I've been in two different hospitals in both my first and second semesters and come up against some ROUGH nurses who would rather do everything themselves than let me touch a thing.
I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that they are BUSY, they have a TO-DO list, they have patients that NEED meds, help, EVERYTHING. But, I'm here to help. I'm wearing these bright purple scrubs not because I like the color, but because I want to learn, I NEED to learn. I will take them to the bathroom, I will bathe them, I will take their vitals, just PLEASE let me.
When I say 80% of the nurses I've followed have done NOTHING with me I am not exaggerating. Why is this? Last week the nurse I was following wouldn't even let me take vitals, VITALS!! I am in my second semester of nursing school, I think I can handle that.
Anyway, I wanted to know whats up with that! I recognize that they are busy. I also recognize the few nurses that have taken me under their wing and shown me SO MUCH. I'm thankful for that, and grateful.
Not rude, just assertive. As I reply for the last time, since I know nothing as I'm only a student, the floor nurse is HELPING the student put into practice what they have been TAUGHT in SCHOOL. I hope I never get so jaded as some of you are.
Not rude, just assertive. As I reply for the last time, since I know nothing as I'm only a student, the floor nurse is HELPING the student put into practice what they have been TAUGHT in SCHOOL. I hope I never get so jaded as some of you are.
You just refuse to get it.
We are not there for the student. We are there for the patient.
The student is way down on the priority list.
Think of your ABC's and your delegation priorities. Where is the student in that context? Nowhere.
Yes, you will find nurses who will bend over backwards to help you. No, it is not their responsibility to do so, they are just good to the students.
Believe it or not, I am one of those people. Unless you get in the way of patient care, then you are outta luck.
Am I jaded? No. I'm realistic, and I'm tired of students expecting me to be their personal tutor and mentor. I'm even more tired of unrealistic expectations from CIs, students, and charge nurses, and the exaggerated outrage that accompanies the reality check that inevitably follows.
Thanx for the dismissive reply. It is noncontributory. Work experience has NOTHING to do with work ethic. Let me elucidate. My experience is clinical and prehospital; military and EMS. My clinical experience was in the ER and Acute Care settings. We trained nurses, PA's, medics. Our military clinic was the busiest in the Navy. I never viewed training someone as a burden or disruptive to my routine. As a paramedic, I was a Field Training Officer. If I viewed my paramedic student as a burden, they would have never gained the skills to intubate, start peripheral IVs, Central Lines, diagnose accurately, etc. Or manage a multi-trauma patient. Or be able to tell an MD that his order was contraindicated for the patient. For example, pushing atropine in a hypothermic patient to treat bradycardia. Your response to my post is BS as you said "You are a *student*" How assuming, erroneously, and condescending.
Being a FTO is completely different than being a staff nurse. Same with being a Corpsman. While I don't know exactly how Naval hospitals use them, the sad fact of the matter is that a Corpsman is not a licensed professional, they are there as an assistant. Plus, military is a completely different kettle of fish than civilian.
And I know about having students as a paramedic - one of the squads I worked for had them regularly. Even now I routinely have EMT-B and paramedic students come through my ER; the looks on their faces when I call them on trying to be a nurse is usually priceless. (I will have them go and assess the patient as they would in the field and then give me a report, along with anything that they would be doing pre-hospital. Most of the patients get a real kick out of the experience, because the student is standing there trying to remember everything and I'm in the background looking very...wall-like.)
Something that I have seen, time and time again, is the confusion and attitude from people in EMS who are in nursing school. They believe that they truly can take the "burden" from the staff nurses - after all, they've been trained in that! But what the majority of them don't seem to remember is that they've been trained in the medical model, not the nursing model, and it's rare that they have multiple patients at once in the field. It's possible, yes, but the minute that you start putting more than one patient in the back of an ambulance, the patients themselves are either from a mass-casualty situation or not very sick/injured. Whereas nurses are the opposite. It's rare that they will have only one patient.
