Working with student nurses

[LisaRN1105]

How do you guys feel about working with student nurses? They are helpful but at times irritating to my day. I am always kind and polite to them because I remember how it was to be a nursing student. Sometimes I feel that they have a "know it all" attitude.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

I like (most) students.

[fiveofpeep]

At least she caught it. I've had them inserted, and the balloon inflated on my internal sphincter.

Oh God! That reminds me. We once had a guy who inserted it into the rectum and it didnt get caught until the patient went to get an abd CT. Oh brother. Hmm maybe this should go in the catheterization thread...

[nursel56]

]

Read a few of the multiple threads...there is a glut of new nurses and over on the nursing news articles there is even a government survey that shows the vast overage of nurses currently and future projected......so once again...just to clarify, there. is. no. nursing. shortage!

None! Zip, zally, zero!

Jess - congratulations on finishing your nursing program! The employment picture has changed drastically overall. There are people with a vested interest in having people believe the shortage is still there even though there are an unprecedented number of new and "old new" grads who can't find work.

They are just now starting to acknowledge this as two items under Nursing News talk about. No it isn't everyone - but so many that allnurses is adding 5 new forums to the Career section focussed on getting that first job and past the "year of experience needed" problem, interview and resume help and professionalism in nursing.

[OCNRN63, RN]

Looking back through this thread surprises me how many nurses state that teaching students is not "part of their job" come on now, there is a nursing shortage and we all might need someone to care for us one day. I'd rather teach a student as much as I can. Maybe that's also because I am graduating in 5 days and from the nurses I worked with I tried to learn as much as I can!

What nursing shortage? The one your professors told you about?

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

Oh God! That reminds me. We once had a guy who inserted it into the rectum and it didnt get caught until the patient went to get an abd CT. Oh brother. Hmm maybe this should go in the catheterization thread...

:smackingf

How does someone mistake the rectum for the urethra? Was the patient upside-down, or on their belly? That took some work to completely miss the entire vulva and lady partsl area ....WOW. (I'm hoping it was a woman- geez- missing it on a guy is like aiming at a barn and shooting a tree in the neighbor's farm...)

To whoever said that the students are there to learn from the nurses....really? I was paying for my instructor to teach....not some "drafted" employees of a different institution who had no say in the matter. Students take a LOT of time. That is the instructors problem.... I loved having students around- as long as their instructor was their main 'keeper'.... I still like students on the student forums here. But only if they're invested in their own education and not into the 'drive-thru' homework.... I will NOT do someone's homework. I'll be more than happy to go over what they've come up with and give feedback.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

I am currently a nursing student, and to be honest I am very kind, I am great with my assessments, and I feel bad that I might have to slow the nurse down, but to be honest with you.....as part of our passing clinical is to be assertive and tell the nurse what to do and which patients we will take, and when we will delegate....and honestly I feel so uncomfortable having this attitude b/c I feel bad for my co-assigned. But like I said its part of our assignment as a student nurse during clinical to be assertive & some what aggressive. Just try your best to be patient and realize that as part of the student nurse assignment we have to fake being uncomfortable for our grade

The bolding is mine ... for a reason.

You've gotten some well-deserved heat in response to your post.

The most supportive thing I can say to you, to enhance your learning is that you need to immediately realize that the nurse is not co-assigned to you. You are co-assigned to a patient with the patient's primary nurse.

The semantics are very important here.

The patient is in the unit. Nurse X is currently assigned to his/her care. You, as a student, are also co-assigned for your clinical day. But anything and everything that happens with that patient is the nurse's responsibility. Your assignment is a simulation of that responsibility, but it is not the same.

[danceportal]

I am currently a nursing student..and I try as much as I can to be a help rather than a nuisance for nurses who are assigned to my patients...I volunteer and quickly insert IVs, foleys, dressing changes, etc...my objective of the day is to be as "real nurse" as possible..and along the way take the load of my nurse's back...

I know that they work fast (especially the experienced ones) and that they don't like for people, especially nursing students, to cause a delay in their charting and all...

I think i'm one of the good ones :)

but yes, to other nursing students..it's a NO NO to try to correct the nurse, especially in front of a patient..if u have a concern with a certain method/technique/lack of gloves or whatever that the nurse might have "done wrong"...direct it to your clinical instructor...and don't try to embarass anyone...come on..you're only a student...

if a nurse chooses not to wear gloves to start an IV...they are putting themselves in danger and possible contamination, and they know that..they're not stupid..but it's their choice....so it's not your place to play "clinical instructor" with them...

[brainkandy87]

Seeing as how I was a student nurse not all that long ago, I try to be helpful and teach students as much as I can when they're around. I'll let them do most procedures under my supervision and let them know if there's a cool case that they should come check out. I'm pretty picky about students starting IV's because that's one thing I'm really anal about. I don't like my patient getting stuck more than they have to, so I usually only let a student attempt an IV start if the pt has really good veins and/or I've seen the student successfully start an IV before and was ok with their technique.

Did I mention I refuse to let students practice IV's on me? We have a brave tech that allows any student to attempt on him and I've seen that poor guy more bruised up than a hopeless heroin junkie.

[guest563546]

I guess this just shows what different experiences we all have. All but one of the nurses I worked with as a student were incredibly nice. They told us they appreciated us because we did everything for the patients we had, from bathing/potty type duties to passing all prescribed meds until the time we went home. Our instrcutors made sure we made ourselves an asset and reminded us daily how lucky we were to be able to do clinicals at our facilities, to never take it for granted, and to always make sure we gave our all. We didn't get to sit at the nurses station or break room, and there was no such thing as "getting done" with our patient. Because of this, we had nurses tell us how much they appreciated us almost daily. I hope I get to return the favor one day. Being made to feel competent instead of being belittled impacted us in a very positive way.

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

I just went through a couple posts, and I don't understand why some students feel it's necessary to correct a working nurse. When I was a student, I didn't question the nurse's technique when I was with her, even if I learned differently (best practices) in school.

When I was in school, during my last clinical, my instructor asked about my patient. I don't remember the situation exactly, but I told her something the nurse did that wasn't textbook. My instructor asked "Why did the nurse do that?" I didn't know, so she said "Ask the nurse why she did that." I walked up to the nurse, who was ambulating the patient, and asked. I realized later that I may have come off as trying to correct the nurse, instead of trying to figure out her train of thought.

I've never worked with students, but I graduated almost 4 years ago, and I vividly remember being a student. Some nurses, and most of the CNAs, were happy to have us. Other nurses, including the charge nurses at 2 clinical sites, hated us, and weren't shy about expressing it. When the charge nurse walks up to your clinical group and says "Thank God you're here! The Weekend Program people were here Sunday, and they didn't know ****! They asked all these stupid questions! I don't have time for that ****!", it's not a misunderstanding on the students' part.

I really wish more schools used the 1:1 preceptor model for clinical. My clinicals were always 1 instructor to 7 or 8 students, sometimes on different floors. It's really not the floor nurse's job to train students. If you have a question, you can't find your instructor, and the nurses are openly hostile, how are you supposed to learn?