Things you'll never forget from your nursing instructors?

[NurseCalamity]

I was just thinking back to nursing school and I honestly had a hilarious instructor. She wasn't all tough, like beat you to the ground, she integrated humor into a lot of discussions which made her lectures very interesting. She considered herself "old school" and joked about how much she missed restraints (LOL) so anyways, here's a couple of things I'll never forget from her....

"Become friends with the housekeepers, you will need them."

My goodness, isn't this the honest to God truth. When a PT has explosive diarrhea all over the bathroom, they have no problem helping you clean it up.

"Calcium equals constipation, Magnesium equals Diarrhea."

There was a question about this on my NCLEX! I don't know why it stuck with me, but it did.

"Stay out of the way, stay out of gossip, steer clear of the politics and your job will be easier."

Very true. Being too involved gossiping and being worried about what is going on in the facility takes way too much energy. All of your energy is needed to focus on patient care.

"Make one good friend and you're golden."

A job is not a popularity contest, do your best, take care of your PTs, and go home. One good friend is enough.

What did your nursing instructors tell you that you'll never forget?

[OutptRN]

I had a Med Surg instructor who used "Frank" - her (imaginary) ex-boyfriend that she kept in her basement - as the example for every single issue we discussed. It was such a weird, funny little thing that you always thought of Frank and his numerous issues when taking an exam.

Also having a conversation with our Psych/Therapeutic Communications professor was like going to a therapy session because she was so soothing and warm. One of my favorite professors ever, to this day.

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

"You will never be a nurse and you wont make it through school"

Although she did give us this gem on gender reassignment "Its easier to make a hole than a pole".

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

"You will never be a nurse and you wont make it through school"

Although she did give us this gem on gender reassignment "Its easier to make a hole than a pole".

Sounds like a real winner..

[ohiobobcat]

"AIRWAY!!! Airway airway airway!!!!" while dancing across the room, emphasizing assessment priorities.

The same instructor used to say "Beauteous!!" every time she was pleased with something. Now every time I hear that word (which honestly isn't very often) I think of her.

[dah doh, BSN, RN]

- When in doubt, look at the patient!

- Look at the numbers (vitals, labs, etc) with a grain of salt; look at trends; look at the patient!

- Treat your patient kindly as if they were your mother, father, etc.

- If you absolutely can't treat them kindly because they are crazy, at least be professional!

- Never ever flush the brain! (When trying to remember which transducer to hook up to the ventriculostomy)

[suanna]

My L&D instructor was quite up front when she said " I don't think men should be Nurses, I don't want them in my class or my clinical rotation, but since the university insists you guys (two of us) have to complete this , lets just make the best of it." I have felt more loved before, but it was nice to have some in-your-face honesty, even if it was a sexist rant and a gross abuse of authority- I'm sure other instructors felt the same, they were just too politicaly correct to say it. I serious when I say I appriciated this instructor more than some others. At least we knew where we stood.

[enuf_already]

I will vouch: That statement is NOT valid.

Fully agree, but certainly a quote none of us ever forgot...and made fun of for years.

At the end of the day, when I checked my pockets, I could still hear that voice...

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

This gem from a CI I respected is something I not only appreciated at the time, but have continued to share with others to this very day:

"If any nurse with more than a minimum of experience tells you she/he has never made a med error, he/she is either lying or just too stupid to know the difference."

Words to live by, novice nurses! How many times do newbies come here to beat themselves nearly senseless over what is a rather minor medication error? How many times do we see nurses who claim they would "never" have done something so egregious? Please.

I've made mistakes. You've made mistakes. WE'VE ALL made mistakes. Thankfully, my errors were minor and never hurt anyone. I've realized later that a mistake occurred and was ever-thankful that no injury was caused. I've also CAUGHT about-to-be mistakes (myself, and for others) that COULD have injured someone if NOT caught. We're human.

Pay attention, slow down a bit, be conscientious, do all the checks needed to keep mistakes to the bare minimum in life. And then tell this to everyone else :)

[WinterLilac]

This gem from a CI I respected is something I not only appreciated at the time, but have continued to share with others to this very day:

"If any nurse with more than a minimum of experience tells you she/he has never made a med error, he/she is either lying or just too stupid to know the difference."

Words to live by, novice nurses! How many times do newbies come here to beat themselves nearly senseless over what is a rather minor medication error? How many times do we see nurses who claim they would "never" have done something so egregious? Please.

I've made mistakes. You've made mistakes. WE'VE ALL made mistakes. Thankfully, my errors were minor and never hurt anyone. I've realized later that a mistake occurred and was ever-thankful that no injury was caused. I've also CAUGHT about-to-be mistakes (myself, and for others) that COULD have injured someone if NOT caught. We're human.

Pay attention, slow down a bit, be conscientious, do all the checks needed to keep mistakes to the bare minimum in life. And then tell this to everyone else :)

I had an RN say a very similar thing to me after my very first med error as a newly graduated EN (LPN). I was so upset by the mistake, I honestly thought they were going to kick me off the property as I was a danger to the patients! But she was so lovely and helped with the incident forms and reporting to appropriate people. She said "99.9% of experienced nurses have made a med error and the other 0.1% who say they haven't are lying".

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Along the same line, a nursing instructor once told me "There are two kinds of nurses---those who have made med errors, and those who will."

[WinterLilac]

As an EN (LPN) and now as an RN student, I will always remember the preceptors who either taught me as much as they could and/or treated me like a human and those who acted like having a student was a pain and kept fobbing me off. I know it can be intense having a student as well as a busy work load but I found it was the quiet wards where I was sent to 'count the gauze packets'.

One of my lecturers reminded us that every single nurse was a student at one point.

On a lighter point, our clinical social worker with over 30 years experience in psychiatrics once described a client who always got in your personal space as having 'the spatial awareness of a sea slug'. I still giggle when I think of it.

[Swellz]

My very first (and favorite) instructor taught me to always check my oxygen and suction in the room to make sure they work. Sure enough, we have a shortage of flowmeters/wall adapters on my floor, and that is always the first thing I address when I see my patients. Reduces stress during an emergency when you know you have what you need. She taught me a million things, but that is why I think of her every shift.

My least favorite instructor taught me not to stand over my patients, but to sit down or elevate their bed so our eyes are at the same level when we're talking.

You learn something from everyone.