TERRIFIED about Clinicals

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I have my first clinical next week and I'm on the ICU stepdown floor. I do not feel like I'm ready for this yet! Is this normal?? I passed all my checkoffs fine and have good grades in class but I don't feel ready to start on real patients...any tips or suggestions??

ibspider

10 Posts

I think it is normal as do many of the students in my group. I am on my second semester of clinicals. I am still rattled but I'm working on it. I try to remind myself that 1)nerves are normal (2)I'm not expected to know everything at this point (3)I am here to learn/practice "x" --some aspect(s) of Nursing, not the whole thing at once.

Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.

Don't worry, your instructors will be in your back pocket or at least they should be! It should not matter if you performed a skill in lab, you should have to perform the same skill again and get checked off in the clinical setting. At least that is how it works at my school. Talk to your nursing school adviser about your concerns and see if he/she can assist you with better understanding the expectations of a second semester clinical student in your program. ;)

arciedee

610 Posts

Specializes in Maternity, quality.

It's perfectly normal to be scared about going into clinicals. But rest assured that once you're there it will get better! You will have the instructor, other students, nurses, aides, etc. around to ask questions of. You will not sink! You will also not be expected to do everything on the first day. You will start with the basics and work up to the more complex stuff.

My only suggestion is to be sure to ask questions. Don't be afraid of looking stupid. Better to ask if you're not sure.

Try not to stress... clinicals are intense, but they're also a lot of fun and the time when you finally get to put into practice everything that you've been learning. Best of luck!

Spill, RN

303 Posts

Specializes in Med/Surg/Tele.

UM...I wish, in my clinicals I could ask for help. We are told that we are NOT to speak with the nurses on the floor and to just take care of our pt. Don't even ask a tech! They are below you! Whaat???? those are their exact words!

So....I am a nervous wreck for seven hours! I am so anxious! Today was my second day and I felt like I could barely walk out of there.

If it weren't for my instructor I might feel a lot more confident.

RN BSN 2009

1,289 Posts

Don't worry! I was scared at first too...!

Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

I think everyone is scared at first. Lord knows I was, we had 1st semester clinicals in LTC and I was so worried my pt was going to code on me or fall out of bed/wheelchair/etc. Well, I did end up getting a med error, but I provided care, got them to church, got them to their activity, and basically just helped them through 1/2 the day. Clinical was only 4.5 hrs and then this semester we went straight to 8 hrs with meds/assessments/management/dr. rounding/etc. I was more worried about rounding with a dr. vs. caring for the patient. Just meet your patients needs and you'll be ok.

BTW, the first week of acute care clinicals, NOBODY got over 3 hrs sleep because of prepping and nerves. Just a fair warning, don't stress if you can't sleep much, just be prepared with meds and care, you'll do fine!!!

BTW, make sure to tell us all how it went!!

Roseyposey

394 Posts

UM...I wish, in my clinicals I could ask for help. We are told that we are NOT to speak with the nurses on the floor and to just take care of our pt. Don't even ask a tech! They are below you! Whaat???? those are their exact words!

So....I am a nervous wreck for seven hours! I am so anxious! Today was my second day and I felt like I could barely walk out of there.

If it weren't for my instructor I might feel a lot more confident.

Techs are below you? How's that for instilling in new students a teamwork/respect in the workplace attitude? :trout: In my clinicals we were expected to work with our nurses and ancillary staff (not to the point of bugging the heck out of them) and it was actually a component of our clinical grade. Seasoned nurses and techs can be your most valuable resources for learning as they are the ones "out there" everyday, whereas many times nursing instructors can be long on academia and theory but short on practical experience.

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