Student Nurses

I am a nursing student and have started working at my clinical sites. So far it seems like many of the nurses are not very friendly to me and my fellow classmates. I do not try to bother them (I know that they are very busy) I just want to observe and learn by watching. Some people have told me that nurses will eat their young....is this true? How can I help make this situation easier?

[happystudent, RN]

:uhoh21:

noooo not this again........

[happystudent, RN]

Originally posted by happystudent

:uhoh21:

noooo not this again........

oh by the way welcome to the BB:kiss

[slyhrtbt]

I too just started my clinicals. I have had a very good expierience so far. The nurses where I have been have been Super. They are very friendly. Sorry that your experience hasn't been as good. A lot of nurses that I know can be rude till they know and trust you. Just do your best and don't let it get you down. Why are they not friendly? I don't know but it has nothing to do with you.

[sjoe]

There is a forum called student nursing for this kind of issue. It has already been talked to death on the general nursing forum.

[JewelsN2be]

Sorry if this has been talked to death, I am new to the web site. Thanks slyhrtbt for your response and good luck with your clinicals.

[SmilingBluEyes]

welcome, slhyrtbt and jewels 2 be. A search of the archives will show you 1000s of passionate,thoughtful posts regarding "young-eating" and nursing. There are many views and beliefs on the subject. Good luck and happy reading. Again, welcome to the boards!

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Oh lord not the nurses eating the young thing........again.

[SmilingBluEyes]

check out the WOW JUST WOW thread for some encouragment---it's notall bad!

[christinemj]

------------

I am a nursing student and have started working at my clinical sites. So far it seems like many of the nurses are not very friendly to me and my fellow classmates. I do not try to bother them (I know that they are very busy) I just want to observe and learn by watching. Some people have told me that nurses will eat their young....is this true? How can I help make this situation easier?

------------

First of all.....DON'T just OBSERVE and learn by WATCHING..... PITCH IN!!!! Offer to help with patient care!!! Of course, you have to keep within the boundaries of what your clinical instructor "allows" you to do...but I can't imagine that any "CLINICAL" experience would forbid you from helping with standard patient care. OF COURSE the nurses are busy, but anything that YOU as a student can do to ASSIST them will be WELCOMED...not frowned upon, as long as you can do the tasks correctly. Get some definitive guidelines from your instructor regarding what you can and cannot do in clinical...and DO it!!!

The nurses will love you for it. Just remember to thank THEM at the end of the day for sharing their expertise!

[NICU_Nurse, BSN, RN]

Christine, I ditto and double ditto what you've said!!! You're absolutely right!

When I was in nursing school, I always worried about being a pest or burden to the nurses as well, but you'll find that the reaction you'll get from other nurses will be improved if you are willing to jump right in there with them. Find one that isn't too scary, pay them a compliment to win them over (a sincere compliment is ALWAYS effective, IMO), and then offer your assistance.

"You know, I really feel like I could learn so much from you, and I really admire your _____________ (skill, knowledge, cheerful attitude, helpful demenor, etc.). Would you mind letting me help in some way with what you're doing/about to do?"

Even if it's a procedure you aren't trained to do yet, most people, if approached in a positive way, will be more than willing to talk it out to you as they do it, use your help (ie, handing things to them during a sterile procedure, helping them roll a patient, offering to run and get something they might need), or talk YOU through it as you do it (with your instructor's permission) with THEIR assistance.

When you hear about nurses eating their young, consider what is actually happening and allow yourself some perspective. Nurses are educated, work hard, and are largely uncompensated for their work. It is more often than not a thankless job, and no matter how hard you work, it is not uncommon for someone to say something along the lines of, "Nurses are overpaid butt wipers" or "Oh, a MONKEY could do what nurses do" or "Why would ANYONE want to be a NURSE?" or to overhear students saying things like "I went into nursing school because it's easier than becoming a doctor" or some equally upsetting and disrespectful remark. It doesn't have to come from YOU or YOUR clinical group- work one short year in nursing and you'll hear this in abundance from MANY different sources (other nurses, other students, doctors, parents, family, spouses, patients, other staff, one nursing dept. vs. another, politicians, media, etc.).

Nurses who work with students regularly (ie, on a Med/Surg floor in a teaching hospital where they get rotations of new clinical nursing students every month) have heard ALL of this, and there is nothing that will prove their attitudes justified more than seeing yet another group of nursing students hovering together and not jumping in to learn something and be helpful. That is why we DO clinical rotations in the first place!

Nursing is "jumping-in" work. So jump in! No nurse who's worth her salt will want to be of assistance to someone who is only willing to watch and observe- I guarantee you what they're thinking is, "Oh, great, ANOTHER nursing student who's going to end up leaving me to do all the work when they're out of school." It may seem unfair, but that's the nature of the game, and I promise you that it's unlikely that you did anything PERSONALLY to these people. So, when you're in clinicals, remember that! Break away, take a risk, and get your hands in there! Learn as much as you can, and as you show yourself to be interested, new situations will be presented to you more often, vs. a student who does NOT do those things, and at the end of the rotation will be the one saying, "Those nurses were horrible and I didn't learn a thing. Now I understand why they say nurses eat their young."

Don't be that student! :) We know you know nothing. We know you're scared and intimidated. We also know that you're going to have to get over it (we ALL did it- TRUST me on that one), and we'd like to help. If you ask for it.

(((((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))))

Hang in there. It will get much better, and as my grandma always said, "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Be the sweetest honey you can. :)

[JewelsN2be]

Thank you for all the great comments! I am going to jump right in there and do the best I can, it is really nice to get such great encouragement. Hopefully I will be a help to the nurses because I really respect all of you. There is no other job in the world I would rather do, no matter how hard it is! Nurses Rule! I do hate it when people say, "why do you just want to be a nurse? How about going for the MD?" I just tell them that , nurses are the ones who really take care of patients, nurses are the real healers! When they need a nurse someday they will understand. Anyways, thank you for the comments again, it is greatly appreciated!