Are They As Brutal As People Say

[kbswife]

I have heard that nursing clinicals are brutal. For all that have gone thru them, are they as brutal as people say or are they just exaggerating?

[leslie :-D]

it's all going to depend on what type of ci you have, how prepared you are, and what types of opportunities you are assigned.

often, clinicals are a comedy of errors and you get very little accomplished.

some of my rotations were much more appreciable than others.

it was usually the instructors, that could make or break an experience.

just do your homework.

that's half the battle.

best of everything.

leslie

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

"Brutal" might be too strong a word for most programs, but you will work your butt off with paperwork and reading.

[NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN]

Pretty much what Leslie said. For the majority of clinicals, if you come prepared to hit the ground running you will be fine. Are there some sadistic, predatory instructors out there? Sure, but the ones that truly are seem to be few and far between. My suggestion to you if you encounter one of those is to stay under the radar and remind yourself that it's only x weeks of your life you have to deal with said person.

Some were awesome experiences and some were total wastes. You'll learn to differentiate quickly.

[racing-mom4, BSN, RN]

I loved all my clinical experience except for one semester, of course it was my last and final semester that I hated. Hated my instructor so much I even started a post under 1st year nurse section.

Take that one out and I learned alot.

Here is my advice.

1) Do your prep work the day before, sched a block of your day to get this done so you dont rush.

2) if your clinical instructor allows you to pick your own patients, try and pick some whose diagnosis comes from what ever body system your working on in school. This is like extra study time for your test.

3) get a good folder and keep all your papers in order. 4 weeks later you may get someone with a very similar condition, may be on the same drugs and the Nsg Dx may be the same. Go back through your old work.

4) Find a friend, or better yet sign up for clinical with a friend. sometimes it takes two to move, reposition, walk or bathe a patient. Have someone in your group you know you can ask for help and get it. Then return the favor.

5) lay your clothes out the night before and pack your book bag the night before--throw some granola bars and gum in thier too. You wont always get lunch. You have no idea how tired you will be once your in clinicals, try and make your morning as smooth as possible.

6) always take note cards with you or clip a study guide for an upcoming exam on the back of your clip board, on the rare occasion you get some free time ex:you follow your patient down for an MRI then are waiting outside the room during the procedure, you can be studying for your upcoming exam.

7) when ever the chance presents volunteer to dismiss a patient and wheel them down to their ride. It is nice to get off the floor alone!!!

Best of luck----your starting a very exciting chapter in your life!!!

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

My experience wasn't brutal, it seemed to be boring and pointless; mainly because, like earle58 said, my clinical instructors. I was in a new LPN program, where they received their approval for their clinical sites at the very last minute. Also, the program director had a very hard time trying to obtain clinical instructors, and had to rely on old students that have since become RNs. She must have really begged them, because most of them had other jobs that conflicted with our hours (most of our clinicals were in the evenings). Some of the instructors would either tell us that they would be an hour late, or they would call some of the students and cancel out altogether (I was so grateful for that-I used my time to study). Other times, when they did arrive, they had already made up their minds that they didn't plan to remain there all day, or were dead tired. They made our shift short and simple, thus, we got no real experience.

I had been a CNA, technician, and many other things, so, from my experience, I saw that I got most of my learning at the actual job, not clinicals. I used to be a certified AMAP (medication aide) in psych, so, I had a vague idea about fundemental medication passing. I found that I had to apply all that I knew regarding dealing with uncooperative people, how to cover my butt and whatever, so, I just let the time pass until I graduated. Some people did have the brutal experiences, though. FOr me, what would make it brutal is that many times, clinical sites were not held at sites convienent for the students, bad hours, lack of transportation, conflicting with a student's work hours, and just plain tiring. Most students are already exhausted from the entire nursing school experience-the lectures, labs, exams, politics and other students that grated our last nerves. Then, whala...they require that you come to clinical with a crisp, clean uniform, hair pinned up, and no matter how you feel, you must be bright and cheery. Now, that, to me was brutal. The few times we actually did stay the full time (3-10pm), the following morning was a lecture...EARLY in the morning...like 8:00am. We had to go and LISTEN...whew...I AM glad those days are over. But, I did not have an actual hard clinical rotation...it was just tiring in addition to everything else.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Clinical is pretty much like life........you get out of it what you put into it.

Me, I loved clinical, so much better than dry classroom lectures and group projects. Fortunately, I also had great clinical instructors, and even when I made mistakes or my performance wasn't up to my own standards, I received nothing but support and encouragement. That made a huge difference, and I'm still convinced I'm a nurse today only because I had a terrific first-semester instructor who gave me some badly-needed confidence when I got cold feet and nearly quit four weeks into my program. It was the first day of clinical, and when I put on that white uniform for the first time, I suddenly felt like the biggest fraud in the universe, and wondered out loud what on earth had possessed me to think I could become a nurse.

But this instructor, Janet her name was, immediately took me under her wing and reassured me that OF COURSE I could do it. She reminded me that I'd made it through two years of pre-reqs and had scored highest in my class on the entrance exam; my class work had so far earned me A's, and already I was being regarded as one of the most promising students in the program. So I swallowed my fears, and under Janet's guidance and mentorship, I thrived in that first scary term..........and the rest, as I've heard tell, is history.

Take-home lesson: Clinical doesn't have to be 'brutal'. A lot of it is what you decide to make of it, and yes, some of it is up to the instructors, but ultimately YOU are responsible for the attitude you choose to have. It also helps to have all your ducks lined up prior to each clinical so that you are prepared for whatever experiences you may encounter that day.

Good luck!

[Xbox Live Addict]

My clinicals were a mixed bag, and it was largely related to the quality of the clinical instructor. Our second-semester instructor hated teaching, was only doing it to fulfill MSN requirements, and told us we made her feel nervous and like her license was at risk. The atmosphere was strained, we mainly got our instruction from sympathetic hospital staff. On top of that, as part of our care plans, we had to write detailed reports about each and every medication our clinical patient was taking the day before clinical. I was always assigned the elderly patients with numerous co-morbidities. I also never had any idea Tylenol was so dangerous. It literally took me all night to complete the pre-clinical paperwork on one patient, so I went into clinical with no sleep.

My 1st semester instructor was awesome. If I'd had the one before the other, I'd probably have dropped out.

[maryloufu]

Something that would have made my clinicals better would have been comfortable shoes. I had these beautiful all white Sketchers with a too narrow toe box.

Come prepared, but don't psych yourself out. Good luck.

[Otessa, BSN, RN]

I have heard that nursing clinicals are brutal. For all that have gone thru them, are they as brutal as people say or are they just exaggerating?

I graduated from my BSN program almost 16 years ago. They were brutal, even with the nicest instructors. There were certain expectations for clinicals that all had to be met.:bowingpur

[Bella36RN]

My clinicals in LPN school were awesome. I had a wonderful instructor that cared about the students and let us know that she was not expecting us to come in their knowing everything. she was great. however then i went to RN school...that was a different story, the clinical instructors did not care, they were there to pick up a check and go home. so..i would have to say it is different with every person that is out there.

[Midwest4me]

If my clinicals were brutal, time has been good and erased the memory. I don't recall much other than they were challenging and fascinating. That was a long time ago but I DO know my program wasn't full of the brow-beating and catty games that dominates so many programs these days.