You may wonder if it is safe to have a student care for you. The answer is yes, as long as the student, their preceptor nurse, and their clinical instructor are observing the patient when necessary and communicating frequently with the student. There may be certain tasks the student should not attempt on some patients. For example, if you have found in the past that getting an IV in you is a monumental task, then it is appropriate to kindly tell the student that you require someone with a great deal of experience. The student will be grateful for your honesty! If you need an NG tube threaded through your nose, and this task has been difficult for nurses in the past, a student should not be the one to attempt the NG insertion. The same is true of any task that has been proven to require a highly skilled nurse in the past.
What Students Can Do
Students are generally allowed to do a head-to-toe assessment of you, administer medication under the watchful eye of an experienced nurse or their instructor, and perform dressing changes, IV starts, urinary bladder insertion, and numerous other tasks. The students are expected to communicate any and all pertinent information to the nurse who is supervising them as well as to their instructor. If your blood pressure is high, for example, the student should communicate that information to the your primary nurse and to their instructor. In some respects, you are even more safe due to the watchful eyes of your primary nurse, the student, and the student's instructor. Also, students tend to be very attentive, and that's always a nice thing. Students usually care for only one or two patients, so it's a great time to ask for the back massage that nurses rarely have time to offer these days.
How Patients Can Help Students Learn and Grow
Patients can be a great help to students who are learning how to be great nurses. If you give the student positive feedback when deserved and also make tactful suggestions when appropriate, the students can learn a great deal. Students spend more time than ever in simulation with mannequins, and we sometimes fear the art of nursing is being overshadowed by the science of nursing. Both aspects of patient care are vitally important, and the patient can help students fine tune the art of nursing in a way that benefits both the student and the patient.
If I were a patient being cared for by a student, I would ask the student at the beginning of the shift, "Would you like me to give you honest feedback during the time you care for me?" Almost certainly the student will respond with an enthusiastic "YES!" Here are some things I would suggest to a student caring for me:
- I would suggest that the student always ask patients, "What are the three most important things to you while you are a patient in the hospital?" I would then ask the student if he or she would like me to share my three most important things with him or her.
- I might give the student the following feedback if it is applicable: "I've noticed that sometimes when you come in the room, you are very focused on the task at hand, and I think you forget to look at me. I feel more connected to you when you make a point of looking me in the eye."
- When I have been a visitor to a patient in the hospital, I always appreciate it very much when the nurses acknowledge my presence. I would suggest to the student that he or she should do the same with family members or visitor, if I've noticed it hasn't yet become a habit.
- There is often a hand sanitizer dispenser outside each patient's room. I would tell my student that I like to actually see my nurses sanitize or wash their hands inside my room, and it would be great if they would be willing to do that for their patients.
There are many things a patient can teach a student, and if the student is willing to learn from the patient, it can be a beneficial experience for everyone, including the student's future patients! (By the way, patients can also learn from students, and all students should be teaching their patients!)
New Graduate Nurses
New graduate nurses, or "new grads," generally have a lengthy orientation period under the guidance and leadership of an experience nurse called a preceptor. As with students, I recommend that new graduates not be expected to perform tasks that require extra skill and experience, such as starting an IV on a patient whose past experience with IV starts has been very bad.
New grads need to be observed the first two or three times they perform a new task. I feel it is appropriate to ask your new grad how many times they have performed a certain task if you have any concern about the difficulty or complexity of the task in question. It is also acceptable to request that the preceptor be present if it will help you feel more comfortable. New grads need to get experience, and they can be safe practitioners from the very start as long as they are following protocol and demonstrating safe habits. If you notice any unsafe practices, bring it to the new grad's attention in a tactful way, and let them know you understand there is a lot to remember in the beginning.
Receiving care from a student or a new grad can be a good experience as long as communication between all parties is open, honest, and helpful for everyone.
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