Vent about students

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Medsurg.

I really need to vent. I have been so aggravated at work lately. I'm a new grad myself and believe me I am still licking my wounds from the last 3 years of school/clinicals and precepting. When I precepted, I worked my butt off trying to help the nurses, doing whatever needed to be done so they would have time to help me in return.

Here's the thing, on any given day we have 2 paramedic students in the ER. Some of them have been so wonderful but recently we have 2 that sit at the nurses station and wait for a procedure that needs to be done. If they aren't sitting at the computers that we NEED to be using to chart, they are hiding out in the breakroom. We have been so busy lately, that while I'm in triage I have been trying to get rooms cleaned so I can put patients in the rooms. I about snapped the other night when there were 3 dirty rooms (the nurses assigned to rooms were busy with patients) and the 2 students were just sitting there at the desk. I said "you girls can give us a hand any time". The one girl looked up at me and said "we aren't here to make your beds". I explained to her that I understand that but the more they help us, the more time we have to help them learn. Aside from the fact, they weren't even helping the back nurses either at that time.

When I was a student, I surely didn't feel that the nurses owed me anything. They were kind enough to be helping me, I was surely gonna do anything I could to help them in return. In return, I gained invaluable experience. To be honest, students DO slow you down. I felt like if I could take a 5 second task off of them like cleaning a bed, maybe they could take that 5 and let me start a foley.

I love having students, and I love explaining things and watching their pride when they do it right. However, I am really not that motivated to help these two. Am I overreacting? Am I just tired from working too many shifts? I just feel taken advantage of.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Medsurg.

Oops, posted in wrong forum......staff please move for me. Sorry, thought I was in a different one

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Some of them have been so wonderful but recently we have 2 that sit at the nurses station and wait for a procedure that needs to be done. If they aren't sitting at the computers that we NEED to be using to chart, they are hiding out in the breakroom. We have been so busy lately, that while I'm in triage I have been trying to get rooms cleaned so I can put patients in the rooms. I about snapped the other night when there were 3 dirty rooms (the nurses assigned to rooms were busy with patients) and the 2 students were just sitting there at the desk. I said "you girls can give us a hand any time". The one girl looked up at me and said "we aren't here to make your beds". I explained to her that I understand that but the more they help us, the more time we have to help them learn. Aside from the fact, they weren't even helping the back nurses either at that time.

I certainly hope that you made those students' instructor aware of this incident (as well as the ongoing "sitting and waiting" at the nurses' station), and also whoever is responsble for student placements at your hospital, so they can think about whether they want to continue taking students from that program. I hope that is not the attitude and behavior that the students' program expects from them, and there would be some kind of response and intervention from their instructors. If I were in that situation, I would have taken some kind of action (reporting it to their, and my, superiors) long before it got to the point of the comment about not making beds.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

Oh wow.. I would have been miffed too. I guess they think because they are in paramedic school that they are just there for the fun stuff. Where was the instructor? Wow..

I guess you would be the bad person if you decided that they couldn't help you with procedures, but it would serve them right.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Medsurg.

I haven't had the opportunity to talk to the instructor yet. We usually will get 1 or 2 students a shift. The instructor shows up maybe once a week to check on things. Believe me I will be sure that he knows. Last night i "worked" with the other girl that was there. She made the comment also to another nurse about not being there to make beds. The other nurse tried to explain to her that the more they help the RN's with stuff like the more time we will have to assist them with foley's, iv and meds. She didn't get it. So, I conveniently made myself "too busy" to show her. I was "unavailable" most of the night. I hate being like this because I know they have to learn and I will most likely be working with them in the future when they bring in patients via EMS, however, they need to learn that NO ONE is too good to work as a team.

My clinical instructor would be mortified if we ever behaved like this. Hoping this instructor does something, or doesn't let them back

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Specializes in Medical Surgical Orthopedic.

As students, we were always encouraged not to let the staff take advantage of us. We weren't forbidden to help out with the "grunt" work, but we were expected to spend most of our time training on a higher level. Of course, we jumped at any chance to make friends with the staff nurses ...even if it meant making a few beds! Those students seem pretty bold (and rude).

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Of course, part of the issue may well be that these are paramedic students and not nursing students. They're not there to learn and practice nursing care, but, I guess, just individual procedures. I'm not saying that excuses the students' behavior, just that they probably do have a v. different point of view than nursing students. I still think it's v. shortsighted (not to mention just plain dumb) to be rude and uncooperative to the nurses.

The instructor "shows up once a week"? Holy moley! I would not be willing to work with students at all under those circumstances.

In addition to speaking to the students' instructor, I would also definitely speak to my own superiors and/or the facility's education department (whoever is responsible for student placements).

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Specializes in Electrophysiology, Medical-Surgical ICU.

that's really rude...i'm a nursing student and i would have never ever said anything like if making beds is gonna free up time so that you can show how to do something properly, i would make beds on the the whole unit if i had that time. hat reminds me of a story one of the clinical teachers was telling my class about a nursing student a couple of years ago.

They were in a nursing home i think and an old guy pulled out him catheter and must of torn some skin and left a blood trail to the bathroom. the student went up to the teacher and was like how do i call house cleaning, the teacher asked why and she told her the teacher kindly said you don't call house cleaning for that. She said well how do you Catch CNA to clean it up she said well how do you get it up. The teacher said you don't get a CNA to clean it up. The teacher said you can clean it up. Then the girl cocked an attitude and said she didn't know how to clean it up. So the teacher kindly replied she would show her. So together they walked into the room the teacher instructed her to grab a clean pair of gloves and some type of wipe that is used for that kind of clean up. The grl grabbed and TRIED TO GIVE IT TO THE TEACHER...the teacher said no you put it on. The girl said with and attitude to her clinical "you said you were gonna show me" the teacher replied well then i misspoke i will walk you though it, put on on the gloves take the wipe and bend over to wipe it it up.

Now me when she told this story i was appalled to me i'm thinking no one at that building owes you anything you need them to help you make it through. I guess some nursing students think the world owes them just becuse their in school to be an RN.

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