Clinical help, advice please!

[tabz4u2]

Ok, so here goes nothing...

I'm walking into my the school and my lecture teacher stops me and says I need to talk to you, and I'm thinking did I do something wrong....Hopefully not!

So apparently my clinical instructor had called my lecture teacher (who is also the course coordinator) about my performance in clinical. All this time I thought I was doing good, and apparently my instructor thinks I'm having others do the work for me, while I stand there and watch...THIS IS NOT TRUE AT ALL! This is the first clinical my instructor has ever taught. But some people in my clinical are going to our instructor saying so. She said she feels like I need to take more initiative and seek out new things. There isn't much I can do on a spinal-cord rehab floor as a first semester student. I mean I was paired out with someone last friday, but apparently I'm letting them do all the work? Let's see...I fed my patient, washed her face, brushed her teeth, put her partial dentures in, did her vitals.. the person I was paired with only helped me get her dressed and put into her chair. I mean what more can I do? I forgot to mention I changed her bed. She also said I should talk to my patients and get to know them better, problem is I had a patient who was very non verbal for 2 weeks...I would talk to them and the one wouldn't talk at all, and the other one just didn't want to say much because of how much pain they were in. I tried talking to them, but all the did was say "uh-huh, yeah I feel better." I'm not sure how I can go about this...I mean there is time to step up more to the game, my clinicals end on december 6th...but any advice here? Has anyone had anyone tell you need to take more initiative?

I am going to talk to my instructor on Thursday about it(that is the next day I have Clinicals) But she said as long as I do the stuff we go over, I'll be fine...

Ugh, so frustrated!

And am I overthinking this?

[Live.&.Learn]

Nursing school can be hell, first, relax...second, try not be so defensive, it will not get you anywhere!!! Even if you're right, being defensive will not get you ANYWHERE! Don't wait for your next clinical, e-mail your clinical instructor, take the initiative to show them that you are dedicated to this, and willing to accept advice, and help. When you have down time in clinical, put yourself out there. Offer to help other students, and make friends with the tech's because you're doing their work. Seek out other patients other than the one you are assigned to. Explain to your clinical instructor that you thought you were doing well, ask her what she thinks you can do to get the most out of the experience. If this is her first clinical, she is probably nervous, and struggling to get into her own "groove". Talk to the staff, ask questions, offer assistance, and follow up with both your clinical instructor and course chair to evaluate your progress. The last thing you want to do is fail clinical after all of the hard work you've put in in class, lab, and clinical. It's only going to get harder...And last but not least, don't be defensive, because chances are, you'll never be right

GOOD LUCK!!!! HANG IN THERE, YOU CAN DO THIS!!! :)

[tabz4u2]

She told me she will talk to me on Thursday

[saamaanthaa]

If you have a patient who can write , make a list of everything you did for them and have them sign it and show it to your instructor. Document everything and then walk around asking nurses if they need help with anything or if you can do anyhting for them.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

You don't have to have a conversation to be mindfully present with a patient in pain. What happens when you are sitting with him and waiting until he speaks can surprise you.

Never, ever let anyone see you standing around. Spend every minute looking for things to do, asking questions (which you will prepare the night before by looking up things in your books), volunteering to help the CNAs and all the nurses, and such. In report, tell the charge nurse you'd like opportunities to see procedures, dressing changes no matter how small, IV starts, anything at all. Ask if you can go observe in PT or the cath lab for a morning or follow the IC nurse on rounds.

You might not believe it, but student-instructor relations are not adversarial. Faculty really do want you to learn and their criticisms are meant to get your attention aimed at things you can do better. Feedback is a gift.

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

Never, ever let anyone see you standing around. Spend every minute looking for things to do, asking questions (which you will prepare the night before by looking up things in your books), volunteering to help the CNAs and all the nurses, and such. In report, tell the charge nurse you'd like opportunities to see procedures, dressing changes no matter how small, IV starts, anything at all.

Great advice. You are the one responsible of your clinical experience. The more assertive you are to seeing things, the better your experience. If every time your instructor sees you, you are doing something and not just watching, she will get a better impression of your clinical performance.