In the field of medicine, it reaches a time when you will have to work with the nursing student. You were in the same shoes at some point. The nursing curriculum is designed in such a way you will have to work with an experienced nurse from where you will get to learn some practical situations. As a qualified nurse, there are several things you need to do so that you can make your experience when working with a nursing student-run smoothly. The student also has a part to play. Respect for each other is necessary. You need to forge a good working relationship and it will be easy for you to work together. Some nursing students have encountered good-hearted nurses who have helped them grow their careers. There are several things the student will be required to do. It is good as a student to be ready and respond to what your mentor is saying. You might also be interested in our stethoscopes for nurses and nursing students.
As a nurse, you should feel happy having someone with whom you can share your working experience. The field of medicine keeps on evolving and it is essential to ensure you are ready to adapt to new changes in technology. Nursing students may have learned new trends in their classwork, and they would like you to explain them to them. Be honest, even if you do not know a given concept, you have time to research and discuss it with your students. Never feel challenged if your nursing student appears to know more than you know. Learning is a process, and you can easily learn from the student. You must be polite and get to understand the student. There are times when the student will face several challenges and the student is about to give up. Be available to encourage them and they will succeed.
1. Encourage your students
There are several medical devices you will have to use in the nursing career. For example, you may have to apply the stethoscope and hear internal sounds. Your nursing student may try to use the device, but they are not getting any sound. Maybe they do not have enough experience. Take the stethoscope or any other device and use it. If you will get a different result, avoid making the student feel like they cannot understand anything. You must listen to the student nurse and encourage them. The nursing student will take time to grasp some of the things you are trying to teach them, but they will finally grasp them. It will be wrong if you can scold the student nurse. Learning needs patience and some people will take time before they can learn.
It will be easy to raise the self-esteem of the student and make them learn faster if you can keep encouraging them. There are times when the student will make mistakes in the line of duty. It is good to take time and reason with the student from where you can get to know why the mistake happened. If you can figure out why the mistake happens, it will be easy for you to forge a good relationship and it will contribute towards making the students master the things you are about to explain.
2. Practice patience
People have different levels of mastering things. You may have explained the concept to a student nurse today and the following day the student is back to asking again. Try to be patient and explain again. You will scare the student away if you can become harsh due to repeating things you consider are obvious. Patience is necessary and you will make the student have confidence in doing the right things. When working in a nursing environment, you will be dealing with the lives of people. It is good to let the nursing student learn at their own pace and develop the necessary experience needed to succeed as qualified nurses. You will be required to guide the nursing student in different operations. There are some areas where the student will be slow to master. It is essential to be patient and let the student learn at their own pace.
There are cases where nurses have encountered professionals who are patient with them. They were able to master hard concepts with time. When a student decides to join the profession of medicine, they are dedicated to succeeding in such a field. It is good to let them learn at their paces and it will be easy for them to succeed. There are some obvious things you may have to explain repeatedly. Sometimes due to anxiety, the students may forget things faster. Be patient and it will be easy to help them become competent.
3. Be honest
The field of nursing requires the mastering of concepts. If the student will ask certain questions, then you need to be honest and explain the right way. The nurse may ask a question and you are not sure about the right procedure. It is essential, to be honest, and let the student know you will need to research before you can respond. It is necessary rather than guessing an answer that may turn out to be false. Remember the nursing students are fresh from school and they may have been taught new technology that you are not aware of. You should be honest, and your relationship will run smoothly. Remember nobody is born knowing everything. Maybe it is your time to learn about new ideas.
When you are honest to your nursing student, you will be contributing towards making the student stay honest. The virtue of being honest is required in the field of medicine. There are times when you will be dealing with patients and they would like to get an honest opinion about different issues that face them. Try to come up with the right answers each time your student would like to get an explanation from you. Even if you fear your student assuming you are not highly knowledgeable, it is good to stay honest and give an explanation why you may have not mastered certain issues. When you are ready to work with your student in a transparent manner, you will make the work easy for the student and yourself.
4. Maintain good communication
Communication is key if you would like to work well with your nursing student. There are certain things you may notice in the nursing student and you would like to correct them. It will be easy to correct such issues if you can be free and have an honest discussion with the nurse. Always ensure your relationship with the nursing student is professional. You should at all costs avoid incidences where the nursing students will feel like you are inappropriately relating to them. The nurse may like you to explain certain issues, you should be free to explain them professionally. People have moods and it can reach a time when your moods are not okay. Try to manage the situation and let the student get the necessary assistance needed.
When you are readily available to offer help through good communication, you will encourage the student to succeed in nursing. Some issues may affect the student apart from the work environment. It is possible to gain the trust of the nursing student and offer help if they can consider you a confidant. Take time to listen to the nurse and get to understand their needs. Maybe the student appears stressed. It is upon you to maintain open communication and get to discuss the issue. If the students can open up and let you know about issues in their life that are affecting them, then you need to assure the student that you will not expose their secrets to other people. You can easily encourage the student to succeed if you can maintain good communication.
5. Share personal stories
A nursing student may have experienced different challenges and the student is wondering whether they will ever make it. There are several stories you have working as a nurse. You should be free to share such stories at the right time so that the nursing student will get to learn from them. For instance, your first time in the hospital may have been faced with several challenges. Try to explain the challenges you faced and how you overcame them. The nursing student will get to learn from your stories, and they will make the right decision.
When you get to share personal stories, you will get to be free with your nursing student. You will realize the nursing student will also open up to share their nursing stories with you. When you are friendly to each other, it becomes easy to enjoy your place of work and even become more productive. There are several steps where you will be required to guide the nursing student. Ensure you do your work the right way and the nursing student will have an easy time learning about your given case.