So yes, students disrupt a nurse's routine. It takes me about 10 minutes to triage a patient because I do have it down to a science - when I have a student and they're the ones triaging? 20 minutes, and that doesn't include charting. And then me going back and fixing the charting to what is required by the hospital. More time to do technical skills no matter how many times I go over it with them, because they always draw a blank. It's a student thing; I have had residents give me the same "Ummmm..." look. Even with things that are outside the nursing scope of practice.
Not your responsibility? Ask your hospital what they say your responsibility is concerning students. Geez. Whose responsibility was it when you were trained as a student?
My clinical instructor.
Can't think of a time where I went to a staff nurse for help. My CI was always there except during my preceptorship. My preceptor was a staff nurse who met eligibility requirements (experience) and was arranged through the school. That nurse received a differential for precepting me just like she would if she was orienting a new nurse to the unit.
Wow...that was snide. She was trying to explain the flip side of this situation, and you reply by being sarcastic.
Perhaps the reason you haven't been getting opportunities from the nurses at most of your clinical rotations has more to do with your attitude than it does with the nurses.
OP was mimicking the way that NurseLeigh responded to OP. ACTUAL NURSE NurseLeigh is the snide snarky one if anything!
OP, I am a recent grad and I completely understand because we went through the same thing. We received our patient assignments and "co-nurses" then never saw our nurse for the rest of the shift. Your school must be doing it differently, but our instructors were our go-to person for everything. Our clinical groups were small and we were organized so everything went smoothly. We worked mostly with each other (us students and our instructor) than we did with any of the hospitals' staff. For tasks requiring higher levels of skill or something that we hadn't done before, it was a rule that our instructor or the staff nurse needed to be with us. Usually our instructor but if our instructor was comfortable letting us do something with the staff nurse, she'd decide and give us permission on a case-to-case basis. The intent of our school instructors teaching us rather than staff nurses was so that we were learning how to assess/whatever the "right" way/"by the book" rather than real world seasoned nurse ways. In no way did we work under the staff RN's license and they were not held liable for any potential mistakes;our instructors and school were. Again, it sounds like your school differs majorly in that aspect.
My advice:just get through clinicals and school. Don't let there be ANY way that those hospital staff can say or think anything negative about you, because you never know when networking will prove important when you finish and apply for jobs. I will say that it's interesting that several ACTUAL NURSES on this post are the ones giving off rude self-righteous vibes. Watch out for that species
Specializes in Cath/EP lab, CCU, Cardiac stepdown.
Bottom line is this, staff nurses don't owe students anything. We are not required to take time out of our already hectic schedule to provide that education for you, that is the role of the clinical instructor and school. Does that mean we go out of our way to not teach you anything? No. That just means that if we're busy, you're not our priority.
If we have time, most of us would be more than happy to show you things. Think of it as a privilege and not a right. And what's stopping you from observing us while we are busy. If you think you can't learn anything from just observing, then you're not doing it right. Too many students on this thread is misinterpreting the responses from actual nurses. Just because the nurses are saying that they don't have to teach you, they're not saying they won't. In fact, I'm sure many of them still try a little even if they're busy.
The point is that they don't have to. And the whole thing on compensation is that they're getting paid to be there for the patients not the students. If they were paid to precept students then yes, they have to. But most aren't. And no, nursing is not all about compensation but anyone who says that compensation is not a factor is just a straight liar. I'll like to see that person work for free all the time and then tell me that compensation is not a factor, when you're working hard.
Schools say teaching students is the clinical instructor's job. Clinical Instructors sat it's the floor nurse's job. Floor nurses say it's the clinical instructor's job. Is it any surprise that so many new grads have no idea how to work on the floor?
Specializes in Cath/EP lab, CCU, Cardiac stepdown.
