Clinical Hours

[MommyJoy]

I just started my junior year of a BSN program! I am wanting to know how many days per week, and how many hours other students will be spending in clinicals. I don't want to know lab hours, but specifically how much time you will be spending in clinicals each week.

At my school, you either go on Thursdays or Fridays from 6:30am to 2:00pm. This is only 7 /1/2 hours, minus lunch, making it 7 hours. I have a friend in one of the more prestigious programs in our state, and she spends about 20 hours per week in clinicals. I am afraid that I will not have enough time in clinicals (compared to my friend) to learn everything.

[SanFranSRNA]

Hi guys. I attend county's school of nursing and currently in 3rd semester. We have clinical from 6:45 to 3:30 two days a week. I've had many opportunity to perfrom Foley, NG, IM injections, IV, Dsg Change, and TONS of PO meds. In third semester we will be doing central line care, suction, blood drawn, starting IV, lab drawn, hang blood products, and hopefully more Foley and NG.

[lil' girl, LPN]

We do 12 hours a week, 6 each on Thursday and Friday

[manna, BSN, RN]

This is my second semester of a BSN program. We'll spend a minimum of 24h/week in clinical this semester, two weeks of clinical per month (alternates with two weeks classroom/lecture time).

Last semester we only have about one week of 8h clinical days per month, so we really upped our clinical hours this term! Senior year will be even more intense, topping off with a big preceptorship right before graduation!

Good luck! :)

[manna, BSN, RN]

This is so true. Now in my third semester, I have yet to insert a single foley into a live patient. I can count the number of IM injections I've given on one hand.

And there lies the value in an externship program if your school/local facilities offer them! I'm hoping to get accepted for one this summer! :)

[jschut, BSN, RN]

This is so true. Now in my third semester, I have yet to insert a single foley into a live patient. I can count the number of IM injections I've given on one hand. A huge chunk of my time is standing over a chart, writing care plans or standing around waiting for an interesting or new procedure that some primary nurse on the floor would like to involve the students in. Unfortunately, it doesn't happen often.

I am currently a LPN, and a BSN student. In my clinicals for LPN, I gave 1 IM injection, and never inserted a foley. We spent alot of time hovering over careplans and learning meds too! (I'm fairly proficient at doing both procedures now though!)

Since I am just entering my second semester of BSN, I have no idea how many clinical hours we will spend anywhere yet!

[kcrn2b]

I'm in first semester of ADN program and our clinicals will be Thursday and Friday from 6:30 to 1:30 so 14 hours a week. We start Feb 4 with clinicals.

[smokeyoaks82358]

The program I'm in (LPN) our first semester we spent 12 hours in clinical. Now in 2nd semester with 18 hours per week in clinical. This will continue until we graduate in December 2005

[Bekahlynn]

In my BSN program, clinicals don't start until your second semester of nursing school, fourth semester overall.

Second semester we had clinicals for six hours,one day a week, for a total of six weeks.

Third semester-- 2 days a week, 12 hours total for six weeks in med/surg, then 2 days a week, 12 hours total for six weeks in in psych.

Fourth semester--8 hours x 2 days x 6 weeks of medsurg, 8 hours x 2 days x 3 weeks OB, 8 hours x 2 days x 3 weeks of peds.

Fifth semester-- 8 hours x 1 day x 12 weeks for critical care, 8 hours x 1 day x 12 weeks for critical care/ED clinicals

Sixth semester (final one, finally)-- 9 hours x 3 days x 5 weeks for management clinicals, then a 112 hour capstone, and I am finished. YAY!!!:rotfl:

[Love4Me, RN]

We spend 16 hours a week in clinical. Our first rotation it was 12 hours a week.