Clinicals: Do you LOVE it???

[Curious1alwys]

Ok, ok, I know no one LOVES it:roll

I know the anxiety is high and you hate feeling like a bother and all that other crappy stuff but when it comes right down to it...........

Do you watch the nurses and just KNOW that this is what you were made for/want to do with your life?

I'd like to know how many of you just dread clinicals and how many of you just dread clinicals AND the work of the nurses?? Clinicals make me very anxious but when it comes right down to it I am not dying to live the rest of my life doing what I see the nurses doing. Does that mean I got into the wrong field??:chair: I can't believe that the only profession I was "made" to do is personal training or aerobics instructing, LOL

How deep is your love????:roll

[student4ever]

I am scared about clinicals. I'm hoping to get into the clinical program this coming fall, but I'm terrified because I already work in a busy ER as a patient care tech. Basically, I see clinical students on a daily basis, and all they do is follow the nurse around and don't seem to be able to do anything for any of the patients. I'm scared that this is the way it will be for me - I'm so used to doing a lot of patient care - basically anything that isn't meds or complex procedures, I do on my own, unsupervised. I don't want to sit there knowing I could be doing something, but not be allowed to because I'm in clinicals, and I just have to watch the nurses doing things I see them do a thousand times a day. I don't learn by watching - I learn by doing!

[ortess1971]

It depends, some clinical rotations I really enjoyed(Pediatrics for example) and some I hated(Maternity). I also have those days where I wake up and sulk for a couple of minutes because I'm just tired. Once I get there though, it's not too bad.

[grentea]

I thought clinicals were ok. They would have been better if I had gotten more sleep. I was almost always up until too late the night before doing care plans. Usually, I'd have to wake up dreadfully early too because I don't have a car and my school would often send me far away for me clinicals. Extensive, long, detailed care plans the night before a clinical always seemed like a cruel thing to do us students when many of had to travel a long distance and get up super-early in the morning. Everything's foggy when you haven't had enough sleep, but at some point I learned how to sort of deal with it. I knew I would get more forgetful, so I made lists and set alarms on my watch to remind me of things. I constantly kept my brain going, and drank coffee. I think the best metaphor for what I went through has to do with track. When I ran cross country, there were a few guys on the team who were really fast and just to make them work harder, my coach would have them start about five or ten minutes behind everyone else, and they'd always catch up at some point. I just always felt like I was so far behind the other nurses/CNAs and I had to work especially hard to be at their level with how little sleep I had every night. I learned a lot but I think I would have enjoyed it all so much more if I wasn't constantly battling a big sleep deficit in addition to all of the regular worries that come along with clinical. Now that school is done, I am thoroughly looking forward to coming to work with a full night's rest. :)

[EMTandNurse2B]

I love my clinicals! I'm nervous beforehand, and I dislike the early mornings, but as soon as I get there I know this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I know that this is my "thing", and enjoy every moment I have there.

[collegemamma]

I am in my first year of nursing school and in my 5th week on Med Surg clinical rotation and must say that I am loving the experience!

I realized on my first day of clinicals that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life! I am just so happy to be where I am right now in my life and am trying to enjoy the "nursing school" experience!

[LoriAlabamaRN]

I had a lot of anxiety when I had clinical in nursing school. I didn't feel like I knew anything and felt that I was in the way. But I LOVE being a nurse- and somehow even though I didn't like clinicals I still knew that this is what I wanted to do with my life.

Lori

[manna, BSN, RN]

Don't really relish going to clinicals, but have gotten over that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach about having to go. Now this summer, I externed in the ICU and I LOVED every minute of it!

[SarasotaRN2b]

I think attitude accounts for a lot. Yes, it may be stressful at times (nursing is) and have a lot of prep work and paper work, but that too won't end.

Of course, my attitude changed greatly due to the fact that I have had the opportunity to work on a med-surg floor, first as a unit coordinator and soon as a patient care assistant. I've been able to see how the floor runs and because this is a particularly busy unit, I'll have less unknowns than if I didn't have some hospital experience.

[FirstYear2005]

I really do not love it but don't hate it either. Some days are pretty dull (We students can just do adls so far mostly and some vitals, etc. ) and the nurses at our hospital are not extremely enthusiastic about students (which is understandable I'm not dogging them) I like my clinical group and the instuctor is very pleasant so no problems there. But naa i don't hate it , or love it !

[Regina66]

LOVE them? No, but I know this is what I was suppose to do with my life. Last week I worked 7 hours on my patients paperwork, (14 yo ICU, had coded the day before :uhoh21: ) That freaked me out. I have only been a student for 2 months...I was so scared and I went in the next morning and she had been transfered to a childrens hospital...WHEW!! I was thinking: If this was my daughter and a student nurse came in to care for her, I would kick her butt out and demand to see a real nurse....I guess they okay this with the patients first. The should if they don't. Someone might not want a student nurse caring for them. My opinion. The only problem was, I had a new patient and new paperwork to do....Also young, but not as serious..:)

[Catys_With_Me]

I have a love-hate relationship with clinicals.

I love my patients, I love learning, and I love doing. I love clinical instructors that are challenging and supportive. I love making a difference and hearing my patients say that they appreciated that I was there for them. I love getting the opportunity to try a new skill and getting the opportunity to do an old skill better.

I hate seven hours of paperwork the night before when I'm rushing through it so fast so I can get a decent night's sleep that I really don't feel like I'm learning enough from it. I hate unfriendly, rude RNs that act as though I'm a huge inconvenience. I hate knowing that I am a huge inconvenience. I hate CNAs that act like I don't belong in the nursing program because they know way more than I do about patient care. I hate knowing that they do know way more than I do about patient care. I hate not having enough clinical days to REALLY get the hang of what I'm supposed to be doing. I hate clinical instructors that don't want to be bothered by students... "You're already checked off on inserting an ng tube? What do you need me for?"

[veggiegarden]

No, I don't love clinicals at all.