas you might have. The student has been here once and was extremely disinterested in all of the information I had planned to share. I have stopped short of calling her instructor, and am going to give one more day to try and engage her and will call her out on her lack of effort if I need to.

Since that day I have pulled together some resources on various topics: webinars, journal articles, websites, and planned activities all pertinent to school nursing. I've also come up with some random extra ideas to fill her time if needed. That said, I'd still love to have a few more tricks up my sleeve! What do you do when you have nursing students?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

You need to let her instructor know STAT. No way should YOU have to do all of this to engage a student. If she can't bother to show interest, then perhaps being told not to return might change her attitude.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatrics, Community Health, School Health.

I spent both years of my PNP training shadowing the NP in the school-based health clinic. I just did what she did- shadowed initially and then was hands-on. Maybe be up front with the student and say something like "I am getting a sense that you aren't engaged in the area of school nursing. What would make this rotation more enjoyable for you? Is there anything specific you would like to do"? Explain that a LOT of school nursing is paperwork and admin stuff unfortunately, but that there is still a lot to learn. Maybe she just needs a little encouragement or be aware that you know she isn't engaged and she will get the fire lit under her butt that she needs.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'll definitely be doing this the next time she comes if it goes like that again. I haven't had a student before, but had a list of activities and ideas to talk with her about. Everything I discussed was basically immediately dismissed by her. She's in her final semester and definitely voiced her apathy and desire to move on to her capstone and be done with school. She also told me within 15 minutes of meeting me that she expected it to be boring and brought homework if needed. SERIOUSLY?!?! I love aspects of teaching and have always enjoyed precepting, so I'm happy to put in effort to have a plan for any future students who come my way. I'm definitely interested in what other school nurses are doing when students are with you to learn. Thanks!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Her class should have a checklist, goals, tasks that the professor has established for them, shouldn't it?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

The instructor sent a list of learning objectives generic to Community Health, and also a list of activities that "I may feel free to use"... activities such as help plan the spring planting of a school garden, complete an online environmental health survey, coordinate resources with outside agencies, complete a cost benefit study... nope. She's going to learn what school nursing is about and what we do for students on a daily basis. I'm going my own direction, just looking for anything that has worked for others in the past :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.

I don't accept nursing students anymore. It got so bad, the only thing they would show up to my clinic with is their cell phone and that was what they were interested in all day. After killing myself chasing lung sounds for them to listen to and other pedi assessments that they would show obvious "ho-hum" to I threw in the towel. I'm sure there are some students who are interested and engaging and want to get pediatric experience...somewhere.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in IMC, school nursing.

I will start with welcoming you to the nurses' station. We are here if needed, and we are pretty nice to each other, too, an anomaly to the AN format. This student sounds as though she has let her prejudices define her attitude and doesn't really care what the real scope of school nursing is. She expected band aids and ice packs and nothing is going to change that. I understand the reluctance to call her behavior out to her instructor, but this is a better environment to attempt to change her worldview than the workplace where she will be fired for it. It is actually being compassionate for her instructor to point it out in the long run.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'll call it out if it continues to this degree after her next visit. I also plan to call it out in the evaluation I do of her... I do however hope that I get to say she redeemed herself!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ED, School Nurse.

I have student nurses "shadow" me for a day (just had one today, actually!), but I have never had one with me for a clinical rotation. One of the other nurses in my district did, and the student nurse coordinated a health fair with appropriate topics for her school population. Maybe try to engage her in a project of some type that would benefit the school in some way? Not sure if you have that kind of "power" over her to assign something like that, but maybe you could talk to her advisor and came up with something.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. The student sounds like a real jewel & I can only imagine what will happen when/if she starts working.

I wouldn't work so hard to get the student's interest because the likelihood is she won't care no matter what you do. I would tell her CI & leave it in the review as well.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.
Wow.. Dont snitch on her.. Maybe try to be more interesting?

I don't think that "snitches get stitches" applies in the situation.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion