Clinical teaching strategies

[username44]

below is a cut and paste of my rant in the student forum. in addition to blowing off steam, i really want to know what is the current thinking on this subject?

why does sleep deprivation have to be a part of my lpn training? i'm told it is necessary to do massive amounts of homework the night before a clinical in order to get the "total clinical picture" for my patient. but that rationale is not plausible to me. i retain very little of what i study after about 10 pm. i retain very little of what i learn at the clinical site after having slept only 2 or 3 hours the night before. it hurts me that the quality of my homework is not what it could be. i would like to take the time to get a little more in depth knowledge about certain disease processes or drugs. but instead i take every available shortcut in order to complete all the assignments. sleep deprived medical students used to be one of my pet peeves. now i am one.

i know darn well there is a better way. it is possible to learn more and sleep more. so why? is it a throwback to the days when nurses were sisters and self-flagellation was in style? is it the perverse preference of the head teacher at my school? or is this the norm?

i will have to endure this ordeal one night a week almost every week between now and october. i keep wondering if i should drop out and try some other type of program. medical assisting? medical lab tech? do i want to be a nurse this badly?

[JBudd, MSN]

If you were assigned a patient earlier than the night before, it is highly likely that your patient would be gone or changed so much that your care plan would be useless.

Try to get all your other homework done on other nights, so you only have clinical work to do that night. Do drug cards for common drugs ahead of time, ask other students what drugs they've had to give and just keep cards for those ready and waiting.

Nursing diagnoses can cover different disease processes, having a plan for pain control, deep breath and cough with IS, protecting skin for bedridden patients, preventing blood clots. Keep these ready to attach to careplans.

We've all been there and survived, you can too :icon_hug:

[username44]

Here is my schedule:

Monday: 7 AM --12PM Patient care at LTC

12Pm --? Homework:

7-page history and physical,

med dosage schedule ,

med worksheet,

lab list,

5-lab worksheet,

5-diagnosis worksheet,

sometimes a surgery worksheet,

1 patient problem worksheet,

2 nursing care plans,

patient teaching plan

focused assessment plan

time management plan

Tuesday: 7:15 AM--3:30 PM patient care

I do have many common labs and diagnoses done from past assignments that I can cut and paste to save time. I do as few new ones as I can get away with. I do not cook or wash dishes. I do no other type of homework. The only thing I stop for is to pick up my kids from school, and help them with their homework. Yet 1:00 AM is the earliest I ever get to bed. I have to set the alarm for 5:00 AM in order to get myself and children out the door in time. So figure 4 hours sleep at the most. I would like to be alert at 7:15 Tuesday morning, but I always feel like something the cat dragged in. Would you want me taking care of your loved one?

Since we are all about evidence based learning, where is the research to back up this teaching strategy? Send me a link or something. I always work better when I know the rationale. I'd like to believe in what I'm doing.

[organichombre, ADN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

One night a week, almost every week until October. I'm sorry but our patients deserve that you lose some sleep so they can sleep better! Look at it this way... Program A allows for you to come in on the day of your clinical, get your assignment then begin your care, without any paperwork to get the "total clinical picture". Now, you go to see your pt who you will need to assess, prioritize care, create a plan of care and then implement that plan. This will take up to an hour or two just getting to the implementation phase. By then, the student at school B who prepared the night before will be able to assess the pt, prioritize, look at the plan of care and begin implementing that plan way before you even know what the pathophysiology of their disease process is. Time is at a premium in LPN, ADN, BSN, MSN, and PHd programs around the world, in preparation for nurses like me who are in their 50's that will be retiring within the next few years. Hey, I know from whence I speak...I went to LPN school as the only male out of 23 ladies, I then obtained my ADN, from there I got my BSN and finally after writing a ******* book ,got my Masters! Sleep came when I could get it but along the way I learned the one thing that all students in nursing classes must remember...preparation= good nursing! I know I'm old fashioned but I really feel that student do better when they are prepared and sleepy! With an assertive personality such as yours, you're going to do fine anyway!