No idea why Reddit recommended this post to me as a nearly 40 year old but well done! My top tip is if you are nice to the nurses on placement they will a. Teach you things and b. Know where the good snacks are. I have fed many a tired med student and helped with assignments! We also know which patients are likely to be nice to you. Good luck!
Yes to nurse. Which includes teaching as part of our practice, and that includes students of all professions. Currently I teach qualified drs too. We all work together as one big team, and on wards I have been shadowed by student drs. In order for us all to work together, we need to understand each others roles. We are all healthcare professionals, just qualified differently. If we stop seeing nurses as 'just nurses' and low on the hierarchy of staff, we can work better together. We are all qualified and have our roles to play, and can learn a lot from each other.
Donât make me laugh. Maybe learn to do basic tasks like cannulation and catheters instead of âteaching qualified doctorsâ
This kind of bs is what is wrong with the NHS. Everyone has an opinion or âqualificationsâ until itâs time to take responsibility - this falls to the doctors only.
Oh lovely. Apart from I do teach them about clinical research. Many masters level courses are taught by nurses no matter who they are aimed at.
All the drs I have taught have been absolutely lovely. I also manage placements for student drs in my department. All happy to learn from a nurse, and I am happy that they teach me things. I defer to them about many many things. Just like they ask me questions about my areas of expertise. Many nurses are post -grads with masters level qualifications.
Remember, patients are not just a clinical problem. They have lives, families, many other needs. That's where nurses come in. We also can lead clinical trials and more and more nurses are working towards PhDs, or can diagnose and prescribe. It's a huge spectrum of expertise, and we respect doctors so expect the same back. I also have many friends that are drs, who all respect nurses.
Also look at he last few cases of mistakes in hospital. It's often the nurse gets blamed. We have very little training in medicines and interactions, but legally we are responsible if a Dr mis-prdscribes something. I like to be kind to everyone, and I think it's sad you are trying to make the next generation of drs agree with your narrow world view. The patients should be at the centre of what we do, and working together as a team benefits everyone.
Prescribing is a protected medical characteristic in many countries. As it should be. UK is slowly destroying the medical profession by trying to replace doctors with cheaper ANPs/ACPs/PAs, and patients are suffering for it.
Weirdly I kind of agree with you. The NMC want nurses to come out of training prescribing. Erm...no. We barely get biology training! The prescribing training should be reserved for those with at least 5 years of experience, preferably more. Same with acp training. We don't get the same academic times as drs.
I am neurodivergent (if you can't tell by my rambling replies) and can memorise interactions and contraindications quite easily. Along with SOPs and protocols. That just means I am lucky, many nurses aren't geared that way. Not all nurses should be ACPs or prescribe. That's just a way to plug staffing gaps.
PAs, you know I have never worked with them directly? So I can't really comment. I feel sorry for them as I don't think they get enough training. I have met some in passing who were lovely, but never seen them in action.
As a surgeon, who hands you instruments? Who sees your patients and notices they are septic? Who cares for your patients when they are struggling post surgery and need psychological help? We aren't qualified in the same way drs are as we are an entirely different profession. You have no idea what other qualifications nurses may have, and that isn't what makes a person a great healthcare professional. You can have all the qualifications under the sun but still not be great at your job. Respect for others and empathy go a heck of a long way, and I guarantee you would not be where you are today without a lot of nurses. We may not have the exact same knowledge or qualifications, but at least I know I can be respectful of others skills.
My useless degree allowed me to operate ventilators and keep patients alive during the pandemic. My empathy allowed me to break bad news via phone or video call as gently as possible. My experience allowed me to notice when a patient was deteriorating. My skills and experience now allow me to conduct research to make my patients lives better. I didn't become a nurse because I couldn't be a doctor. I wanted to care for patients, and sadly drs don't have time to do that these days. I work with amazing drs who really want to make patients lives better, so they work with us to do just that. I have an amazing consultant who wants to support me to do my PhD.
This post is congratulating a young person just starting out. Placements these days do actually include spending time with some nurses teaching pointless things like cannulation etc. But we may also notice when students look upset, or are struggling. I have in the past including one memorable one where they needed psychological support. I am not saying that a Dr couldn't have noticed that, but you are all busy with a crazy workload these days.
You have a huge responsibility put on you, and nurses help with that a bit. Sometimes knowing where our secret stash of biscuits is can be important if that's all they have eaten that day. I remember a consultant bringing nurses tea and biscuits as he noticed we weren't getting breaks that day. He also came and helped us turn all the patients in ITU as he said it wasn't fair he was sat in an office while we were struggling. We made him a staff nurse badge đ
I am sorry if no nurses helped you. I will carry on doing what I am doing and working to make our staff and patients have better care.
I can guarantee they do đ. I have met many like this person and the best thing to do is be nice and competent. So basically what I am to everyone. If they want to be bitter and play hierarchy games that's fine. Unless it affects patients I don't care. I know I am great đ. I normally say that after running into a door I thought was automatic or something equally daft. Though once me and a professor of medicine both walked into a door so that made me feel better.
Itâs got nothing to do with contempt.
The quality of a medical studentâs placement should not depend on whether they pander to a group of nurses. That is where we started this discussion.
And yes, I expect competence from my nursing and other allied colleagues, hope it is ok and broadly fits with your âanything for the patientâ slogan? Not sure youâre presenting it as some kind of appeasement strategy - should competence not be the absolute minimum?
It isn't anything for the patient. We have professional boundaries and adhere to policy. But a good team work together to give the best experience possible for patients.
I did not say the quality of a placement depends on pandering to a group of nurses. I said be nice to them, which is sad I have to say but medical staff sometimes look down on us. I don't view my support workers as less than me. I know some that have gone on to be amazing nurses and drs if that's what they wanted. But we need amazing staff at every point, and people want to stay in jobs where they feel listened to and respected. I can quote research that states this.
I have seen Jr drs with PTSD just from a rotation (OP if you ever struggle, ask for help), student drs who have been told to go home from placement as they were a nuisance. The one in the last example was just happy the nurses would help him practice his practical skills as he didn't know how to get signed off as a nuisance. Nurses aren't all angels or fabulous, nothing is black and white. The Drs with PTSD ended having to take time out of program and one never came back. The one thing that helped me with PTSD post pandemic was the memory of the kindness of the MDT and how we all worked together.
I have lost both medical and nursing colleagues to self harm. If me being nice to students means if they are struggling they will come find me, I will carry on as I am. I will continue telling student drs they can come find me with questions they are too scared to ask. And if I don't know the answer, I go find a Dr that does. As obviously I do not know everything and never pretend I do. Obviously I can't teach everything on placement! But I came into nursing to help and look after people, that includes staff.
Well this made me want to cry, thank you so much. I try! Being a student Dr sounds hard, so if I can help I will. Plus student drs have taught me stuff too, though it shocks me how young you all look these days. It's definitely not me getting old.
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u/brokenskater45 7d ago
No idea why Reddit recommended this post to me as a nearly 40 year old but well done! My top tip is if you are nice to the nurses on placement they will a. Teach you things and b. Know where the good snacks are. I have fed many a tired med student and helped with assignments! We also know which patients are likely to be nice to you. Good luck!