bad clinical day

vashtee, RN · Mar 31, 2009

You should ask her to provide some examples of good documentation.

This was a problem for some of my classmates. Fortunately for me, I have a knack for finding the right person to pair up with, and I was partnered with a girl with hospital experience. She wrote out an example of a head-to-toe assessment for me, and I modeled my charting after it until I was able to do it alone. Because of my friend, I never had a clinical instuctor complain about my charting (although they would ask me to elaborate on certain things occassionally).

MrazFan · Mar 31, 2009

I'm sorry you're having a rough time. I would ask her exactly what I am doing wrong or what is not meeting her expectations, and then work on those things. She may or may not be constructive in her criticism, so take what she says with a grain of salt. Some clinical instructors are just that way for some reason. I am lucky, my clinical instructor (I'm in first semester) has been nothing but awesome.

If nothing else, keep your head up and just get through it. Do your best and then move on. When you finish the semester, chances are you won't have to see or deal with her ever again.

Good luck!

vashtee, RN · Mar 31, 2009

Here's a typical example of what my charting might have looked like before I was allowed to chart by exception:

0730 pt awake and sitting in bed watching TV. Alert and oriented x3 - patient unaware of where she is, but was reoriented. PERRLA. Oral mucosa pink and moist. Periorbital bruising noted to right eye, color brownish-yellow. Lung sounds clear in all lobes. Pt. denies cough. D5 1/2 NS + 20 KCL infusing to right forearm; site nontender, clean, dry, and intact with no signs of local infection noted. S1 & S2 rhythm regular. Radial pulses 2+ bilaterally, pedal pulses 1+ on right foot, and 2+ on left foot. Bilateral pitting edema to lower extremities +1/+1. Bowel sounds normoactive. Pt reports last bowel movement on 3/29, and states it was "normal". Foley catheter draining clear yellow urine, 300 ml noted in bag. Skin intact. Patient reports feeling unsteady when ambulating; pt advised to seek assistance when wanting to ambulate to avoid risk of falling. Call bell within reach, and patient agreed to call for help before getting out of bed. Side rails up x2, bed in low position and locked. Pt denies pain, and no signs or symptoms of acute distress noted or reported. Will continue to monitor.

CrunchyMama, ASN, RN · Apr 3, 2009

I know a girl that had a similar experience and she just dealt with it. She warned me about which professor it was so I don't pick her, lol. Anyway, I don't know what else to tell you, I don't think there's anything you can do. Except maybe talk to her but that might be awkward and/or cause more problems. Good luck!

RN2BE1210 · Apr 3, 2009

I had an instructor like this my first semester, and was blessed to get her again for my second semester (being sarcastic of course!). My advice is to not let her get to your head. In my particular case my CI was that way towards me because she saw a lot of potential in me and always pushed me to do the very best that I could. It sucked at the time, but in the end I feel that it will pay off. Just try to keep being positive and know that you are doing the very best that you can everyday.

shorty3_31 · Apr 3, 2009

I went through exactly the same thing as you. Actually, our whole first semester clinical group did, lol. You can't really change the teacher's attitude I'm sad to say. But, you can change your attitude (just saying in general, not you personally). I know that once I checked myself and realized that my instructor was actually trying to help (in the most twisted way, lol), I started really excelling. The teacher that I thought was going to give me a C-on-the-verge-of-an-F ended up giving me an A.

Documentation is hard, no lie. It's like learning a new language all over. But just like any other nursing skill it takes practice and being exposed to it to really do it well. Good luck with the teach...it gets better!