I am in my last semester of nursing school and will be graduating in may 2010. I chose ICU for my speciality rotation and I will be precepting in Ortho/ Neuro for the rest of the semester. I may be mistaken when I say that most of the nurses in ICU are very stressed out and not as accepting and nice as other nurses on other floors. It is my first time experiencing the ICU and It took me a while to get used to the new element. I still have 20 more hrs of specialty in ICU and I am scared to go back there and finish it without the fear I will be picked on and told that I am not doing my job well enough. Should I just keep my mouth sealed and stop asking questions? I am not shy or timid love to ask q? and explore the diagnosis and patients treatments planed for them. Now I more reserved to be myself and ask anything. How else can I learn though?
Thx
Marta
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February 9th, 2010 at 11:59 am
There is no way as a student even in your last semester anyone could really expect you to do a great job in icu- you need so much more training and education. No one should blame you for asking questions or not knowing what to do. i just started in icu, i was a nurse for a year in med surg. its definately overwhelming and I am having to learn a ton of new information.
All of the nurses in icu where i am at are very nice and like to teach others —I am sorry that its not that way in your facility right now . One thing about icu nurses is that they are very smart, very attuned to details and are very careful about their patients and who touches them . Just smile , get it over with and be careful about when you are asking questions- if a patient is coding or the nurse is concentrating on something maybe save the questions for the right time. Just try to enjoy it because this is the time you are not really liable for the patient and can try to learn all you can . BUT dont let anyone put you down or be unprofessional to you . That happened to me a lot as a student ,remember your still learningand dont feel bad about it !
February 21st, 2010 at 7:26 am
Hey Marta! Yay for being in your last semester – you’re almost done!
As a nurse in the ER, which is another area with a reputation for blunt, abrupt nurses, I can tell you that most often we are like that because it is incredibly busy. There are times when I feel guilty because I see teaching opportunities or students ask questions, but I simply don’t have time to answer them. I agree with Tiffany that you should be on the lookout for good question-asking times. Also, if there seems to be a nurse or nurses who are more open to teaching, then stick with them. And more than anything, give it time. Sometimes nurses are reluctant to trust, but if you show that you are kind, respectful, and intelligent, then they will be more willing to share things with you and teach. Good luck!