treatment of student nurses on the floor

allnurses Guide · Sep 26, 2011

Not everywhere is like that. My students were all raving about their nurses, who were pulling them in to watch everything. Guess its just the culture of your individual unit. Go into your next rotation with high hopes! and ask lots of questions, even barked out info can be helpful.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Sep 26, 2011

after my first few days of clinical i have notice that student nurses are either barked at or avoided all together and rarely does a nurse on her own accord try to educate the student nurse. i know that is the job of our clinical instructor but it would be nice to ask me if i want to tag along to a interesting/important procedure/task. one time a neurologist asked me if i wanted to observe a spinal tap and another time a nurse asked me if i wanted to watch her change a dressing. other than that the majority of the nurses i have seen are my age with expressionless faces staring into their computer screen and attending their patients in the same manner. what's up with that? don't they realize one day i may be their nurse and will taking care of them or one of their family members? besides, they have all be through nursing school and may have had a lot of the same experiences as we will. where is these peoples love of the world and all it's people. i hope i never become that kind of nurse, that's one lesson they have taught me.

i was with you until i got to the portion of your post i've bolded. one thing i've noticed after my first few decades of nursing is that student nurses are either entitled or know-it-alls . . . .

doesn't sound very nice, does it? after reading that, you might conclude that i'm a horrible nurse and a horrible person. after reading what you've written, i might conclude that you're an entitled know-it-all. i realize that you posted this in a student nurse forum and are not necessarily looking for input from real nurses, but here goes . . . .

the nursing unit does not revolve around students or their learning needs. actual patient care comes first.

nurses are usually not compensated extra for working with a student, nor are they consulted about their preferences as to whether or not they work with a student. nurses who have been working with students or new grads every shift for the past year are probably burned out on precepting. guess what. they still have to do it.

many students are rude and dismissive to the same nurses they're castigating for "mistreating" them. i offered to help a student practice her iv skills and her response was "i've done that." when we were placing an emergent balloon pump, i asked a student if he wanted to watch. he replied that it was his lunch break. after a few such experiences, most of us are unwilling to extend ourselves for a student again. another disappeared and i didn't see her again until the end of the shift.

i do remember what it was like to be a student. so do most of my colleagues. you, however, have no idea what it's like to be an experienced nurse confronted with an overwhelming assignment and a student who is not especially interested in learning anything or one who thinks his learning is the priority of the day.

teterichko123 · Sep 26, 2011

i was with you until i got to the portion of your post i've bolded. one thing i've noticed after my first few decades of nursing is that student nurses are either entitled or know-it-alls . . . .

doesn't sound very nice, does it? after reading that, you might conclude that i'm a horrible nurse and a horrible person. after reading what you've written, i might conclude that you're an entitled know-it-all. i realize that you posted this in a student nurse forum and are not necessarily looking for input from real nurses, but here goes . . . .

the nursing unit does not revolve around students or their learning needs. actual patient care comes first.

nurses are usually not compensated extra for working with a student, nor are they consulted about their preferences as to whether or not they work with a student. nurses who have been working with students or new grads every shift for the past year are probably burned out on precepting. guess what. they still have to do it.

many students are rude and dismissive to the same nurses they're castigating for "mistreating" them. i offered to help a student practice her iv skills and her response was "i've done that." when we were placing an emergent balloon pump, i asked a student if he wanted to watch. he replied that it was his lunch break. after a few such experiences, most of us are unwilling to extend ourselves for a student again. another disappeared and i didn't see her again until the end of the shift.

i do remember what it was like to be a student. so do most of my colleagues. you, however, have no idea what it's like to be an experienced nurse confronted with an overwhelming assignment and a student who is not especially interested in learning anything or one who thinks his learning is the priority of the day.

thank you for your input. i won't argue for fear that you might call me a idiot.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Sep 26, 2011

RubyVee- The op is on the student forum and is venting. I do agree with you that patient care comes first and learning needs of the student is very low on the priority list. I feel as though the OP was very smart and posting here because he/she knew they would probably be chewed alive on the general nursing forum.

OP- What you are experiencing is quite common. Some nurses are burnt out, overwhelmed and just are not teachers. The only thing you can do is continue to be yourself and ask questions and realize that your learning needs come after patient care. As a practicing LPN and current RN student I have been on both sides of the fence. I know what its' like to be overwhelmed with my patients, doctors, family members and my nursing duties and to have students on top of that. Even when I didn't have time to teach I always, always treated the students with respect and even ( gasp) managed to smile. As you stated earlier that are some really great nurses and docs that are willing to teach and there are some not so great ones.

Good luck in school :)

Aurora77 · Sep 26, 2011

Thank you for your input. I won't argue for fear that you might call me a idiot.

