YOU as a Pt-what would you allow a student nurse to do?

Sacred eagle · Apr 22, 2012

What's the point in doing a rectal exam in a healthy individual it will add nothing to your knowledge base when checking for a spinal injury since it's the absence of tonus you are going to look for in a trauma patient. And everyone has their own orifice to check if you want to feel normal First of all med school and nursing school are a lot different from each other. I've done my bachelor in medicine as well and to answer your question yes I did examine the scrotum of some of my male students. And we did breast exams on each other if the girls would allow it. For microbiology I was stirring in my lab partner's poo and pee. We had women and men come in especially in school as practice patients to practice live procedures. Things like a pelvic exam on a woman or assessing the prostate of a man happened there.And the general rule was one insensitive remark or conduct unbecoming and you failed the class. Trust me people acted very professional in those lessons.I'm sorry you had negativeexperiences BryanD but if you ever find yourself in Belgium in my hospital I'll take exceptional care of you. At Xmas time I've been known to hang lights and Xmas balls around the endotracheal tube to bring the Xmas feeling to my patients they generally enjoy a personal side to care.

Yet,there is no guarantee thesePeople will act professional afterthe lesson,course,etc. So no, I think we will pass on ever visiting the hospital where you work

BelgianRN · Apr 22, 2012

Yet,there is no guarantee thesePeople will act professional afterthe lesson,course,etc. So no, I think we will pass on ever visiting the hospital where you work

True there is no guarantee but you have to have some trust in the health care professionals, I trust when I get my food it was handled with care, same way I trust health care professionals to behave accordingly.

If people don't trust health care professionals then by all means stay away and do as you see fit. After all we live in a free world :) Sad you don't want to visit Sacred eagle I would give you a nice guided tour of the grounds including the duck pond and the feeding grounds for the chickens

0402 · Apr 22, 2012

Hm, I'm having sx next month, on my foot. My cousin, who is a podiatrist, told me to make sure a student isn't doing my sx; that it's not they type of sx you want a student doing. I think I would let a student nurse do things before I would let a student doc, though I fully understand the need to learn. A student nurse could put in a foley, IV, give me meds, etc, and I'd be fine. I still have to go with the 2 tries and you're out, but I follow the same, myself, as an RN. =) I did let student docs help with the delivery of all 3 of my kids, but the actual docs were great about stepping in when needed (and it was a few times, d/t complications, nothing the students did wrong). To me, though, delivering a baby is a normal, human thing and not something "wrong" with the pt, so it's a little different than, for example, having sx on my foot where something is wrong, and there is a high level of success but also very little margin for error. Student observers? 100% yes. When there was a complication with my 1st birth, there were probably 8 people looking at my lady bits when they were trying to decide what to do. Not my idea of a good time, but I'm glad they got to see it and got to observe the process and outcome, as well.

Editorial Team / Admin · Apr 22, 2012

I'm not so sure that I'd want a student anything. Not because they're learning, but because, hey, I work there, and I'd prefer as few people as possible be privy to my private medical information. If I were to have surgery, depending on the type, I already know who I want as scrub, circulator, and anesthesia. I know who I definitely don't want because I work with these people day in and day out and know who knows their job and who doesn't.

brillohead, ADN, RN · Apr 22, 2012

I have a rare esophageal disease, and I *love* seeing student doctors because I can give them an earful! When I was waiting to see a knee doc, I gave his student a full lesson in my disease, and let him know that if he ever told a dysphagia patient that they needed to see a shrink and take tranquilizers, I would come back and haunt him for the rest of his life!

Similar situation when I was having an upper endoscopy -- had three students in the room while waiting for the GI doc to arrive, and I gave them the rundown on my disease and treatment, plus told them of things to look for when the procedure got started.

As for nursing students, I know that in my program I'm not allowed to do ANY meds without my clinical instructor present. Even if the patient's primary nurse is there, I can't hand over even PO meds without my clinical instructor's direct supervision. And I have done IVP meds -- all with my clinical instructor's direct supervision, from Pyxis to hub, and having already told my CI over how many minutes I needed to push the drug, and we both stood there and chatted up the patient while waiting for the push to finish. I think that a student nurse who only has one patient and whose CI is standing right there at the bedside is possibly less likely to "rush" the IVP compared to a floor nurse who has call lights going off for other patients.

Same for all other procedures -- even if we've been "checked off" on doing Foleys or straight caths or NGTs, we still can't do them without our CI or primary nurse supervising us.

