Advocate for Yourself and What You Need to Know (LPN)

00:01 You may be wondering why I keep recommending that you advocate for yourself.

00:06 Here's the thing.

00:07 Nurses in your clinicals may sometimes ask you to do stuff out of your scope of practice.

00:13 They aren't trying to get you in trouble, but they aren't your nursing faculty either.

00:18 So sometimes hospital nurses aren't familiar with the things that you know you can and cannot do in your scope of practice.

00:26 You have to say no.

00:28 If you don't, you're reliable and accountable for what you do as a student.

00:34 And maintaining your scope of practice as a student is 100% up to you.

00:40 Also, if you see something you think is wrong, meaning a nurse performs a skill, or ask you to perform a skill in a manner that is not how you were taught in lab, it's always best to check with your faculty first.

00:55 The nurses way of doing something may just be a matter of preference and not safety.

01:00 But please, always check with your faculty first, if you feel uncomfortable.

01:06 Not all nurses you will see in clinicals are competent, are comfortable with what they're doing.

01:10 are comfortable with what they're doing.

01:12 Hopefully, this is rare for you.

01:14 But it does not change your responsibility to practice within your scope as an LPN student.

01:20 You are accountable for ensuring that no matter what you are performing clinical skills you have been approved to complete safely.

01:31 Now this one can get kind of awkward.

01:34 What if the nurse you're following doesn't, for example, follow the six rights of medication administration? What do you do? You've got to consult with your faculty immediately.

01:45 You may even have to let the nurse know you need to remove yourself for a short period of time, so you can call your faculty privately.

01:54 Let's end on a positive note.

01:56 A patient who has had you as a student should have even better care because you're also assessing and interacting with them.

02:04 This means you're the first person to notice a change in your patient's assessment.

02:09 And you should report this to the nurse immediately.

02:12 99.9 times out of 100, the nurse will respond quickly to your report.

02:18 However, in the rare case that your nurse isn't responding appropriately or addressing the problem, this is another opportunity where you should consult your faculty.

02:30 Your faculty is much better equipped to assess the situation and figure out if this is a real safety issue, or just if you've misunderstood the clinical situation.

02:40 In practice, I've had both.

02:43 I've had where a student misunderstood the clinical situation, and there wasn't really a safety concern.

02:49 And I've actually had a few situations where there was a patient safety issue and I had to intervene with the nursing supervisor.

02:57 So, for example, I had a fantastic nursing student named Carlos and we were doing clinicals on a medical surgical, but stroke unit.

03:06 His patient for the day. He went in and assessed, identified a stroke like symptom that was new.

03:12 Well, he did the right thing and he contacted his nurse.

03:16 And as faculty, I was making student rounds and address Carlos and he had reported this to me promptly.

03:23 Well, we went and assessed together and indeed Carlos was right.

03:28 So we had to go back to the nurse, inform them of the neurological change.

03:33 And this indeed was a patient safety issue.

03:36 So don't forget, communicate with your faculty and advocate for your patients.

03:42 One thing to know, your school, your faculty, and your clinical site, and nurses can't teach you everything.

03:50 You are accountable for your own learning.

03:53 And if there's certain goals you want to reach for in clinical, just make sure you communicate with your faculty.

03:59 Many times we can help you meet the goal.

04:02 And if it's not feasible, we'll explain to you why.

04:06 Make goals for your clinical day.

04:09 Let's say you wanted to provide patient teaching to a post op patient, then set the goal, and plan how you're going to meet it.

04:17 If you're not sure how to get there and meet the goal, your faculty can guide you.

04:22 And as a student, I recommend that you look for areas in clinical that you know you're struggling with.

04:28 For example, if you struggle with knowing about medications, they consider creating a measurable goal.

04:36 Maybe something like I will write down five medications each clinical day and commit to learning those medications by the end of the shift.

04:45 This same type of goal can apply to labs, testing, disease processes.

04:51 You name it.

04:53 Remember, you have to take personal responsibility in your nursing education.

04:59 Ask questions and invest in your own learning.