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Discussion

STUDENTS - do the nurses and docs talk down to you?

I don't mean in a malicious way. I mean, do the docs and some nurses at your clinical site talk to you like you have no more knowledge than a layperson and express surprise when you start asking actually relevant questions in the morning?

I don't hold it against the docs because 1) they're making an effort to teach me and 2) they never went to nursing school anyway, so why would they know what we learn there? They are such a deep well of knowledge and I don't always have the chance to plumb those depths - so why are we talking about how "the stomach has folds inside it"??? I feel like my education is being devalued into dust. I was actually handed the same leaflet today that's given to the patients to take home as education material. The leaflet contained a simplistic diagram of the lower GI tract and I was told that it would be a good idea to bring it into the procedure room for a colonoscopy (lest I forget where the sigmoid colon is or mistake the large intestine for the lungs or something).

I never show that it bothers me, and I'm never rude or unprofessional as a result. I'll simply stay quiet and ask the questions I have as they come to mind. I don't wonder if the person I'm talking to is reevaluating things - in fact I make it a point to forget the slight as soon as it happens and only to think about it again after I get home. I'll just refuse to change my habits because little is expected of me, just like I'd imagine any of you would do.

I'm feeling salty right now, so please excuse me for that XD...It's not in my nature to insist that I deserve better treatment, but I think in these cases that I do. Physicians will be physicians, but coming from the RNs this treatment feels odd. I'm living proof that pretty much anyone who reaches this point in nursing school is going to know something. Anyway, does anyone else feel they often have to prove to some people that they're not ignorant as a child before being spoken to like a soon-to-be RN?

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    I'd guess it has something to do with 1) how we get accustomed to using lay terms in pt teaching... kind of like when a mom of young kids may use the term "potty" when talking to an adult. Habits can manifest in odd ways! and 2) floor nurses are not clinical instructors. If a floor nurse gave you ANY education -- even if it's a copy of a pt pamphlet -- your correct response is "thank you."

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    I don't see how handing you a patient education pamphlet is insulting or devalued. I think it was nice that they gave you some information. Seeing what they patients get as education can be very beneficial to you, especially as a nursing student. You are going to want to understand the procedures in simplistic terms, your schooling will explain it and you will learn it in medical speak. Since you have the nursing knowledge, see how it translates to real life.

    Bring the pamphlet with you when you observe the procedure, see how what you are observing correlates. You have taken A and P, patho, etc, so you understand general anatomy.

    From your post, I don't see or understand how you are being devalued. I think the physicians and nurses are helping you and giving you a great learning opportunity

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    Don't feel bad or feel like your education is being undervalued. Floor Nurses, Doctors, PAs will make it seem like they don't want to teach you however; not all are like that. I know it can be discouraging to be in situations like that but maybe some just feel like students are in "the way". In my clinical rotations, I've encountered doctors, nurses, or any health care staff to completely ignore me but then there were several that were inviting to students and were open to teaching and I've learned a lot from just being around doctors and nurses I had a good clinical experience. Your best bet is to take everything that you feel is rude or unprofessional with a "grain of salt". If you continue to feel this way, let your clinical instructor know because he/she will ensure that your learning experience is not hindered in anyway and make sure that you are shadowing a doctor or nurse that understands that students are there to learn.

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