treatment of student nurses on the floor

[teterichko123]

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.

[momtojosh]

when i was a student nurse going thru LPN school there was this one nurse who was just miserable...not only to us but to her patients.....so when my mom was admitted to the same hosp AND the same floor and SHE was her nurse....i asked for another nurse.....no way in he)) was she caring for my mom!!!

[CoCoBn]

Maybe my school is different but we are to stay out of the nurses way. Our instructors go in early to get patient info and they assign our patients to us. We know in advance what needs to be done and what procedures are to be done. We take care of the patient (to the extent of our skill level) our nurse knows exactly what we will be doing that day so the only interactions we have are brief.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

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.

i have to comment on the bolded part. your first paragraph in this post you said

"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 . . . ."

is this not painting all student nurses in the same brush???

on another note

this issue is always made to be black and white. a lot of times the students seem to find fault in the nurses only. the nurses come on here and often only find fault in the students. some students will pop on saying it's the students also.

this isn't isn't black and white. there are crappy students and there are crappy nurses. (usually they start as the crappy students). but it is possible that a student did everything right and the nurse just couldn't be bothered and took their own issues out on the student. regardless of the excuses made for it, it isn't ok. it's not ok to treat "innocent" people like crap because you are unhappy in your workplace or in your life.

just like some times the nurse can be trying to do everything for the student but the student is just an entitled ungrateful know-it-all.

most times though i think it's somewhere in the middle because at the end of the day it's about how the student and the nurse perceive the situation and how they respond to that.

[NCRNMDM, ASN, RN]

At some point, both nurses and nursing students have to grow up. To my fellow nursing students: not every nurse is going to treat you like a prince or princess just because you are a student. Nurses are busy, they are stressed, they have patients to take care of, families to deal with, and physicians and other staff to contend with. Some nurses may be rude, brisk, or downright mean. Just because a nurse does't seem interested in you doesn't mean that he or she doesn't want to teach you and help you learn. Sometimes nurses really wish they had the time to explain things to you and help you learn, they just cannot find time to fit it into their schedules. If you are with a nurse who seems rude, uninterested in you, or is mean to you, do the best you can for that shift, take care of your patient, and don't complain or fight back. Don't be rude to the nurse in return, don't bad-mouth that nurse because you're angry, and don't let your mood affect the care you give to your patient. To nurses: I realize that you may have things going on in your life that are stressing you out, and I apologize. I also realize that you have probably had bad experiences with students in the past, and, again, I apologize for that. I realize that you are busy with patients, families, and staff, and I do not expect you to hold my hand and be by my side throughout the entire shift. I am here to learn, I am here to continue my education, but, first and foremost, I am here to provide patient care just like you are. I will try my best to get along with you, I will try to come onto the unit in the morning with a positive attitude and a smile on my face, all I ask is that you try to do the same. Please do not take out your frustrations on me. Do not judge me as, "one of those lazy, know-it-all" students before you get to know me. Do not yell at me, treat me rudely, or disrespect me simply because you are stressed out because of events I have no control over. I also have stress in my life, however I try not to let it come to clinicals with me, and I most certainly am not taking it out on other people. If there is anything I can do to help you, let me know. I am not above cleaning a patient, helping a patient onto the bedpan, feeding a patient, or anything else. I will not tell you, "I've already done that," "I don't need to practice that skill again," or, "that's not my job." I am eager to learn, and I will do anything I can to help you out. I know you may not be excited about me coming to your unit, and I realize that you probably feel that I am a hassle, but I am incredibly excited to be starting clinical and I really hope that we get along. I want to learn, I am here to learn, and I want to provide the best patient care I can. I realize that you are here first and foremost to care for your patients, but I hope that you like me enough to include me in anything you think will further my education.

