treatment of student nurses on the floor

tap87 · Sep 27, 2011

I find that it varies from hospital to hospital how the nurses are with students. I always tell the nurse when getting report "I am assigned to whatever room(s), but I can help you with any of your patients you need help with" and I always ask if they mind if I tag along and watch/help. A lot of times the nurses will walk me through whatever they are doing, but if they don't, I always ask questions. Even if I know what's going on but they are nice enough to take the time and explain, I just listen and say thank you for explaining it to me.

Every once and a while you get a nurse that doesn't want to be bothered and if that's the case, I just back off, do what I'm supposed to do and let them know what I did as far as patient care.

I agree with a few other posters on here...sometimes it depends on how the student comes across to the nurse and vice versa. I had one rotation where I always prayed I could work with once nurse because she let me tag along and showed me literally everything. A few of my classmates were complaining to the clinical instructor and saying the nurse was miserable because she told them to always put gloves on and they didn't like that. Hey, better to be safe than sorry.

Just hang in there, do the best you can and don't worry about anything else!!

JBMmom, MSN, NP · Sep 27, 2011

I have to agree with those that have said you have to take responsibility for your own learning and experiences in clinical. I'm in my third semester now, and I do remember how difficult it seemed to get started ou in first semester so I could feel useful and get some good experience. I kept my eyes and ears open, and I got to see tons of stuff that other students didn't. By listening to the nurses, I heard who had dressing changes, wound vac changes, new procedures, and I would just walk up and ask if I could be any help. Every time they said yes, even if I couldn't help, I was welcome to watch. On the floor I'm on now, there are always things that can be restocked- flushes, med cups, IV tubing caps, etc. Every shift I make a point to go around and fill things that I can. A couple nurses have noticed this, thanked me, and also gone out of their way to find me for any "cool stuff". I understand how intimidating it can seem when you're new, but most nurses are very receptive if you just ask. Good luck.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Sep 27, 2011

i find the first responders post offensive. Student nurses attend clinicals at "teaching hospitals" Meaning that the nurses there are involved with educating us. NO its not their primary job and concern.

You are making a big assumption with that statement. The vast majority of students that I have precepted have been in NONTEACHING facilities, and virtually all hospitals where I was a student were also nonteaching facilities.

The OP was venting and RV vented back. The OP does not know the pressures that the average RN works with on the floor.

I teach a lot of students, and keep a smile on my face, but sometimes it feels pasted on. I have missed more lunches and stayed over for hours after shift, because the time that I could have been eating or charting was taken up by "teaching".

I do not have time always to chase students down, and sometimes if I am not clear/experienced on a new procedure, I do not need several pairs of eyes watching my every move because it is a "interesting" experience. It takes me 5 minutes to do a foley,2 minutes to do an IM. It will take me 30 or more to talk a student through it, answer questions and have them do it with me having to direct when they hesitate or get nervous. Trust me that smile starts to wear of after several shifts of no lunch and unpaid OT.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Sep 27, 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.

precepting a student, if you do it right, is one of the most exhausting tasks there is in our day . . . and it lasts most of the day. now we could all just let you "simply follow us around," which would be tiring in a different way, but you wouldn't learn much. if i'm actually teaching you, it triples or quadruples my work load. it may take me five minutes to slip in a foley but half an hour to find you, help you gather the supplies, ensure that you read through the procedure and then talk you through it step-by-step. even if you're just watching me do it, it's going to take two or three times as long because (unless you're a complete moron) you'll have questions. plus i'll have to get you to stand somewhere you're out of my way, etc.

