Clinical sites, you choose or you're assigned?

[level1]

Hey,

The program I'm attending used to allow top students to have first selection for their preferred clinical sites, but they changed their policy. Now, I'm stuck with whatever facility I'm assigned to. Are you guys offered a choice or assigned a site? I know of some programs that use lotteries to make things fair in a choice system, but seems like places are getting lazy nowadays and just assigning you somewhere.

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

I was assigned for both LPN and RN school.

LPN school we had several places per mod (like a semester but longer) we could be placed. It always seemed like they would put people the farthest from their homes. For example...I literally lived within eye sight of one facility we were using for clinicals in the town of AnyCity. Another classmate also lived within blocks of another facility we were using for clinicals in the town of YourCity. Now, one would think I'd be assigned to AnyCity and she would be at YourCity...nope, I was at the one by her and she was at the one by me. They did this to a lot of people. It was crazy.

RN school was based out of the hospital my school was connected with (literally connected to, the school building was connected to the hospital). We all did clinicals at that hospital. Again, no choice in what floor we got.

[guest699183]

We were assigned. Although sometimes they allowed you to state preferences and they tried to accommodate. You could also switch with others after assignments were made. At least for my program it's simply too many scheduling issues to realistically take everyone preferences into account.

For our preceptorship everyone got one of their top 3 choices. And IMO that's the most important. In the grand scheme of things it didn't matter that much what hospital I had med-surg / maternity / peds clinical.