unwelcoming clinical sites

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In my past two years of nursing school, I have had 2 clinical sites where the nurses on the floor were not friendly nor really welcomed the students to the floor. As soon as our clinical group would walk on to the floor, they woud look away and stick their nose in the air and appear to be busy. Our clinical instructor even made us bring in breakfast for them at the beginning and the end of the clinical rotation. You would think after bringing in breakfast the first time, things would change. Our instructor made us take vitals for the floor, even for patients we weren't assigned to. No one appreciated us at all. It doesn't really bother me, I just think its pretty funny and laugh it off. We never did anything to them, but we still get no respect or attention just because we are "just nursing students who will bother them and keep them from doing what they have to do".

Has anyone else ever experienced this?

guess those nurses forgot what it was like to be a nursing student!!

you guys have scared me to death now! i don't want to start clinicals!

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Not all nurses are like that, there have been PLENTY that are beyond helpful, especailly when they're very busy, and stress levels are high.

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

No matter where I have worked as a nurse, students and their instructors have always sought me out to help them because they tell me I'm open and kind to them...always willing to help them learn something new. Being that I use to be a clinical instructor (but for CNAs, not nursing students), it must be another calling of mine. I really don't mind the students asking questions, or wanting to observe me doing anything with a patient. It's how I learned. It's how they will learn. If I stay in nursing a longer period of time, I'll probably end up teaching again.

I'm so sorry students have those negative experiences with some nurses. No student should be subjected to that hateful treatment. Something should be done about it so students can feel comfortable in their learning environment. We all started as students, so all nurses need to remember that and be a mentor to those coming up behind us. :nurse:

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Oh sure, we all run into this. Fortunately it hasn't happened that often in my experience but when it does you just do your best job and ride it out until its over.

Having students on the floor puts the nurses in the position of having to mentor, and while you do save them some labor, they still have to go behind you and verify that everyhting was done right which takes nearly as much time. Not everyone is into that, and I can understand. At the very least, people oughtta be civil though, even if they can't find it in their hearts to be friendly.

At least you now know where you don't want to work when you graduate:)

Kim

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Specializes in ER, PACU.
Originally posted by Headhurt

One of my clinical instructors once told me that the reason some nurses hate being followed or paired with nursing students is that they are not very good nurses...and they don't want you to find out.

This is SO true!!! When I was in clinicals, the nasty ones were the ones who knew $heet, and it showed. I had one tell me to give 1 and 1/2 times the ordered dose of a medication thru a peg tube because she said that "the medicine gets caught in the tube and they dont recieve all of it". :eek: .Well isnt that what the flush is for?? She then replied that you "arent supposed to flush the tube after you give meds thru it". What???:eek:

I went straight to my instructor and told her that I refused to administer medications with her, and why. She agreed, and we were not made to partner with this nurse anymore...Turns out that she has only been a nurse for like 3 months! You would think that being that new would make you all the more careful..

Dont get discouraged, just remember to NOT be like that when you have students! I know I wont!

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I start school in March and clinicals three months after that, so I'll let you know how it goes. But as an EMT I had to "observe" at two hospital ERs. Of course they were the deadest nights...lol. One hospital was really helpful and friendly, the other ignored us. Go figure.

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This is SO true!!! When I was in clinicals, the nasty ones were the ones who knew $heet, and it showed. I had one tell me to give 1 and 1/2 times the ordered dose of a medication thru a peg tube because she said that "the medicine gets caught in the tube and they dont recieve all of it". .Well isnt that what the flush is for?? She then replied that you "arent supposed to flush the tube after you give meds thru it". What???

I just wanted to say BRAVO to Imagin!!!! One for recognizing that this is just plain bull and two, for sticking up for yourself by not administering the med. and referring to you instructor.

Remember that clinicals is your time to LEARN and that usually involves asking questions. Do you want to possibly put off the nurse by asking a simple question or do you want to go through your education and perhaps your career never knowing the right answer or rationale? Maybe this is what happened to this new grad. Maybe a nurse taught her this and she was too affraid, or unintelligent, to ask why.

Just because you are a student doesn't mean you are without liability. If you are ever in the prescence of a preceptor and they cannot explain a rational reason for why they do what they do differently than the norm, or if you KNOW they are doing something incorrect, do not follow their lead. Take it to your instructor immeadiately.

My next question is, did she even aspirate and flush to check patency BEFORE administering the med?

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Specializes in ER, PACU.
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My next question is, did she even aspirate and flush to check patency BEFORE administering the med? [/b]

This is a funny story in fact..This patient was on a 65 cc/hr PEG tube feeding, and was to recieve a 250cc H2O bolus of water ordered with meds (one was a heart med, i dont remember which one, and the other, the liquid was a mulitvitamin). I poured the medication out (one was a liquid and the other was a crushed pill), and took some of the water from the flush, put it in 2 cups, and placed the crushed pill in one, and the liquid in another. (I had been doing this at the nursing home where I was working, and it worked quite well to get the medication down the tube without clogging it). She then started getting nasty and said that you "cant dilute these medications with water, and that I can ask any pharmacist and they will tell me this" :confused: I said to her "if the patient has a continuous feeding, and we are giving a bolus of water, the water will mix with the medication ANYWAY inside the stomach" I also set up a cup in order to flush the tube with water after the meds were given, and thats when she told me that you "dont flush after the meds", you just "pour half the dose extra in to make sure it all gets down there" :eek:

Even though the liquid was just a mulitvitamin, I still wouldnt give it.

Scary what is out there! :eek:

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we had orientation today and reps from all the hospitals came, and they all were very friendly and said how much they liked to have student nurses and that was good to hear from them! oh, and yes, they were all nurses.

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