Why are some nurses so rude to students?

Fribblet · Jun 19, 2010

I experienced the same attitude when I was a student as well. Part of it is because I think some of the nurses are miserable, but also, having students on the floor makes life more difficult.

I know you think you are taking part of their "load," but the reality is you add work for them. It's their patient, their responsibility and their license on the line. Students don't always understand how to properly document, sign off on the MAR, they take up extra space at the nurses station, crowd the med room, etc.

I hated the attitude I received when I was a student from floor nurses. It was also a big part of the reason I said I would never work on the floor. But, I also recognized that, as a clinical group, we were a big pain in the ass despite our efforts not to be.

It's just how it is. It sucks for everybody.

aflac381 · Jun 19, 2010

I understand where you coming from as a current nursing student. The staff at a clinical site (regardless of work they do) will always complain about students because they think that students are not able to perform at their expectations. Some nursing staff members expect you to know everything from the moment to you enter to the moment you leave (Note: keyword-some, not all some). For example, I witnessed a fellow nursing student get yelled at for asking for assistance with their patient and the staff member was upset about it. Next thing I know is that 5 minutes later is bragging about so-so do this and they didn't know what to do. You know what I mean. Anyways, the 2 best things that I can tell you is that if the staff thinks that they all-that, I would ignore their attitudes. The other thing you can do is tell your clinical instructor or the DON. That will get you somewhere.

Just don't let any staff member push you around regardless of work-type. Anyways, 1 year to go, good luck.

kayty2339 · Jun 19, 2010

I see where you are coming from. What I wonder though, if it's their responsibility, then why are they completely depending on us to take care of the patients they are assigned and not even once going into the room to do their own assessment or anything? I personally wouldn't trust a student to do everything that is needed for my pts that I am responsible for. I have also heard some of the nurses from the other floor I was on who didn't get a student complain when they didn't get students and they were happy when we came because we helped them (they told us this). I just don't understand why the nurses on this floor have such a different attitude towards us.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Jun 19, 2010

When I was in LPN school, we had some very, very rude and nasty nurses on the floors we were on. I chalked it up to its not ME/US, its them. They (I knew some out of the hospital setting) were rude and nasty to people outside of work too. But we had more helpful, pleasant nurses than we did nasty.

I can honestly say there was only one time that I knew it was ME/US. It was while we were at a hospital that also had a nursing program of their own. The majority of the nurses wouldn't even look at us (us as in my LPN class and several other nursing program students), much less want us around. But when "their" nursing program students hit the floor, the change in attitude, personality etc totally changed. The nurses were kind, pleasant and helpful to those student nurses.

I have been on both sides..the student and the nurse. And although you might thing you are making our work less hard, many times its the opposite. No matter how many students are on my floor or how many of my patients they are taking, *I* am still 100% responsible for them. If something is missed, not done, not done correctly, it falls at my feet. The State doesn't care to hear "well, Student Smith had that Mrs Jones that day, they should have.." because in reality CT Pixie, LPN is responsible for Mrs Jones.

I really enjoy having students on my floor. I can do without those with attitudes, the "I know it all" ones etc. But give me a student or two who really, really want to learn and I take them under my wing. I find things that will be new experiences for them. Bring them in with me to do a complicated wound treatment..things like that.

Not all will treat you with distane, most are helpful to students. Try to stay out of the way of the ones you know would rather not have you around and seek out those you know want to "teach".

Fribblet · Jun 19, 2010

Some nurses are supremely lazy. They will allow a student to take over the work and be happy they don't have to do it themselves. Those are not nurses I would want taking care of me. Although, if this is just your second clinical, there is A LOT you aren't able to do. There is no way you are taking total care of any patient.

Other nurses like to do their work and want to know what's happening with their patient's at all times and are careful about who does what with their patients.

Some nurses love students. They love to teach and enjoy contributing to another nurse's development. These are likely nurses who act as preceptors on the floor.

There are a lot of different personalities on any unit in any hospital. Not every nurse on a unit has the same attitude about students. Some love 'em, and some hate them. Just smile and get through it. It'll be over soon.

SmilingBluEyes · Jun 19, 2010

It is absolutely a TWO WAY street.

Students, please be helpful; know WHEN the RIGHT time to ask a lot of questions is...and know when nurses are very busy and stressed and, perhaps, to wait.... and please, have a GOOD, HELPFUL and NON-entitled attitude when you come to our units...

And nurses, PLEASE foster and help the new students along; remember, we were ALL there once and try to dig deep and recall how being a student on a nursing unit feels. Scary, busy, intimidating and lonely. They are our future.

Ok, Nuff said from me.

anonymurse · Jun 19, 2010

You didn't say anything about your instructor, and to me the instructor is the key to good clinicals. I've seen instructors who show up early to carefully figure out what pts they want for which students, and who make sure the students understand what's going on and why, make sure they ask the right questions before undertaking something, and tell them how to interact with the nurse, and I've seen those who hide and there's no coordination between students and nurses.

