We are in our last semester of nursing school and it has become aparent, in our first week of our new rotation that one of our classmates does/did not know how to do perform some clinical skills. I saw her starting to draw up heparin into an insulin syringe and another one of our classmates saw her connecting an unprimed IV piggy back to the hub closer to the hand than the IV pump.
Both of us caught these things and corrected her in the clinical area. I am troubled however as far what to do next. At first I thought nothing of it, but then I started thinking about the possibility of her being my nurse, or a nurse to a member of my family... yikes.
I see my options as:
Telling my teacher what I saw.
or
Talking with my classmate directly and offering to help her with anything she was unsure how to do and the importance of getting help from an RN if we do not know how to perform a procedure.
Do I have responsibilty to do either, both or should I just let it alone?
Technically, insulin syringes are measured in units , not cc's (or fractions thereof)...I've always used TB syringes for heparin, myself.
That's what I think meant. :chuckle I can never remember that they are "TB syringes." I didn't even know people got TB any more until I entered nursing school! I think I always call it an insulin syringe too. I should stop doing that.
why the heck are you guys not supervised doing these skills? when i was in school, an instructor or an RN that you were team leading with always went with you to do these skills. Meds.. definetly (sp?).
she just needs help to do the right thing. if no one corrects her, that would be a bad thing., if you tell her, she might get defensive, as you are the "same" as she is. still, i would tell her, but tell the instructor also. after telling her, I would go straight to your instructor. That is scary... the insulin thing is anyway. thats units, not mL's.
I know in my school we are absolutely NOT allowed to give any meds or hang IV's unless our instructor is present. We aren't even allowed under the primary RN. We are working under our instructor's license and it really isn't fair to risk the Primary RN's license.
As for the insulin syringe, she would be alarmed because it is drilled in our heads in NS that insulin syringes are for insulin only. We aren't taught that an IS=1ml.
i guess i am because i posted before i finished my thoughts!!! I have given meds by myself since the second week of my first clinical including injections. our instructor checks them before we go into the room but that is it. we also pull IVs and PICC lines by our selves. mostly she watches us until she believes we have the skill down and then we are on our on. wound dressing also. plus once we have been turned loose. if another student has to do we can show them.
IMO, these are not life or death issues. Talk to her and see what's up. Everyone has a bad day once in a while. For some of us, it's a little more often. :)
Thank you, I will talk with her directly. I did consider that it may have been a bad day for her. I personally did not witness the IV thing and am leaving it up to the student who saw it to do as she sees fit.
We are not allowed to do heparin independantly but we are allowed to do saline flushes and IVPB after we have been approved by our intructor. We are not ever allowed to do IV pushes without another RN in the room.
We have nine students scattered across four wards on two different floors, I can see how the instructor is not able to see us do all interventions...
Markb I am curious why you see yourself in a supervisory role when you are a student yourself? My advice: look to your own learning and let the instructor teach.
Markb I am curious why you see yourself in a supervisory role when you are a student yourself? My advice: look to your own learning and let the instructor teach.
Hmmm... I sometimes do worry about that. That is something else I considered: just doing nothing and having faith in the process that we will all be trained appropriately. This is why I posted here as I am not sure what to do, if anything. I may be a little too concerned with what my peers are doing.
However, the question remains, at what point, if any, do you take action if you feel a co-student is doing something that is incorrect? If it puts a patient at risk for complication? If it puts the student at risk for infection? If it is unsafe?
There are tons of examples I am sure you all have seen or could think up.
There have been times where fellow students have let me know a more efficient or safer way to do something and told me their rationale and because of that I feel like I am going to be a better nurse.
Hmmm... I sometimes do worry about that. That is something else I considered: just doing nothing and having faith in the process that we will all be trained appropriately. This is why I posted here as I am not sure what to do, if anything. I may be a little too concerned with what my peers are doing.
However, the question remains, at what point, if any, do you take action if you feel a co-student is doing something that is incorrect? If it puts a patient at risk for complication? If it puts the student at risk for infection? If it is unsafe?
There are tons of examples I am sure you all have seen or could think up.
There have been times where fellow students have let me know a more efficient or safer way to do something and told me their rationale and because of that I feel like I am going to be a better nurse.
Thank you everyone for your input
-markb-
And how would you have felt if they bypassed you and went straight to your instructor? Thankful?
New Grad is very confused now.
Fraggle
125 Posts
Aren't some insulin syringes measured in Units, not an mL? Maybe that's what she meant?