Clinical Duty Hours

[redranger]

My wife is in a Kaplan NCLEX RN Class in Dallas this week.

She has been talking to a person whom has an ADN and they told her they only had 2 months of Clinical Duty.

My wife had to spend 2 years doing (3) eight hour shift per week at her local hospital doing her Clinical Duty.

Did she misunderstand them?

How long does a USA educated person have to go Clinical Duty?

[redranger]

Based on what you have posted here your wife does not have any special circumstance and employers will not take kindly for asking for more money without a skill set that matches. In fact most employers avoid hiring new grads since their orientation is very expensive.

Employers avoid hiring new grads? For some reason I find that hard to believe How do new grads find jobs then?

I think my wife has special circumstances that should allow her to move up in pay rate rather quickly.

During her duty, I think the Doctors and Clinical Instructors trust the student more in PI, and let them do a lot more than a US Student.

Example:

She has delivered babies, She has done cord care, Assisted in Major Surgeries, She has even been the Scrub1 Nurse in Major Surgery.

[Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN]

Delivering babies is beyond the scope of practice of RN...MDs and clincal instructors have no bearing in wages.To work in the OR nurses have to complete a 3 month training program and to assist in the US it is considered advanced nursing practice with another test and years of experience.What will put her ahead of the pact, is being on committees,completing special projects, getting feedback from patients and staff, accepting difficult assignments.

[Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN]

Also check the boards here there are loads of newly graduated nurses who can't get a job.

[NurseCubanitaRN2b, BSN, RN]

Actually in this country age can work against you. I don't see how your wife being only 20 with a BSN is going to stand out vs someone who is 30 with a BSN. People are going to look at your wife as someone who is very young and has very little experience in life itself vs the 30 year old with a BSN (not all, but some of us already hold another degree) already has experience with either being a CNA or has some other work experience and customer relations experience. Yes, they will both be treated equally as new grad, but the 30 year old with a BSN (in most cases) is more mature than the 20 year old and most likely will be hired because of that...Regarding negotiating her salary that most likely wont happen because salary isn't negotiable for new grads no matter where they got their nursing education...

[NurseCubanitaRN2b, BSN, RN]

Employers avoid hiring new grads? For some reason I find that hard to believe How do new grads find jobs then?

I think my wife has special circumstances that should allow her to move up in pay rate rather quickly.

During her duty, I think the Doctors and Clinical Instructors trust the student more in PI, and let them do a lot more than a US Student.

Example:

She has delivered babies, She has done cord care, Assisted in Major Surgeries, She has even been the Scrub1 Nurse in Major Surgery.

I hope I'm not sounding rude when I say this because it's not meant to be but you obviously have a lot to learn regarding the work force, negotiating salary, and education...What is accepted in the Philippines is accepted in the Philippines and might not be accepted in the US...Delivering babies in the US usually requires an MD or Nurse Midwife (who is already an RN)...There are RN's that do catch babies because the doctor didn't come on time...In the Philippines must you be an RN already before you're a midwife? From what I was told (maybe it's changed now) you don't have to be an RN to be a midwife. When a midwife comes here to the US from the Philippines, they weren't allowed to work as a midwife because a requisite here is your RN license...I've known many who had to go back to school to become that RN...What you're describing regarding your wifes clinical experience is experience that a lot of other RN's did have in nursing school...But that isn't something that still stands out and will grant her more money...All it means is that she had the opportunity to experience something great and say "wow, I got to catch a baby'' or "I assisted in this laproscopic surgery today" ...and I'm sure they were great experiences for her...but still that isn't something that is going to allow her to move up in the pay scale.

Regarding the Doctors and Instructors letting the students do more than the US student. From what I'm told they don't do assessments on their patients and that's something that is basic for an RN student...That's one of the first things you learn in school is how to assess your patient...If you don't know how to assess your patient then how can you function as an RN? If you can't insert an IV, how can you function as an RN? How many years experience did your wifes Clinical Instructors have before they became instructors? What is the reason why they let the student do more on the floor than here in the US? Is it because they trust the students? Is it because that's how the educational system is over there? Or is it that they're still fresh out of school themselves and really have no idea what they're doing to begin with?

[Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN]

As a CI , I adapt my students experience bases on their capabilities . Doctors have no input on the students evaluation - zero /none.

The person who posted this originally is American and he should know how the labor market is. New teachers get paid in a similar way, you have to start on the bottom work your way up.

I am also the person who HR calls for a reference.

Questions I get asked

Was the student on time for clinicals? How does the student relate to patients? They do ask was experiences did they have in clinical. I always tell them that have been able to adminster meds via all routes. Take care of acutely ill patients etc/

I don't know the process for references to IENs since they are not a quick phone call away, they will be in a different time zone and it is expensive to call.

Written references are not accepted, unless the mailed from the employer and returned by the school or instructor.