We had two students put a pt on bedrest on the toilet where she coded, and four nurses had the devil's own time getting that pt out of the tiny bathroom and back in bed so they could work on her. The instructor was nowhere to be found, so presumably she wasn't available to advise the students.

Another time, a student had a trach pt desat on her, and her instructor was with her. Luckily, the instructor had the presence of mind to ask respiratory before bagging, and was told to hold off--the guy always desatted when being changed because he had only one lung, and normal bagging would have blown out that one lung. Of course, the student and instructor both should have first laid a scope on the pt before starting to clean him up. That would have told them how many lungs he had and how he might react to repositioning.

I love students, and I don't want them fluffing and buffing and fetching water, I want them understanding what's going on, assessing intelligently, and doing something substantial for the pt. Also I like to be there when the instructor's discussing assignments with the charge nurse; the other day I had a worsening pt who wasn't a candidate for surgery, and I steered an assignment away from him and to an apparently more difficult pt because I didn't want the student to chance going through a pt death where there would be absolutely nothing she could do but watch.

But my profitable involvement with nursing students depends on the support, direction, and availability of their instructor, and this varies widely.

Penguin67 · Jun 19, 2010

I have been in the clinical setting with students for many years, and I haven't yet figured out why some nurses are nice to students and others are not. I work hard at my relationships with the nurses on my floor and to help them as much as we can, while not being a nuisance or impeding their workload. I also work with my students to help them to fit into the unit culture and to find things to keep them busy and help the staff out. There are a few nurses that I do not like to assign students to, as the experience usually turns out to be a negative one, so I try to avoid them.

I honestly don't understand why anyone wouldn't want to help a student who is on their unit, as you are investing in the future, and showcasing your unit to a possible future coworker. (And a few previous replies to this post showed that a negaitve experience on a unit will not attract a new grad to work there.) Also, someone took the time to help every nurse when they were a student. When a student has a negative situation with a nurse, and we've talked it out and I can't find anything wrong with how the student acted, then I try to use the situation as a learning experience with the student and tell them to never forget what it feels like to be a student, and to look for the teaching opportunities when they become a nurse. (If a student acted in the wrong, after assessing the situation and talking it out with the student, I encourage them to talk to the nurse 1:1 to apologize for whatever happened. That, to me, is part of being an accountable professional.)

tewdles, RN · Jun 19, 2010

I would add only that if the attitude of the unit nurses (as a group) seems to be toxic...more nurses are angry and rude than not...I would look at the management attitude. As they say, "sh.. rolls downhill" so crappy attitudes are often born higher up than you see them as a student.

Rabid Response · Jun 19, 2010

I love students! But then I was a student myself only a few years ago. I had two med/surg clinical rotations where the most of the nurses were so rude and horrible to us students that I swore you couldn't pay me enough to work at that hospital. Well I wound up getting a job in the ICU at that same hospital, and now I work with those same med/surg nurses (and they don't remember me!!!) when I'm on the rapid response team. I now realize that the very worst offenders are insecure (some with good reason). A few of them are lazy. Students come with high ideals, enthusiasm, and fresh knowledge of the proper way to perform pretty much every intervention. They are kryptonite to the nurse who is, for instance, not using the proper sterile technique to insert a foley or pretending that a demented patient has not been sitting in stool for an hour. They don't like questions because they don't know the answers to many of them but are too embarassed to say so.

Usually there will be one floor in a hospital where many of this sort of nurse tend to be employed--maybe it's because "like attracts like" or because all of the decent nurses transfer out of that toxic environment as soon as possible. If you are unfortunate enough to be assigned to a floor like that for clinicals, just suck it up and try to get the most you can out of the rotation. Be polite and helpful and do your best to affect a nonjudgmental demeanor. There is something to be learned from every nurse, even the half-*ssed ones.

kayty2339 · Jun 19, 2010

Some nurses are supremely lazy. They will allow a student to take over the work and be happy they don't have to do it themselves. Those are not nurses I would want taking care of me. Although, if this is just your second clinical, there is A LOT you aren't able to do. There is no way you are taking total care of any patient.
Other nurses like to do their work and want to know what's happening with their patient's at all times and are careful about who does what with their patients.
Some nurses love students. They love to teach and enjoy contributing to another nurse's development. These are likely nurses who act as preceptors on the floor.
There are a lot of different personalities on any unit in any hospital. Not every nurse on a unit has the same attitude about students. Some love 'em, and some hate them. Just smile and get through it. It'll be over soon.

You are right in that there is a lot that I can't do yet, but I guess for the pts that don't need a whole lot of attention, the nurses just aren't in there checking up on them. I had a pt yesterday who complained that she hadn't seen or met the nurse yet and it was already 1pm. We leave the hospital at 2 so I guess she was just leaving everything up to me until we left? Some of my classmates have said the same thing. Also, our instructor tries do do whatever we can't do and just has us watch, so that takes up some of the tasks that need to be done as well.

To the others stating that it may also have something to do with the instructor. You may be right. It is our instructors first time ever teaching clinicals, she is actually still in school for her masters to be a nursing instructor. Maybe she just hasn't gotten the hang of how to coordinate us with the nurses that well yet.