Seriously?? She just gave you some great advice and input about WHY you may have experienced what you did and this is how you respond? Being a working nurse is completely different from being a nursing student, you may want to listen to what nurses, especially those with years of experience, have to say.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Sep 26, 2011

Seriously?? She just gave you some great advice and input about WHY you may have experienced what you did and this is how you respond? Being a working nurse is completely different from being a nursing student, you may want to listen to what nurses, especially those with years of experience, have to say.

The OP was just joking!!! Geesh ! He/She was referring to Rubyvees' quote at the bottom of her post.

ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN · Sep 26, 2011

sorry you feel this way.. is it your first semester of clinical? dont base your idea of all nurses' attitudes off of one clinical experience. I am currently a student as well, and I've met my share of nurses who obviously dont want anything to do with me or my fellow students, as well as really amazing, helpful nurses who go out of their way to help teach me things when i know damn well they really dont have the time to be doing it, and be busting their butts later, working twice as hard/fast to finish all the things that need to be done.

im assuming you have 1, maybe 2 patients at a time. now imagine having 6, needing to get all the meds given at one time, doing all of your assessments, answering call lights, calling drs, etc etc etc... how much time do you think they have to be pay attention enough to think "oh i should go round up some nursing students to come watch me do this tube feeding!"

now if you happen to be in the general area and they are nice enough to ask you if you want to help/observe, you better thank them! maybe a lot of them dont even try to help students because from their experience NS are ungreatful little know it alls, just like you think all nurses are rude and selfish and dont want too help you..

lastly, let them know what kind of things youd like to see. they dont know if youve never done a foley, or never seen a wound dressing change. for all they know you havent even learned about it, or you have done so many of them that it is routine, like it is to them. so maybe when you are gettting report from your nurse in the morning, just say something like "oh, by the way, I would really love to see a foley cath insertion because ive never seen one done before, so if you have one would you let me know?" --maybe theyll get you, maybe they wont, but at least you will have tried. you need to be proactive and seek experiences out, because they are not all going to come to you.

:) good luck. i hope your experiences improve.

futurenurseya33 · Sep 26, 2011

Wow. I'm very surprised by some of the responses here. We can appreciate that some students are not wanting to learn. But that is certainly not the majority. I'm a brand new nursing student and it is downright terrifying trying to approach an experienced nurse for anything. I understand that i need to get over that fear. But if i'm treating in a negative way, there is a good chance that I may not get over that fear. And since when do you need extra pay for me to simply follow you around? I know that some nurses can be burnt out but we are always supposed to be teachers. We need to take this time to pay if forward and help someone else learn as you learned before us.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Sep 26, 2011

Wow. I'm very surprised by some of the responses here. We can appreciate that some students are not wanting to learn. But that is certainly not the majority. I'm a brand new nursing student and it is downright terrifying trying to approach an experienced nurse for anything. I understand that i need to get over that fear. But if i'm treating in a negative way, there is a good chance that I may not get over that fear. And since when do you need extra pay for me to simply follow you around? I know that some nurses can be burnt out but we are always supposed to be teachers. We need to take this time to pay if forward and help someone else learn as you learned before us.

:sofahider:chair:

THELIVINGWORST, ASN, RN · Sep 26, 2011

Im not in nursing school yet and obviously not a nurse but I am a CNA and I see how stressed the nurses are and all they have to deal with. You never know what a person is dealing with when you see them on that computer. I understand that you want to learn but their job is not to teach you...if you want to watch or help with something then offer. Otherwise stop complaining because the nurses aren't helping facilitate your learning process. Your education is up to you....be a self-starter...get bold and when you see a nurse gathering her supplies just ask her if you can help or watch regardless of what she is doing, because maybe if she sees your effort she will think to ask you to watch or help with that one procedure you've been dying to attend.

Even as a CNA I do this at my SNF because you never know when that might help in Nursing school.

JenniferSews · Sep 26, 2011

Some people are natural teachers. Other's just aren't, and they don't particularly enjoy students. That doesn't mean they aren't good nurses, or nice people. It just doesn't come naturally. I had good luck as a student by asking the nurses politely and in a friendly tone that if they had something interesting, I'd be happy to observe or assist. Then if someone said, "Do you want to do an enema?" I'd say YES, with enthusiasm and do the best I could. Then I would say thank you. The next rotation their would likely be something more interesting and at the least I learned a vital skill.

Also remember their is a LOT going on in nursing that doesn't look like a scene from ER. If I am staring at the computer blankly chances are I am thinking hard. Maybe I am trying to decide how to document something correctly, or maybe I am trying to put together the puzzle of someone's condition so I don't miss a subtle change.