TO ALL the student Nurses !!!!!

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Dec 2, 2009

Personally, I love to precept, but only if the student is into it and interested.
The number one thing that will irritate the teaching nurse is you not being there. Do not go sit in the break room and do your care plans. You will learn nothing in the break room. Sure, you might get your care plan done - but you are here for the patient experience.

We were required to have our care plans done prior to clinical, but our instructors would evaluate them and often require revisions that they expected us to do during our clinical time, after our assessments, med passes, and treatments, of course.

snazzy-jazzy, BSN, RN · Dec 2, 2009

I do clinical prac 2 days a week throughout the first 2 years of my degree, the last year is full time clinical prac so we get a lot of hospital based training for a University and get to know the routine well by the end of semester.

I just finished my 2nd year and last semester at clinical I asked a RN at the beginning of the shift if she would mind having a student nurse, she kind of rolled her eyes and said in a soft voice 'I suppose'. I took 3 of her patients with her help plus helped her with the 4 she had as well, at the end of the shift she apologised to me for the reception she gave me and said 'its just that a lot of students just sit in the staff room, or at the computers and don't seem very interested'. I hope that I had changed her attitude towards student nurses because she seemed to like me. I love getting in there and finally being able to do more than take vitals, its great. I'm on clinical prac to learn how to be a real nurse, when I'm a RN I want to be able to hit that floor running and see clinical prac as my training to do that.

I'm also doing an extra year Midwifery training and when I did that semester I felt useful on the postnatal floor where I was able to use my skills but on the delivery wards I was told by my instructor to observe. Well I supported the labouring mum's, took vitals and was a gofa for the Midwife but heck when it came to complicated deliveries I felt useless just observing when I really wanted to get in there and help. I also felt in the way like has been mentioned in the opening post so when the room got full I kind of found a corner, it was awful and I got stared at. So sometimes its not our fault, most of us I hope and like to beleive, try our best in clinicals so we can learn to be competent RN's.

Camdfw · Dec 2, 2009

Don't you think too though, that student nurses are there working basically for FREE!?! So really, do you blame anyone for having a relaxed attitude occasionally? Key word there is OCCASIONALLY! It's their education and clinical experience, not yours! Let them take from it what they will! Students have so many restrictions on them to begin with from the hospital, school and instructors that sometimes they don't even know what they can/cannot do or what's even expected of them. I know its challenging to have students follow you around like little puppy dogs, I get that! But you were once a student too, remember that please, be kind, be patient, be welcoming, be a mentor!

Fiona59 · Dec 2, 2009

What really chaps our hide is the instructor and students coming in to look at "their patients charts" for the next day. No biggie your thinking? Well coming in at 1430 and clogging up the med room, charting room, and nursing station when the floor staff want the charts so they can chart is an issue. And yes, we have mentioned it to the instructor and the university but hey-- they want to come in during their last instructional block so they can finish on time...

Hey, unless you graduated 30 years ago we were all once unpaid labour as students. Even then our hospital trained crew basically worked for room and board. So the FREE card just doesn't work.

VICEDRN, BSN, RN · Dec 2, 2009

What really chaps our hide is the instructor and students coming in to look at "their patients charts" for the next day. No biggie your thinking? Well coming in at 1430 and clogging up the med room, charting room, and nursing station when the floor staff want the charts so they can chart is an issue. And yes, we have mentioned it to the instructor and the university but hey-- they want to come in during their last instructional block so they can finish on time...
Hey, unless you graduated 30 years ago we were all once unpaid labour as students. Even then our hospital trained crew basically worked for room and board. So the FREE card just doesn't work.

I hear ya! I have tried to pick a good time but my instructor refuses to tell me when a good time is and I have class and clinical all morning. I am sooo glad that all I have left is senior practicum so no hunting down charts anymore.

In the past, it seems that the minute you find the chart, someone immediately wants it then you spend 45 minutes waiting for that person to be finished only to have another person request it from you. It took me an hour and a half just to get one chart back. (I swear that the doctor was just trying to make a point by looking at the thing FOREVER) Please can we all just go paperless and be happy? :loveya:

BluegrassRN · Dec 2, 2009

Don't you think too though, that student nurses are there working basically for FREE!?!

No, I don't think that at all.

A student nurse is *paying* for an educational experience, not volunteering for slave labor at the hospital. Believe me, I have *never* had a student who made my life easier. That's not their role. Explaining and demonstrating, overseeing their work, talking them through procedures, my rationales for my actions, my critical thinking though processes, providing constructive feedback--all of this TAKES time, slows me down, and is much more effort than doing it myself.

The ones who are honestly getting the raw deal are the assigned nurses. They are assuming *more* responsibility, expected to teach students as well as perform their regular duties, and not getting reimbursed AT ALL for the extra time and responsibility.

Do I resent or dislike having a student? Not at all, as I personally love to teach. But I would never in a million years say that it is easier to have a student. They increase the workload. No doubt about it. They are worth it, but student nurses do *not* make things easy, not if you are even remotely precepting them correctly.

VICEDRN, BSN, RN · Dec 2, 2009

No, I don't think that at all.
A student nurse is *paying* for an educational experience, not volunteering for slave labor at the hospital. Believe me, I have *never* had a student who made my life easier. That's not their role. Explaining and demonstrating, overseeing their work, talking them through procedures, my rationales for my actions, my critical thinking though processes, providing constructive feedback--all of this TAKES time, slows me down, and is much more effort than doing it myself.
The ones who are honestly getting the raw deal are the assigned nurses. They are assuming *more* responsibility, expected to teach students as well as perform their regular duties, and not getting reimbursed AT ALL for the extra time and responsibility.
Do I resent or dislike having a student? Not at all, as I personally love to teach. But I would never in a million years say that it is easier to have a student. They increase the workload. No doubt about it. They are worth it, but student nurses do *not* make things easy, not if you are even remotely precepting them correctly.

For the record, I think its wrong you don't get paid to teach. You should be.

RN <>< · Dec 2, 2009

When I was in school going through clinicals, it was stressful. I wanted so bad to dig in and help nurses but did not know what to do. Not only that, I to experienced nurses who looked as if I were a pesky dog in their way. I hated clinicals because of that it was truly depressing. I did not like going because I knew I was going to be treated that way for the whole day. There was only one clinical rotation that I loved and it was in a critical care unit. Wow, what a difference . I was treated as part of their team and was pulled from not only my preceptor but other nurses as well to either come and see something interesting or to help them with what they were doing. I loved it and had a great time learning and participating. I promised myself that if I ever have to train a student that I will never treat them as if they were in my way, because I know just how that feels. I witnessed only one student in my class who did not like to participate other than that we were all hungry to learn and participate.

Katie5 · Dec 2, 2009

While it's always a plus to be seen taking the initiative, someone one does need to request when help is needed.

I was once a nursing student and you do get nervous about making a mistake or mishandling something you shouldn't. The crux of the matter is the confidence( or lack thereof).

To Nurses, "If you don't ask, the answer is always no." So ask:)

TO Nursing students, " If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place.". So learn to sometimes take initiatives:)

It is a symbiotic relationship, we play off on each other to achieve something- in this case, good patient care.