clinicals

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Just a general question. In clinicals do you get to go to lunch on your own or do you have to stay at lunch with your instructors? We aren't allowed to even step outside for anything. We have to stay with our instructors even during our lunch hour. Starting to feel really hemmed in and ultra controlled. Just wondering how other places handle this.

Y'all amaze me! You spend so much time on AN griping about how badly nurses get treated, yet you're willing to accept conditions that no other professional in the hospital ( or in any other profession, for that matter) accepts.

What conditions are you talking about? List an example whereby professionals are allowed to leave the work site in the middle of an assingment?

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Specializes in Pschiatry.

We do that, however, if you saw my post about the patient population you will understand that there are normally 6-7 RNs, 4 PAs , and 7 nursing students, plus usually 2 or 3 precepting students( the clinical site has its own school of nursing) and 15 patients. It's a race to see who can her a patient.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
We do that, however, if you saw my post about the patient population you will understand that there are normally 6-7 RNs, 4 PAs , and 7 nursing students, plus usually 2 or 3 precepting students( the clinical site has its own school of nursing) and 15 patients. It's a race to see who can her a patient.

How is it a race if there are 7 nursing students (+ 2-3 precepting students) & 15 patients? Unless I'm missing something. There should be no race. There are plenty of patients to go around. If need be for nurses, they just have to take on an extra student or two. But I don't see a problem.

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Specializes in Pschiatry.

I think clinicals are overwhelming because everything is so new to me and I'm very afraid of making a mistake that will harm a patient. Have you forgotten that feeling or were you always a perfect nurse from the start?

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I think clinicals are overwhelming because everything is so new to me and I'm very afraid of making a mistake that will harm a patient. Have you forgotten that feeling or were you always a perfect nurse from the start?

Well I had more patients than 1 during clinical, so yes. But of course I am perfect. Didn't you know?

And please use the quote function so we know who you are talking to.

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Specializes in Pschiatry.

Teachers, attorney's, police officers, office workers, everyone who has a job. How many physicians do you know that are made to stay in-hospital for meals?

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Teachers, attorney's, police officers, office workers, everyone who has a job. How many physicians do you know that are made to stay in-hospital for meals?

Teacher's have to stay, I don't know any teacher that gets to leave.

Attorney's & cops have very different jobs & move around.

Physicians, depends on where they work.

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Specializes in Pschiatry.

The nurses don't take on students. That's what I'm trying to explain. We have to stay in our group with our instructor. If we do get lucky and a nurse asks if we want to help do something we have to find the instructor and get permission. Usually by the time we find her the nurse has already done whatever it is.

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Teachers, attorney's, police officers, office workers, everyone who has a job. How many physicians do you know that are made to stay in-hospital for meals?

Well unless you have a long lunch break, a good portion of people don't even have enough time to leave the work place to go grab the lunch, eat the lunch and make it back to work on time. If you find the working condition of nurses bad, then why are you pursuing a nursing career?

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Specializes in Pschiatry.

I come from a family of teachers. As long as they are not on assigned lunch duty they are free to leave if they choose

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I come from a family of teachers. As long as they are not on assigned lunch duty they are free to leave if they choose

Please use the quote function.

My step mom is a teacher & my MIL is a teacher. None of them ever leave for lunch.

This whole lunch debacle can go on forever. I don't know why you are making a huge deal about it. Look. You can't leave. End of story. Once you start working you can't leave. If you want to leave for lunch find a different profession.

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Specializes in Pschiatry.
We couldn't leave the hospital or clinical site because there really wasn't time, but we were free to eat in the cafeteria or break room, take a walk around the hospital, or whatever. We took breaks when our nurse preceptor took a break, and oftentimes, due to the clinical model our school uses, the instructor was doing other things or not even on site during breaks. Our time was our own, with the exception of our first clinical rotation at a nursing home. They had space limitations, so we all ate and stored our bags in a conference room. The instructor usually ate in there too and preferred we spent all breaks in there where she could "keep an eye on us". As a 40 year old adult, that wasn't my favorite setup....I didn't feel that I needed to be supervised while eating and it didn't feel like much of a break, to be honest, especially because there seemed to be pressure to engage in small talk (which I hate). I started reading a book during downtime to get a little mental vacation. Everyone needs a chance to decompress. I can understand how that could be frustrating.

I would love to be able to take a walk around the hospital or just find a quiet place to sit by myself for a little while!

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