To the students

[aerorunner80, ADN, BSN, MSN, APRN]

I had the pleasure of working with two students the other day and I wanted to share some insights. From one tech/CNA in a hospital to other CNA students.

1.) Don't ask me about your break. If you are to get one just tell me you are going but don't ask me when you get it. I don't know. Plus it makes me think that you are lazy if you are asking when you get your break.

2.) You will see things in real life that are not taught in the classroom. This is a big eye opener. Please don't second guess these tactics unless a patient is being put in direct harm/danger. Patient safety is always number one but getting things done in a timely manner is number 2. Safe and quick is our motto.

3.) If you find yourself waiting new instructions or assignments, keep yourself busy by answering call lights. People will love you to no end for doing this simple task. This is also a good opportunity to learn teamwork. It doesn't matter if the call light is a patient of yours or not, it is everyones responsibility to answer them, even students.

4.) Attitudes can be hard to take, especially in a stressful place like a hospital. Please don't take anything personally because 99% of the time......IT'S NOT YOU AT ALL.

5.) If you really want to learn from the person you are with......talk to them about time management and prioritization. This is one of the hardest things to learn. Ask the person you are working with questions about how they plan their day and make prioritizations. Ask them what a typical day is like for them.

6.) I said this above in a round about way but the number one thing you should do in clinicals is ASK QUESTIONS!!!!!!! Why this? Why that? Why now? Why her? Why him? Where is this? What do I do when? How do I handle_____? Should I do _____? What do you want me to do? How can I help? Why do you do this procedure this way? What are you looking for when you are doing a bath? Can I watch? If someone has a line or a drain you have not seen before.......ask what it's for.

7.) Talk to your patients and ask them questions. Especially when it comes to transfering, lifting, or turning. Most of the time they can tell you exactly what they need from you to get from the bed to the chair or anywhere else. It's so easy to focus on the tasks and forget about the person. If there are two of you there rolling someone, ask the patient how they are doing. The patient will appreciate you taking them into consideration. If the patient looks scared, reassure them. Little things like that go a long way in creating trust with your patient.

Use your time wisely and learn all you can while you are a student. This is the best time to do so because in the real world, you may not have a chance to ask or sit down and read something but for now you do have that luxury.

Good luck to all the students out there. We need more people to do this job and we do appreciate you!

[avery157]

You hit the nail on the head. Thanks

[blueocean_grl CNA]

Oh man did you get it right! It drives me "4 ways crazy" when I have a student nurse following me around but not doing anything I ask them to do OR all out being lazy. Thanks for getting that layed out!

[pumpkin92356]

Hats off to Aerorunner 80! I couldn't have put that any better. Your post should be a requirement in every CNA class across this country! We have a CNA training program where I work and usually the DON will assign me to the task of orientating them to the floor. Well the first thing I always do after introducing myself is tell the new aide to ask questions. I let them know that they aren't expected to be "Bionic Nurse" their first few months on the floor and to please ask me any question they are unclear about. I also tell them that standing around with their hands in their pockets or sitting behind the nurse station goofing around is not their work area. There is always something to be done when working with the residents. But sometimes their are those new aides that just dont catch on and do as little as possible so I make it a point to find them something to do. I usually dont get much flack from these aides after that!

[JaredCNA, CNA]

Can we make this sticky?

[Jennifer70]

I had the pleasure of working with two students the other day and I wanted to share some insights. From one tech/CNA in a hospital to other CNA students.

1.) Don't ask me about your break. If you are to get one just tell me you are going but don't ask me when you get it. I don't know. Plus it makes me think that you are lazy if you are asking when you get your break.

2.) You will see things in real life that are not taught in the classroom. This is a big eye opener. Please don't second guess these tactics unless a patient is being put in direct harm/danger. Patient safety is always number one but getting things done in a timely manner is number 2. Safe and quick is our motto.

3.) If you find yourself waiting new instructions or assignments, keep yourself busy by answering call lights. People will love you to no end for doing this simple task. This is also a good opportunity to learn teamwork. It doesn't matter if the call light is a patient of yours or not, it is everyones responsibility to answer them, even students.

4.) Attitudes can be hard to take, especially in a stressful place like a hospital. Please don't take anything personally because 99% of the time......IT'S NOT YOU AT ALL.

5.) If you really want to learn from the person you are with......talk to them about time management and prioritization. This is one of the hardest things to learn. Ask the person you are working with questions about how they plan their day and make prioritizations. Ask them what a typical day is like for them.

