[gradcare]

"I'm feeling very discouraged with nursing after only two weeks of clinical. I'm in my 2nd semester of my BSN program. My clinical instructor thinks that I am way better suited for ICU so I'd love to hear what your day is like (in general) in the ICU. So far I've been on rehab, which I hear is the least acute it gets, and I'm SOOO bored. I NEED to use my brain more or I'm sure to go mad. I precepted last week and had three patients, was able to do all but pass meds myself (acuchecks, i&o cath, showers, vitals, all the charting, changed the beds) and was still craving more action. I'm thinking that's a bad sign as I'm "supposed" to be overwhelmed and nervous my first real week with multiple patients. We go back to only one patient this week. I'm not sure what I'll be doing the whole time if I was bored with three...."

Just remember that the only time you will ever only have an allocation of 3 pts will be in CCU/HDU. Also try other specialties before you comit to ICU. You need not only basic nursing care but also a reasonable broad range of surgical and medical experience unless you end up in a pure surgical unit.

If you can't pick up the number of patients, try looking at their pathophys, rehab plan and see if you can get a feel for why things are the way they are with them. Try writing some careplans, that sort of thing. The whole point of the first couple of pracs is to get the basics sorted and to gradualy step up the time management and clinical skills so by your final year you can really hook in and hit the ground running. So relax, the challenges will come but until then you may need to create your own.

[ghillbert]

I worry about students with attitudes like yours, to be honest. It's not a competition to see who can get their work done quickest, or easiest, or prove how smart they are. The biggest problem with nursing students (esp early on, like you are) is that you don't know what you don't know.

Yes, rehab patients often seem stable and boring. However, you'd better know what you're doing when you assess and treat them, because they are often post-surgical, and can turn bad quickly with a PE, or various other complications. In addition, a huge number of elderly patients do poorly because they have insufficient rehab before getting home - it is important stuff to be able to assess them accurately.

If you're bored at clinicals, you're not doing it properly. Rather than worry about which clinical area you'll end up in which will be good for YOU, I would suggest you ask your instructor how you can be better for your patients wherever you are. You can investigate their disease processes, look up the drugs they are on, etc etc. There are a ton of learning opportunities.

I don't mean to be harsh, although I am sure I sound impatient. Being a good nurse means not accepting things at face value, but always anticipating what can go wrong. I totally agree with the person who suggested you do the "what's the worst that can happen?" rule.