OP, I am a recent grad and I completely understand because we went through the same thing. We received our patient assignments and "co-nurses" then never saw our nurse for the rest of the shift. Your school must be doing it differently, but our instructors were our go-to person for everything. Our clinical groups were small and we were organized so everything went smoothly. We worked mostly with each other (us students and our instructor) than we did with any of the hospitals' staff. For tasks requiring higher levels of skill or something that we hadn't done before, it was a rule that our instructor or the staff nurse needed to be with us. Usually our instructor but if our instructor was comfortable letting us do something with the staff nurse, she'd decide and give us permission on a case-to-case basis. The intent of our school instructors teaching us rather than staff nurses was so that we were learning how to assess/whatever the "right" way/"by the book" rather than real world seasoned nurse ways. In no way did we work under the staff RN's license and they were not held liable for any potential mistakes;our instructors and school were. Again, it sounds like your school differs majorly in that aspect.
My advice:just get through clinicals and school. Don't let there be ANY way that those hospital staff can say or think anything negative about you, because you never know when networking will prove important when you finish and apply for jobs. I will say that it's interesting that several ACTUAL NURSES on this post are the ones giving off rude self-righteous vibes. Watch out for that species
Good luck!!!
I also want to put out how obnoxious it is, and interesting, I suppose to a few, how many students there are on this thread who are giving off the "I know everything already even though I'm a student, and let's dismiss any experience they have on the subject as just being crusty old bats" attitude.
My advice to all the seasoned nurses is this: Many of these nursing students are still naive as to how the world and real life nursing works. Don't take it too harshly when they insist on not heeding the advice of experience. They really do think they have the answer, just chalk it up to the cute things naivety says.
I suppose a few will call me a bully, but hey I still got plenty years before I can obtain the coveted crusty old bat title.
And if a few think that my post was sarcastic and condescending, well they say that immitatio is the most sincere form of flatteryla
This is how I see it: some nurses love students, they are patient, kind, answer questions, are willing to help the student, etc.., meanwhile some nurses aren't programmed that way (just like in any other career setting). Some people just like to focus on work the job at hand. Everyone is programmed differently. Sometimes there are also things that happen that have nothing to do with students. At my last rotation the nursing manager cut a nurse from the floor because she figured the students could pick up the slack, meanwhile we were not passing medications that day (first day of clinical), so I can understand the frustrations there. At my school we are always told to talk to the instructor prior to anything (unless the instructor knows for sure simple tasks can be performed like bandage changes, minor would cleaning etc..) that is done.
I do want to point out that although I am in a RN-BSN program now, I'm not just a student. I'm an "actual nurse" with an "actual nurse" job. The posts from students (and mine included) have not occurred to me as giving a know-it-all-attitude. Speaking for myself and probably some other posters, yes, there were things that we did know and we were confident that we could be trusted to perform certain tasks like vital signs.
Thanks for your opinion, though!
I also want to put out how obnoxious it is, and interesting, I suppose to a few, how many students there are on this thread who are giving off the "I know everything already even though I'm a student, and let's dismiss any experience they have on the subject as just being crusty old bats" attitude.
My advice to all the seasoned nurses is this: Many of these nursing students are still naive as to how the world and real life nursing works. Don't take it too harshly when they insist on not heeding the advice of experience. They really do think they have the answer, just chalk it up to the cute things naivety says.
I suppose a few will call me a bully, but hey I still got plenty years before I can obtain the coveted crusty old bat title.
And if a few think that my post was sarcastic and condescending, well they say that immitatio is the most sincere form of flatteryla
I do want to point out that although I am in a RN-BSN program now, I'm not just a student. I'm an "actual nurse" with an "actual nurse" job. The posts from students (and mine included) have not occurred to me as giving a know-it-all-attitude. Speaking for myself and probably some other posters, yes, there were things that we did know and we were confident that we could be trusted to perform certain tasks like vital signs.
Thanks for your opinion, though!
Sorry, by the way you were writing I thought you were an entry to practice student. But what I say still stands and I think you should be able to understand that most nurses would absolutely love to give to the next generation of nurses but the ridiculous job demands makes that nearly impossible.
ajmclean
123 Posts
Not rude, just assertive. As I reply for the last time, since I know nothing as I'm only a student, the floor nurse is HELPING the student put into practice what they have been TAUGHT in SCHOOL. I hope I never get so jaded as some of you are.