you're a student. you don't get it. you don't get that you don't get it. and you have no idea how i or anyone else learned before you. we were expected to learn from senior staff. we certainly didn't expect them to be nice to us while teaching us. if they were nice, that was a big bonus, but some of the nurses who were least nice to me were the ones who taught me the most . . . and had my back when i needed it.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Sep 27, 2011

ruby
i'm sorry you're so burnt out on students, but if the op was venting a bit, you are too and you should know better. i guess i'm lucky, i have never had a truly bad experience with with any of the primary nurses i've had to work with, but then again i'm male and probably as old as you are. i've done my share of ojt with new folks on different jobs, its part of the territory. many of my classmates are also well past their 20's, some in the 30's and 40's and would jump at the chance for an experienced nurse like yourself to show us a thing or two. so before you go stereotyping all students as know-it-alls or self-entitled children who think the staff is there only for their edification, try just talking to us first, because what most of my peers and i want to do is to put our training to use by helping a patient and getting our hands dirty with a new procedure or technique. its the only way we can really learn and we need folks like you to make it happen.
bob

actually i enjoy students -- most students -- most of the time. but the original post came off sounding entitled, painted all nurses with the same brush and then self-righteously declared that the writer would never be like that. forgive me for thinking that a little perspective might actually help the op. if i was really burned out on students, i wouldn't have tried. what i am burned out on is students who think it's all about their education no matter what else is going on, who reject opportunities for learning or practicing skills because "i've done one of those already" and who aren't grateful for the time they do get. students who are respectful, grateful and willing to get their hands dirty would make my day.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Sep 27, 2011

i find the first responders post offensive. student nurses attend clinicals at "teaching hospitals" meaning that the nurses there are involved with educating us. no its not their primary job and concern. obviously their patient is. our instructor is our primary teacher but lending out a smile and even trying to look approachable wouldnt hurt anyone. im pretty sure that there are alot of student nurses that think they know it all and may be lazy.... but there are even more of us that are eager to learn and experience new things even if it is just to watch. and i would like to point out that all of us brand new sns are terrified.... if the nurses on the floor wont even acknowledge you are there and bark at you when you speak it makes it very hard to ask that nurse if you can view some of her procedures. noone wants to be shot down in a situation where they already feel inadequate and out of place. a little bit of friendly can go a long way on both sides.

"teaching hospitals" are all about educating physicians, and educating physicians is a part of our job. we all know it when we are hired. (or find out pretty quickly.) we all work pretty hard . . . i'm not sure what exactly you mean, but standing around smiling at students and "looking approachable" may get jammed into my day somewhere between getting out the level one infuser and slamming in eight units of blood products and my seventh "code brown."

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Sep 27, 2011

I ask 3 questions to student nurses.

Have you seen this before?

Have you done this before in lab?

Would you like to do it this time?

If your answer to either of the first two is yes, you better bet your ass is saying yes to the third one. My motto going through school and my internships was teach me, show me, my turn and that is my philosophy by which I hold the students who come up to me.

Also, talk to the nursing students who are also aides on the floor you are on. I always let them know the cool stuff I will be doing. I have rapport with them, I know they are eager, so go talk to them and beg/bribe/cheat/steal your way to me first so you can do whatever it is.

heavenbound · Sep 27, 2011

Ruby
I'm sorry you're so burnt out on students, but if the OP was venting a bit, you are too and you should know better. I guess I'm lucky, I have never had a truly bad experience with with any of the primary nurses I've had to work with, but then again I'm male and probably as old as you are. I've done my share of OJT with new folks on different jobs, its part of the territory. Many of my classmates are also well past their 20's, some in the 30's and 40's and would jump at the chance for an experienced nurse like yourself to show us a thing or two. So before you go stereotyping all students as know-it-alls or self-entitled children who think the staff is there only for their edification, try just talking to us first, because what most of my peers and I want to do is to put our training to use by helping a patient and getting our hands dirty with a new procedure or technique. Its the only way we can really learn and we need folks like you to make it happen.
Bob

If I could give this 10 kudos I would. I am glad I stumbled across this thread now, as I will be starting my first clinical in a few weeks, and I must say that I am very excited. I am not going to attempt to defend anyone on either side because I can see and understand both points of views. One thing I can say is that I am excited for my first clinical nearly approaching, I am an eager learner, hard worker, and willing to get my hands dirty and learn as much as I can during my time there. As we know that we can not negate the fact that Yes there are some lazy and know it all students out there (I have class with them) and it only takes a few bad encounters with them for one to then generalized and vice versa. Is it right, probably not, but we are all human and it happens frequently. Will it eventually stop, probably not. Knowing this, as students we must strive to be different than the ones who preceded us. Word of advice to all students: Being a self starter, having a go "getter" mentality along with a humbling spirit will take you far in any career field or situation and make life easier for you when it is all said and done. As for the nurses (very well appreciated): I am pretty sure those that mentor students during clinicals know that all students are not the same and should not be treated as such.

