Working with interns...can you help?

When I started the travel job, my first assignment was at a university hospital. I've never worked with residents/interns except sporadically as one or two would shadow an attending; nothing like what I experienced at this place. My biggest problem was figuring out who to call. Seems I wasted more time being shuttled from one to the other until I finally would find the right one to talk to. That was very frustrating.

This is a great opportunity to teach someone that nurses have a valuable role in patient care. Running interference for them, letting them know you are a team player and providing helpful information will teach them a lot. Yes, you are a teacher. They are very insecure. Just imagine getting out of nursing school with the authority to write scripts and not having any patient care experience. Scary.

I encountered that alot too. I called once because a patient had a simple headache and requested some plain tylenol (there were no contraindications for the med). The resident practically froze and told me he had to call his 2nd year for the dose. Try as I might, I couldn't convince him the dosage was two tabs :stone

Our OB residents stay for 4 years. Some are better than others. Most are really nice--and really stressed. It is terrific having them with us all the time--no waking someone up at home or waiting for them to call back in between patients in the office. C-sections take forever until around January. I learn so much from them and I hope I teach them a thing or two as well. Stay professional.