Thrown into clinicals

Nursing Students General Students

Published

This is my first semester in the BSN program and i feel like our teachers are not teaching us what we need to know for clinicals...I feel like i am just tossed into the hospital blind. I have learned a lot but i feel like we should be learning more and come to the hospital better prepared. I feel like the technical school students are better prepared than we are. They get three days of clinical and we only get one day. THAT IS NOT ENOUGH!! Is this normal to feel this way. Every week when i leave clinicals i feel overwhelmed. Not because of the work but because of the stress i go through when i become frusterated! Anyone else feeling like this?:confused: :confused: :o :( :eek:

:o i think it's the nature of the "beast" (nursing school) to never feel prepared enough for the things we encounter.

i do remember when i began the nursing program a couple of years out of high school, i felt exactly like you describe. now that i've decided to go back and finish what i started 10 years ago, i've become much more confident in what i know and don't know.

i make it a point to find answers to my questions and "find" (seek out) new things to learn while at clinical.

i do hope things get better for you. chin up!

Specializes in tele, stepdown/PCU, med/surg.

Ladygal,

I am like you in so many ways. Even though I'm in an ADN program, I still get petrified and painfully nervous before and sometimes during. The academic part of nursing school doesn't faze me, it's the clinicals. I don't know why it has to be like that.

I probably need some relaxation techniques or something..:)..but know you're not alone.

Z

A few weeks ago I was going to post a topic similar to this because it was brought up in my class. It seems that other allied health majors on my campus (PTA/OTA) go through all the book work, labs, exams and practicals, THEN they have 8 consecutive weeks (50 hours/wk) of clinical.

They are prepared and have all the information and "know-how" to apply in practice, while still supervised. This would seem like a better way...

It is no secret that I hate the care plan. One of the biggest reasons is because I tend to get patients that have diseases or conditions that I have not learned yet. For example, last week my patient had end stage renal failure, was on a laundry list of drugs, and had cellutlitis. Well, I have learned all about Respiratory diseases, and cardiac problems, etc.......renal problems are going to be taught the week of Oct 20th. So half the night I am reading and searching for the information that I need for the next day! If I had all the information first, it would be so much easier to understand, rationalize the interventions and treatments, KNOW the nursing implications and most importantly for me, understand exactly what is going on with this patient...

Last semester, I had Peds and OB.......the rotation went in such a way that I had L&D first day....I didn't learn how to interpret that fetal monitor strip until the 3rd week of class!!

By the end of the semester it had all "clicked" but the frustration of it all is at times agony!

It is my opinion that we should have all the book work, exams, etc, FIRST, then put it into practice. I feel sorry for anyone who is taking pre-reqs WITH the nursing classes! That has to be even more frustrating!!

Well....just my vent...sorry to go on for so long! It is obvious that everyone gets through it somehow, and maybe nurses are better for it! :nurse:

Gator

THANK YOU EVERYONE! IT helps to know that i am not the only one freaking out over this problem. I have to just take one day at a time and go with the flow. I just hope i am happy when i am finished with it all because it sure is a lot of work!! GOOD LUCK to everyone!!

well sounds like your program needs a little help! But seriously it is also pretty normal to feel thrown in to clinicals. do to time constraints it is hard for us to prepare you for everything before you go to clinicals.they kinda go hand inhand. it is a pity that some programs don't have higher clinical standards and components.

Ladygal, coming from an ADN program I can tell you that we don't feel as if we know anything as well. You are not in the boat alone. Good luck to you!;)

Thank you everyone for responding....Ive got clinical again this Friday. We will see how it goes!

Ladygal, Yes I did feel the same way as you did but I graduated from an ADN program.....My best part of nursing school was clinicals .....I had no problem with clinicals and the reason for that was because I am a LPN and I work in a hospital setting on the telementry unit...so therefore the task were not unknown to me and I did better in clinical than the book side of nursing....Nursing school is not easy it is very hard so hang in there and give it your all I am quite sure you will do well.......I take my boards in two days so I am experiencing diarrhea and my hair is falling out and I have nightmares.....so go figure...........LOL

+ Add a Comment