Nurses

On a recent placement, it required much communication with the nursing staff, particularly in the mornings. This was due to the fact that the patients required higher level care, and therefore, it was courteous to let the NS know appropriate times so they could organise their schedules also.
One particular morning, one of the nurses was extremely rude to us as students. She was upset that her name was spelt wrong on the board and was mispronounced by us, and therefore stated that she should not help us out with our patients. Later we found out that she was covering shifts for a sick nurse who had gone home.
Another nurse questioned me checking the obs chart, and writing down the obs, stating that I should not be writing them, as I did not take them myself. I had been present in the room when she was taking all the obs, and I found this particularly rude, and condescending, however I laughed it off as best I could.
Another instance was when a nurse was asked if a particular time would be appropriate for a patient, as she proceeded to go into the patient’s room and ask if the ‘students’ could see him this morning. I felt this was putting a low priority on the important physiotherapy service we were needing to provide to this patient.
I am by no means in this blog trying to say that nurses are not doing a fantastic job – they go over and above what they are required to do. I think that is the point I am trying to make is that they are required to do more than is possible, and as a result, the quality of care cannot always be there. If someone calls in sick, they are run off their feet. I do believe however, their must be a mutual respect and understanding for what both professions do for patients, so we can work together to achieve optimal patient results.
These valuable lessons I think we can all bring into our future clinical practice, as it is easy to moan about how some nurses treat us, however we need to be aware of their position as well, and vice versa.