Hello everyone! I'm a very excited nursing student who has an awesome preceptorship experience set for critical care nursing in a week's time. Our professors have asked us to create objectives for our preceptorship and I'm not sure where to start and I'm also not sure what I should expect to learn in critical care nursing. I'm sure it will be A LOT which is why I don't know where to begin... Any thoughtful advice?

Start by looking at the objectives for the course. You'll want your personal objectives to be consistent with those.

For example, if the course objective says something about using the Nursing Process to provide care for assigned patients ... you could write a similar personal goal with perhaps some sub-goals emphasizing things like "improving your assessment skills," "integrating lab values into your assessment," "using technology safely" or to learn how to use specific pieces of technology (e.g. monitors, ventilators, etc.), "evaluating the effectiveness of your interventions" etc.

You might also write a goal or two about exploring the role of the ICU staff nurse in relation to other members of the team. You might want to compare the ICU RN role and work environment to that of the general care RN role and work environment that you might be more familiar with -- and assess your readiness to possibly work in ICU after graduation.

Perhaps a goal about identifying ways to support the ICU patient emotionally -- or to support the patient's family.

Etc. etc. etc. Start with the goals for the course and tailor them to the ICU setting and then add in some aspects of nursing that are of particular interest to you. Why did you choose ICU? What do you especially want to learn? Brain storm a list and pick a couple that seem do-able and worthwhile.

Thank you so very much for your thoughtful advice!