That's my two cents peace and blessings to all.

JROregon, ASN, BSN, RN · Sep 27, 2011

I think just about every student nurse has the same complaint in the first weeks or even months of clinicals. It's okay to complain but you might want to keep your complaints among your clinical group. By the time you are half way through your first year, the nurses on the floor will be able to tell which of the students is going to be eager to learn and be of some help. I didn't get to see anything "cool" until about week 5 of clinicals. Keep yourself busy by answering call lights and by giving the best care for the patients. Please give an update on your situation in another couple of months.

And yes, my first clinical group went through some grueling times with the nurses at the hospital. Some were openly rude to us and to patients. Most were extremely helpful, especially once we got a little more experience under our belts.

OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN · Sep 27, 2011

sorry again to disagree, but some of the best nurses i have worked with as a student have been the nurses that other nursing students say is a mean *****. if you work hard the nurses will see that and be encouraged to engage you and teach more.
being timid may be acceptable in your first semester, but you need to get over it quick. clinical's will be over much too soon, and you could be the new grade nurse who has students following them around.
as an example, i hate charting, i hate my hand writing and i can't spell simply words right half the time (i live for spell check). before i would always write my narrative note on lined paper and run it by my nurse or ci before writing it down. this being my last semester, i stopped that practice and now freely write in the charts as i need to. i have never been told my charting needs work this semester.

seriously???? i don't know why you felt you needed to quote my post since it had nothing to do with what you wrote at all. i did love that you had enough free time to correct my spelling as well. what i wrote only said that i was having a good experience and that the op's may get better and if not to make the most of it. :uhoh3:

sandyfeet · Sep 27, 2011

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?

One of my favorite experiences from my second semester was watching a nurse assess a patient that was over-sedated with a morphine PCA. The nurse stood at the side of the bed with no expression on her face, perfectly still and silent, eyes not looking directly at the patient. The family was at the bedside, completely confused as to why their nurse seemed to "check out". Can you guess what she was doing? I'm sure you did--she was counting respirations! This assessment was critical to the patient's life (got to see how a patient reacts to Narcan shortly after!), but looked like she was doing absolutely nothing. The nurse took me into the med room while she prepared the Narcan, and we giggled to ourselves about it because it seemed so incongruous to the situation.

So, I wouldn't be so quick to judge "expressionless faces" on the nurses. There is a lot going on that needs to stay hidden behind a mask. My nurse that day was thinking "Oh #@*#, the respirations are 4?!?" but instead of freaking out the family, calmly walked out of the room to prepare the med and the crisis was averted.

futurenurseya33 · Sep 27, 2011

precepting a student, if you do it right, is one of the most exhausting tasks there is in our day . . . and it lasts most of the day. now we could all just let you "simply follow us around," which would be tiring in a different way, but you wouldn't learn much. if i'm actually teaching you, it triples or quadruples my work load. it may take me five minutes to slip in a foley but half an hour to find you, help you gather the supplies, ensure that you read through the procedure and then talk you through it step-by-step. even if you're just watching me do it, it's going to take two or three times as long because (unless you're a complete moron) you'll have questions. plus i'll have to get you to stand somewhere you're out of my way, etc.
you're a student. you don't get it. you don't get that you don't get it. and you have no idea how i or anyone else learned before you. we were expected to learn from senior staff. we certainly didn't expect them to be nice to us while teaching us. if they were nice, that was a big bonus, but some of the nurses who were least nice to me were the ones who taught me the most . . . and had my back when i needed it.

wow. perhaps it may be time for the administrator to close this thread because this is getting out of control. i absolutely expect whoever i'm with to be nice. am i supposed to expect them to be rude? one thing you said i do agree with. you're a student. you don't get it. if "getting it" is me having your attitude. i hope to never "get it".