First clinical day as an NP student tomorrow :)

Trauma Columnist · Jul 8, 2014

Congrats

Barnstormin' PMHNP · Jul 8, 2014

No advice really, I have yet to start my clinicals, although I am doing classes right now. Relax, and maybe carry something on which to take notes on things to ask or look up after clinical? Good luck sleeping tonight!

HikingEDRN, BSN, RN · Jul 8, 2014

No advice really I have yet to start my clinicals, although I am doing classes right now. Relax, and maybe carry something on which to take notes on things to ask or look up after clinical? Good luck sleeping tonight![/quote']
Thank you. I know I'll get there ridiculously early "just in case." It's a huge campus and I'm not familiar with the area where the pre-procedure center is located. I just want to make sure I eat a good breakfast and stick snacks in my purse. Butterflies .... :)

allnurses Guide · Jul 9, 2014

Remember it's your first day! All too often my students feel like they need to save the world in their first clinical day and end up not acting like themselves. Relax and be yourself. Focus on differentiating normal from abnormal. And remember to learn!

HikingEDRN, BSN, RN · Jul 9, 2014

Thanks for the advice. I keep thinking that my ED experience is a strength because I meet and assess multiple patients per day. I don't feel that way though. I feel like I'm going to walk in there and start fumbling over my words. It will be like my first clinical experience as a nursing student when I couldn't figure out how to work the dynamap! Oh well - I'll try to take it slow and assess one patient at a time...

lhflanurseNP, APRN · Jul 9, 2014

Remember it's your first day! All too often my students feel like they need to save the world in their first clinical day and end up not acting like themselves. Relax and be yourself. Focus on differentiating normal from abnormal. And remember to learn!

Perfect advise. The one thing that got drilled during assessment was to focus on differentiating abnormal from normal. As we were told, write what you see. It helps when you move on and have to begin diagnosing and treating. Good luck and enjoy, you are on the final stretch!

BeezyRN · Jul 9, 2014

Thanks for the advice. I keep thinking that my ED experience is a strength because I meet and assess multiple patients per day. I don't feel that way though. I feel like I'm going to walk in there and start fumbling over my words. It will be like my first clinical experience as a nursing student when I couldn't figure out how to work the dynamap! Oh well - I'll try to take it slow and assess one patient at a time...

How did your first clinical day go?

HikingEDRN, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2014

How did your first clinical day go?

Thank you for asking and thank you for all the great advice everyone. It went well. I was there for 10 hours in a very busy, high turn-around preoperative assessment area. My preceptor was cool and gave me a great EKG cheat sheet. My one complaint is that she only wanted me to listen to the patient if there was something abnormal due to time constraints. I would have preferred to listen to everyone. However, I did not argue (good little student that I am - lol) and had more of an observation role. It was my first day and my only day with that NP and I still learned a lot - heard my first carotid bruit.

phea · Jul 10, 2014

Congrats

phea · Jul 10, 2014

Just out of curiosity how many days out of the week do u have clinicals and what are ur hours?? I am starting my masters next month and I haven't received my clinical schedule yet.

TammyG · Jul 11, 2014

I did my assessment clinical in a group of students (5 of us I think) with a single preceptor in a busy ED. The preceptor worked upstairs and decided she'd rather go back to work, so we just hung out by ourselves all day and tried to find a patient to talk to. It was a total waste of time, though I did learn something about how an ED works.