What clinical rotations have you done?

Nursing Students General Students

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Specializes in ER/Forensics/Disaster.

What specialties/locations have you done for clinicals? I start in a couple weeks--just curious what I can expect. Will I rotate through most/all specialties?

Are you in on the 'action' when at clinicals? Like in OB, do you witness a birth? Or in ER, are you right in the room during a trauma case?

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I've only done LTC rotation, nothing really exciting there... but next semester we are doing a med/surg rotation :)

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Specializes in ER/Forensics/Disaster.

From what I've heard, I only have like 9 clinicals towards the end of this first semester, some at the hospital(dunno where in) and a nursing home. I worked in a nursing home for 3 years so I know what that's about already.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Each semester my school had a different focus.

Geriatrics (Community, Nursing Home, LTC Hospital), Medicine, Surgery, Operating Room, Ambulatory Care, Obstetrics, Psych, Community/Public Health, Family, & Choice.

We also were able to have a couple of days of shadow time in a more specialty area in each clinical semester. During surgery we went to the OR for a couple of days, during medicine we went to ICU, during OB we went to L&D.

In OB we had one day in L&D, if you saw a birth, you were lucky! We were told that L&D was for experienced mat-child nurses, so it was more for exposure, rather than for us to participate in the birth.

In the OR, I was there just for observation since it was only a couple of shifts. In Ambulatory care it was only a few shifts too, but I could assist a little more with putting out trays, dressings, and assessments.

For my preceptorship, I'm going to the ER where I will be paired with an RN and follow her through everything she does (including codes, traumas, and the minor things) and eventually be able to participate as much as possible.

The hospital we did our clinicals at was a small community hospital, so opportunities were pretty limited. No clinical time for me in peds, neuro, oncology, burns, etc.

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So far:

Long Term Care - did Am care that's about it

Acute Care on a M/S Floor- passed all meds except IV Push and prn, did basically everything else

M/S on an Orthopedic Floor- cared for 3 clients, did all meds except IV push, did what was needed

Psych on a locked Crisis Intervention ward- did NOT med pass, ran groups, sat in on treatment meetings, talked a LOT to clients

Next semester is OB in L+D, and Pediatrics in a Pediatric ER unit

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First semester was a M/S floor.

Second semester was a M/S floor, we do pretty much everything, including all meds, IV and IV push, simple wound care, I started 3 IV's, removed staples, we had 2 patients each day. I had a great experience.

Then we did 4 weeks of Peds and 4 weeks of OB.

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rehab/ltc= basic care ADL's with a few small med passes ( give the noon meds to one patient etc...) gave an SC injection, nail care, assessments etc...

Med/surg/ortho= total care for 2 patients including all med passes (no IV push), ADL's, Assessments, charting, catheter insertion and D/C if needed, D/C peripheral IV's, etc...

Next stop = OB/LD/peds

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Specializes in Urgent Care.

LTC, med surg and OB so far

Next semester I will be doing a psych rotation and then med/surg on a cardiac unit.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

STACEY....I did my preceptorship in the ER as well. It was the most awesome learning experience for me. I did more skills in that short period of time then I did in all 5 semesters of school. I wish you lots of luck and may you enjoy yourself as much as I did.

To the OP...I think every program is different....we went to the LTC first semester, did bedbaths, insulin injections passed a few po meds, did foleys basic stuff like that...second semester...we hit the med/surg floor did dressing changes, trach care, NG tubes, po meds hung IV fluids we spent a day in the OR observing only, a day in PACU again observing, a day in ENDO observing....third semester med/surg floor again and here we got to learn to start IVs, give IVP meds, all that kind of stuff. We spent a day in Dialysis observing, went to a fee clinic here in town where we got to do BP's and blood sugars and a day with a hospice nurse on her visits...fourth semester for critical care we were in ICU doing all kinds of stuff, we rotated out to the ER for a day where we got to participate in everything except meds because our CI was not there with us, we then went to inpt dialysis were we got to help with dialysis....and for our Psych class we went to a day program and ran their groups, during this time we spent one day at an adult day care and half a day at an inpt facility.....oru fifth and final semester was OB/Peds....during OB we had a day in the nursery and a day in L&D (most of my classmates watch births I did not get to see one and was very happy...LOL) for peds we spent a day in the pediatricians office where we could do whatever the nurse there let us do (this is where I got to do my first IM injections) and a day at a daycare center. I also got to follow a child all thru her surgical experience right from preop thru going to her room where I continued to take care of her.

Take advantage of any opportunity you get to do any skill you can or watch any procedure you can...as opportunities do not seem to arise so often while in school but they sure do once you hit the floor in the real world. Good luck to you.

Sorry my post ended up being so long

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Specializes in ED, Pedi Vasc access, Paramedic serving 6 towns.

I have done clinicals in OB, Pedi,a day with a school nurse, med surg (boring, except for the telemetry floors), OR (for a day), Psych (even more boring than med surg), and next semester we will be spending time in a critical care area (ICU or ED) and on a couple visiting nurse visits at patients homes.

In OB we did do a labor and delivery, there were some sick patients on the tele floors I have been on we had a couple vented patients and patients who worsened, but so far thats it... Next semester is our last so I am looking foward to a day in the ICU.

Swtooth

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Specializes in NICU Level III.

Fundamentals - a ton of differernt med/surg floors, just doing CNA stuff and passing PO meds and focused assessments. One day in the OR observing

OB - antepartum, postpartum, L&D, nursery and OR. Passing meds, fetal monitoring, assessments, newborn assessment

Acute care - tons of med/surg and cath lab. same responsibilities but starting IVs, blood draws, hanging IV meds.

chronic - variety of pedi floors. same stuff.

psych - bipolar/suicide risk/depression/schizo floor. Therapeutic communication and interactions.

high acuity - CVICU - doing EVERYTHING but hanging blood. pulling chest tubes, pulling swans, CRRT - everything.

communities - school nursing, assessment, asseseemtn of a community

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I have done long term care, medical (which I failed for questionable reasons), and medical and telemetry (which was oh so fun, and interesting) in which I passed. I start surgical in January.:Santa3:

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