I am writing this post while in clinicals today. Never fear, I am making regular rounds to check on my students. In fact about every 20 minutes I get up and take a lap around to check on them as much as possible. Today I am with my nurse aide class, which will complete today. So in reality, by day 3 they don't need me very much. That being said that is the group as a whole. Individual students however, can be a different story. I am always intrigued by how my students will behave in the clinical setting, and how the staff will behave. So let's explore this a little bit.
Staff: Please note that I love my clinical sites. I truly do! Without them, my students would have an incomplete education. It is part of the rules and regulations for students to participate in clinical education in the Nurse Aide, Nursing, and Medical Assistant programs, along with the other health disciplines. Much as a teacher cannot begin teaching without some sort of practical education, a caregiver cannot give care without some sort of practical education. What always intrigues me is how staff treat my students. Here is potential new staff member, right at your door way. Knocking and waiting patiently to gain admittance. Not all of my students will want to work at their clinical site, but quite often they want to start out here. They have a general idea of the ebb and flow of the facility. A general knowledge of the staff and residents. For my nurse aides, they complete 3 days of time in the facility, and I try to keep them on the same unit each time. They will almost always rotate staff, but at least being in the same wing of the building will help them get used to the milieu. I cannot count the number of times that I have had a student report to me, and in some cases staff, that the staff member does not want to train a student. A very interesting phenomenon--often when i am in the break room during lunch or in my travels, I hear these very same staff members complain about being short-staffed. The staff member will complain in one breath about needing help and in the very next about how awful it is to have students present. Now I am not immune to the problems, and dare I say, drama that can come with students. But then on the other hand there are also often really good students. Those who jump in on day 1 and get the most for their money. They are eager to learn and eager to be productive. Sadly, these are quite often the ones i pair with those reluctant staff. i generally do not know both of these facts until a few hours into the day, and often not until much later. In an ideal world, these 2 adults, and I use that term loosely, would work out their own problems. They would find a way to get along. They would relies they can work together to solve a very big problem--that of being short-staffed. The way I view this, and so do many of my colleagues, the student is essentially on an extended interview. Quite often the student has not worked in healthcare, so they are a sponge waiting to soak up all that they can. And they are ripe for teaching, most of the time. Now I am not naive enough to think that the students will all be fabulous and wonderful. Jumping right in to help. Doing things correctly from the beginning. Communicating well with their preceptor and others. This would be an unrealistic world for the best of circumstances. Even when I have students who are working in an agency where they are completing their clinicals they always have room to improve. and they have routines and tips and tricks to learn from the staff. I would so love to be able to point out to the staff, without be sarcastic, mean, or sassy--here is a potential staff member, treat them well. But alas I fear that this would still not help. Maybe someday i will figure this out and find a way to have staff treat students in a friendly manner.
Students: I am not silly enough to think that my students will enter the clinical world perfectly. That they will be 100% prepared for their rotation. Or even that they will come prepared and ready to go body, mind, and spirit. The majority do come and full-fill this criteria. they are like a new sponge, ready to soak it all up. Ready to dive in to help. That being said, some day surprise me for sure! Take this last clinical group, by the 2nd half of the first day one was already having her CNA watch her while she performed tasks. In this case i was not really surprised based on how much of a go-getter this student was in the classroom. Then in this same group I had a personality conflict between a student and her preceptor. At the end of the day the student turned in her evaluation of her preceptor. She indicated that the preceptor was "not professional". Of course does this student say anything to me during my numerous trips by her throughout the day? No, don't be silly. The next day, same pairing. About 11 one of the nurses lets me know she has reassigned my student, per the students request. did my student talk to me on this day? No. Don't be silly. Instead she goes to the nurse on her unit, thankfully the nurse was on her unit. Then this nurse goes to the DON for guidance. All bypassed the instructor in this case. So I will sure to say, "if you have a problem with your unit, preceptor. any staff, etc. please talk to myself during your clinical time." I will admit I need to keep reminding myself--this is all new to my students. They do not live, breathe, and eat classroom/lab/and clinical time.--to be continued
No comments:
Post a Comment