Challenges

[logicalfallacy]

I think I have made a mistake; nursing is not for me. I love it, but I am mathematically and kinesthetically challenged. I can do the academics, my language skills are fortunately strong. I can do the pharmacology (we are allowed a calculator), and clinical is easy. Skills are killing me. It is so frustrating when the instructors say it is not their job to demonstrate skills; the videos assigned aren't applicable. We do not have the equipment or the room for a similar set up. There are a lot of little rules no one knows about unless you break one...incredibly discouraging...any advice?

[Hayssarah09]

I hope there is someone with some advice bc I am having very similar issues! Most of the girls have been CNAs or had some kind of medical experience. I have never done or seen anything like this and my medication pass and a couple skills are "not organized" or up to par. I can't get any extra help I have tried and tried. I am at Barnes and noble now and I'm getting help from classmates but I feel I may be in over my head too :/

[nursingstudent5151]

wow what is wrong with yalls schools?! we never watch videos of skills, our teacher teaches it to us, then we do a skill lab as practice then we do skills check off. in class and again at clinicals. and if we have trouble with it we can ask for help after school or something.

I suggest checking out youtube, youd be surprised how helpful the videos can be. just make sure to practice as much as you can, even if youre literally using a pillow as your patient and talking to the pillow and pretending, just anything to actually get some sort of hands on feel for it before hand

[SWM2009]

Can you get together with students who have mastered the skills and see how they do it and then practice as often as you can to master the skills. I was not all that hot in skills either and getting help from my classmates saved me often. I then practiced as often as I could on my own in the skills lab.

[Natasha A., CNA, LVN]

Interesting . I am a highly kinesthetic/tactile learner secondary audio/visual and at first I found skills a tremendeous challenge because yes, we have an instructor who may show the skill once and boom you try it out once and that's it. I did start looking a a lot of clinical skill videos on youtube. That's what I do even when I read my textbook to visually see it. What I have been doing recently is staying after class and really touching the mannequins and equipment. Sometimes when I read in class I have the mannequin in front of me or equipment. This makes the material stick even more! Also a good tip is have a classmate perform the skill and record it in class or when the instructor does it record it and watch it over and over or you perform the skill and have a classmate record you. Also have you classmates give you feed back too. When I watch a youtube video I pretend to have the equipment at home and practice. I didn't start doing this until 3rd level. :)

[4everstudent15]

Does your school have open lab sessions where a teacher can either demonstrate the skill again or help you master it before a check off?

I watched YouTube videos but the only way I was able to know I was learning the skills the way my school wanted me to was in open lab with a classmate or instructor watching me with the check off list. Best of luck to you!