6.) I said this above in a round about way but the number one thing you should do in clinicals is ASK QUESTIONS!!!!!!! Why this? Why that? Why now? Why her? Why him? Where is this? What do I do when? How do I handle_____? Should I do _____? What do you want me to do? How can I help? Why do you do this procedure this way? What are you looking for when you are doing a bath? Can I watch? If someone has a line or a drain you have not seen before.......ask what it's for.

7.) Talk to your patients and ask them questions. Especially when it comes to transfering, lifting, or turning. Most of the time they can tell you exactly what they need from you to get from the bed to the chair or anywhere else. It's so easy to focus on the tasks and forget about the person. If there are two of you there rolling someone, ask the patient how they are doing. The patient will appreciate you taking them into consideration. If the patient looks scared, reassure them. Little things like that go a long way in creating trust with your patient.

Use your time wisely and learn all you can while you are a student. This is the best time to do so because in the real world, you may not have a chance to ask or sit down and read something but for now you do have that luxury.

Good luck to all the students out there. We need more people to do this job and we do appreciate you!

I am finishing my RN pre-reqs this semester and taking a CNA course in January and thanks for this info. I will be taking it to heart and make sure I ask away and LEARN!

[aundrea543]

I had the pleasure of working with two students the other day and I wanted to share some insights. From one tech/CNA in a hospital to other CNA students.

1.) Don't ask me about your break. If you are to get one just tell me you are going but don't ask me when you get it. I don't know. Plus it makes me think that you are lazy if you are asking when you get your break.

2.) You will see things in real life that are not taught in the classroom. This is a big eye opener. Please don't second guess these tactics unless a patient is being put in direct harm/danger. Patient safety is always number one but getting things done in a timely manner is number 2. Safe and quick is our motto.

3.) If you find yourself waiting new instructions or assignments, keep yourself busy by answering call lights. People will love you to no end for doing this simple task. This is also a good opportunity to learn teamwork. It doesn't matter if the call light is a patient of yours or not, it is everyones responsibility to answer them, even students.

4.) Attitudes can be hard to take, especially in a stressful place like a hospital. Please don't take anything personally because 99% of the time......IT'S NOT YOU AT ALL.

5.) If you really want to learn from the person you are with......talk to them about time management and prioritization. This is one of the hardest things to learn. Ask the person you are working with questions about how they plan their day and make prioritizations. Ask them what a typical day is like for them.

6.) I said this above in a round about way but the number one thing you should do in clinicals is ASK QUESTIONS!!!!!!! Why this? Why that? Why now? Why her? Why him? Where is this? What do I do when? How do I handle_____? Should I do _____? What do you want me to do? How can I help? Why do you do this procedure this way? What are you looking for when you are doing a bath? Can I watch? If someone has a line or a drain you have not seen before.......ask what it's for.

7.) Talk to your patients and ask them questions. Especially when it comes to transfering, lifting, or turning. Most of the time they can tell you exactly what they need from you to get from the bed to the chair or anywhere else. It's so easy to focus on the tasks and forget about the person. If there are two of you there rolling someone, ask the patient how they are doing. The patient will appreciate you taking them into consideration. If the patient looks scared, reassure them. Little things like that go a long way in creating trust with your patient.

Use your time wisely and learn all you can while you are a student. This is the best time to do so because in the real world, you may not have a chance to ask or sit down and read something but for now you do have that luxury.

Good luck to all the students out there. We need more people to do this job and we do appreciate you!

How do you request to make something a sticky? I think many people would agree that this is some great info for students who just have no idea what to expect (like me )

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

I sent a private message (PM) to the staff member who moderates this forum. That is normally how we go about deciding whether to "stick" threads.

[jb2u, ASN, RN]

This thread is now a sticky. Please remember to be considerate to the students when posting!!! Some are just new and scared to "get involved." We were all there once. Yes, some are just lazy, but please keep the thread on a positive note so that 1) we can keep this thread open and 2) the students can learn without criticism!!!

Happy posting!!!!!!!!!!

Jay

[justjocelyne]

When I was doing clinicals there was one girl who didn't seem to step in so our teacher was on here tail the whole time. I liked being able to just be independent and do what had learned to do but that one girl seemed scared I guess to deal with patients. But the one of the CNAs she was following was the same way so.

[mcknis]

Yes keep asking questions, and try to get involved with other pts if you have time as well. Any time you are able to learn something, get in and get involved. Lots to learn, and, NO you don't know it all. Trust me, I am in your shoes right now. We can all learn form one another.

[Nikkis 3]

Thank you, thank you for taking the time to write that post. A student couldn't

ask for a more honest opinion delivered in a respectful and caring manner.

They were very lucky that you took the time to explain to them what they

needed to do or to change in order to correct the situation.

Nikkis 3