As students, we need to respect the fact that nurses are busy, over-worked, under-staffed, and stressed. We don't need to be quick to judge, and we need to try to get along with everyone. We also need to stop taking things so personally. Just because a nurse doesn't want to exchange numbers, go to the bar, and be our best friend doesn't mean that he or she doesn't respect us as a person. We need to realize that some nurses are burnt out, frustrated, and tired of dealing with us. If we are paired with a nurse who clearly does not want to work with us, we should take care of the patient we were assigned, be respectful to the nurse we are working with, and try to stay out of the way. We won't be with that nurse for long, and a better one will come along.

[jEstevez]

Thats how alot of nurses were at the floor i was in. Only like a third of them came out to us and ask for help, while the rest just did their own thing.

[ParkerBC,MSN,RN, PhD, RN]

I don’t mind having students. At the beginning of their shift, I give report and ask if they understand what I said. Receiving report can be intimidating, so I want to be certain students have a basic understanding of their patient. I am also upfront with what could happen. I may get a discharge or new admit. If so, I will be tied up. I am in no way trying to ignore you. I also have an hour window to pass meds and to perform treatments. Again, not being rude, I just have a time frame in which to stay.

Ask the nurses if you can help. EVEN if it is not your nurse, ask if you can help in any way. It will go a long way. I did this when I was in my clinical. I also asked the CNAs if I could help. People talk! I went to work at the hospital where I complete the majority of my clinical and the nurses and CNA’s remembered me.

One other thing I would like to point out simply is this. Nursing school prepares you to become a very basic general nurse. You will not be expected to know how to drop an NG tube, do a straight cath, or start IV’s upon graduation. YOU WILL GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS AGAIN DURING YOUR ORIENTATION TO THE FLOOR. I don’t say this to encourage you to minimize your learning opportunities. Rather, I say this to let you know that hey…if you missed something cool, you WILL HAVE another chance when you begin working as a nurse!

[SeeTheMoon]

Yea OP. Be glad you didn't post this on the general forum.

Students vent and they are 'entitled and ungrateful.' Experienced nurses vent and they are 'over worked and pressured.'

I can't know what it's like to be a nurse. I'm just a student. But I imagine it can get old trying to keep 5+ pts from dying, all the while being followed around by a group of students.

I think one of the problems is it is forgotten how stressful nursing school is. No it is NOT the same kind of stress as taking care of said 5+ pts, charting, teaching, maybe peeing on occasion....but learning for the first time how to do all of this, often times lumped into 2 little yrs IS stressful. And scary.

Nurses need to vent too. That is more than understandable. They even need to vent about us students. But we need that right too with out crucifixion. Especially in the student forum.

[Aurora77]

I wanted to post this to add a different perspective. I posted this on the general nursing forums on a very similar topic. It doesn't excuse people being nasty but might give a different take on the issue.

The OP talked about the teamwork that goes into patient care. The concept of teamwork is much deeper than just showing up for clinical/for work. It takes time to build an effective team and it takes time for a new person to be fully integrated into the team. The existing members have to be able to gauge the new person's strengths and weaknesses, and must be able to trust that person to do what they need to do. This only comes with time. I'm speaking from experience here. I'm a new grad; I've been working for 3 months now. While my coworkers have been friendly, I've noticed a change in the last couple of weeks--I am starting to be fully integrated into our night shift team. I expected that it would take awhile; they didn't know me and my work ethic and knowledge base.

The deeper part of teamwork is what makes being a nursing student in clinical so difficult. You do so many rotations at many different floors or facilities (I was at 5 different acute care facilities and one nursing home through the course of my LPN then ASN programs). It's wonderful to get to see how different places operate, but at the same time it seems that about the time you're getting comfortable and the nurses and CNAs are getting to know you, it's time to move on. Nurses may not be asking you if you want to do/observe procedures because they're jerks but because you're not even on their radar, since you're not part of the team they work with everyday.

[momtojosh]

parkerbean....i was one of those students you speak of....asked other nurses if i could help,or anything i could do....also the CNAs........i must of done something right cause i was offered a job on med surge.....i didnt take that job but sometimes i wish i had.....i work for the state now and do not feel like a nurse...that was for LPN school...now that i am going thru RN school i will do the same exact things i did 4 yrs ago.....and perhaps get offered another job there...