What do you require for clinical (and other questions)

would you please send to me via email or PM? I'm a new instructor, too.

Haze

I like to use the systems approach. One day in clinical, the students assess the integumentary system (in detail, by observation and interview) and write a diagnosis and interventions pertaining to what they find....the next day they assess the respiratory system and do the same, and so on. If they can't find anything wrong with their particular patient, they still turn in the assessment and then write a diagnosis and interventions for something that is possible within that system. At the end of the semester they assess the whole person, in detail, write 3 diagnoses, pick one and write three interventions, yada yada.

Do your students chart their nursing notes in the patients' charts or just give them to you? Having them comply with facility format is good practice, if they give them to you. Then you can critique the positives and negatives. I like to use a comment "sandwich". In this you tell them a good thing about their work, then give a suggestion about something that needs some tweaking, then finish with another comment about something they did correctly. The positive comments seem to cushion the blow from the negative one. I have them rewrite until the notes are adequate too. When a student can do it consistently, then he/she can write in the patient's chart.

Remember you're taking them from knowing not-so-much to knowing quite a bit. It's logical that they wouldn't get it at first. You have to break the assignments down into little chunks they can grab and add to. I assume they'll be giving meds, learning about the meds, doing dressings, and all of that too. It's a tremendous learning curve to climb! My biggest thrill is seeing them catch on and feel so proud!

As for worrying about the quality of current nursing students...most I've seen are pretty amazingly caring, motivated, and hard-working. Some though, I wouldn't want to care for anyone I love. I do fail students who don't do what's expected of them. Maybe standards need to be raised more so the baddies can be failed before they hurt someone? It's a huge question I don't have an answer for!