I can understand not wanting a student who is shaky or not confident, particularly for something that could be painful, but with a properly supervised, confident SN, I wouldn't have any problem with any procedure being done on me. My only concern might be IV starts on my crappy veins... I have low blood pressure, and I've had several nurses have problems hitting my veins, particularly if I'm not well-hydrated. So I might suggest that they have an experienced IV starter double-check their selected vein, but I wouldn't deny them the chance. I just have a three-poke rule, but that goes for RNs and SNs alike... if you haven't gotten me in three tries, it's time to call in reinforcements. My record is seven tries... my primary RN (3), the charge RN (3), then finally Ye Olde Battle Axe (first time was the charm!).

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Apr 23, 2012

I would allow pretty much anything, including venipuncture and IV starts, even though I HATE getting stuck. I have garden hoses for veins, though, so I'm sure if a student started their first IV on me it would really boost their confidence :)

I don't think I would allow them to insert a foley on me, though. Or feel my fundus if I was on a postpartum unit!

dirtyhippiegirl, BSN, RN · Apr 23, 2012

I think getting a foley mis-started on you is easier than getting repeatedly stuck for blood/IV.

'cause it happened to me. And I was like "honey, the foley is in my lady parts."

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 23, 2012

hm, i'm having sx next month, on my foot. my cousin, who is a podiatrist, told me to make sure a student isn't doing my sx; that it's not they type of sx you want a student doing. i think i would let a student nurse do things before i would let a student doc, though i fully understand the need to learn. a student nurse could put in a foley, iv, give me meds, etc, and i'd be fine. i still have to go with the 2 tries and you're out, but i follow the same, myself, as an rn. =) i did let student docs help with the delivery of all 3 of my kids, but the actual docs were great about stepping in when needed (and it was a few times, d/t complications, nothing the students did wrong). to me, though, delivering a baby is a normal, human thing and not something "wrong" with the pt, so it's a little different than, for example, having sx on my foot where something is wrong, and there is a high level of success but also very little margin for error. student observers? 100% yes. when there was a complication with my 1st birth, there were probably 8 people looking at my lady bits when they were trying to decide what to do. not my idea of a good time, but i'm glad they got to see it and got to observe the process and outcome, as well.

what is "sx"?

wooh, BSN, RN · Apr 23, 2012

I'm thinking "surgery."

tadahh99 · Apr 23, 2012

Wont let me delete and posted 2 times

tadahh99 · Apr 23, 2012

When I was pregnant I had to be hospitalized several times for complications. I had been in nursing school and was forced to withdraw the friday to the beginning of my last term. I was quite close to graduation which was disappointing but I wanted to make sure my little ones would arrive safely. (I was only 18 weeks pregnant when I was placed on bedrest) Towards the end of my pregnancy I was once again admitted and I was also aware that students from my school (the class I would be meeting up with after I had my babies) were doing their OB clinical rotation. The hospital was a teaching hospital and I actually got into it with the secretary on the unit that told me I had to sign the waiver to allow students to provide care to me. I refused and pointed out that I had no intentions of allowing students to provide care for me especially because they would likely be my classmates in a few months and I would rather they got to know me for my personality versus my pelvic area. She was still stuck on making me sign the waiver and I finally requested the nursing supervisor be called. I explained the situation and that under different circumstances I would allow this but not this time and especially not that group. She was very understanding and we wrote in o the waiver that no students from my school were authorized to see me. They even put a sticker on my chart to note that no students from my particular school were permitted. I did have a student in with me for my c-section and she was from another school. So I really think that sometimes it is dependent on the situation. Even without the circumstances i was in though, I am choosy about what I will allow or not. For instance I was asked recently while in for a stress test if I would allow a highschool student to stay and watch as part of her career exploration class. I looked at the student and asked her if she knew what HIPPA was and if she had any classes in healthcare prior to the visit. She said no and the tech that was there doing my test said well why would she need that? I in turn told her that I was very sorry but I would not allow her to stay in the room for my test and view my information without knowledge of how it can and cannot be used. I apologized to the student and she said its okay, the tech on the other hand got an attitude with me.

tothepointeLVN, LVN · Apr 23, 2012

Well my opinion comes from having spent a lot of time in the hospital the past 12 months including the ICU and for me I didn't deny a student any skill and spent a lot of time answering all their nervous questions (y'know the ones they are afraid to ask their clinical instructors). You DO sign on admission ( at least in the hospital I was in ) that you consented to student nurses providing care.

The way I see if I can provide a positive experience for someone learning then that benefits their patients in the future who might be my husband, my mother, your mother, his mother.