Accelerated BSN Clinicals

[Lisa2.0]

As I'm preparing for fall classes to begin, I'm still unsure what to expect from the clinical aspect of this program.

Being that it is accelerated, to what degree will clinicals be a factor? Cramming 4 years into 1 is a bit daunting. Will we have enough hands on to pass NCLEX?

For those of you who have experience with accelerated BSN, what is a typical clinical experience like? What types of hands on work will we be doing? Will we be working basic care, CNA type responsibilities or will we have actual RN and admin type experience?

[LessValuableNinja]

Clinical experiences depend on the facility and your program. We can't answer that, because how each school does clinicals is very different. You may have full responsibility for a full patient load at some point, with a nurse basically following you around and advising you, or you may never have more than 2 patients. You may work full shifts like a nurse, or you may basically follow your instructor around for 6 or 8 hours here and there and not get the real feel of what being a nurse is like. There's a lot of variability in programs.

With that said, I did an 11 month ABSN program, and it was not unusual to have 3 or 4 12-hour clinicals, three papers, 2 or 3 exams (on 40 or 50 chapters each), 4 random assignments, a presentation, clinical reports for all the clinicals, etc, all in one week.

[LessValuableNinja]

Also, you're probably not cramming 4 into 1, just 2.

[Lisa2.0]

True, but even 2 into 1 is a lot! I'm not so much concerned with the studying and subject matter learning, as I am a good student and have been in healthcare for 28 years. So this is expanding on many concepts that I am already very familiar with. I am more concerned about actually getting to put into practice what I am learning. But you have given me a direction in which to look. I'm going to call the advisor today and ask some specific questions about the clinicals. Thank you.

[elkpark]

Each state mandates a minimum number of clinical hours in order for graduates to be eligible for licensure. You can be confident that your school is providing at least the minimum amount of clinical time required by the state of all the pre-licensure nursing programs in the state, regardless of what kind of program.

Nursing program clinicals usually start out with the most basic skills and responsibilities (it's typical to start out doing CNA-type tasks), and you work your way up to higher levels of responsibilities, assessments, skills, etc., as you work your way through the program.