curious student

while i'm not in georgia and i went to nursing school over 30 years ago, the way clinicals work hasn't changed much in the united states. most student nurses do not get to go to clinicals until they demonstrate some competency with performing specific nursing procedures in a nursing lab at their nursing school first. when i was a manager the clinical instructors would come around early in the mornings asking the staff about certain types of patients they were looking for for their students. they were specifically looking for certain procedures or medical diseases for their students to get experience with. as a student myself years ago we each received a patient assignment in pre-conference, went to hear the shift report at 7am with the staff nurses on what ever floor our assigned patient was on and then at 7:30 we went about caring for our assigned patient which included giving medications and treatments, doing am care and charting on the patient. we accompanied our patient to any tests or procedures they were having done. by 11am we went to post conference with the other students in our clinical group and the instructor and discussed our day's experiences.

recommendations: the clinical instructors make a report that goes into your file at school that is much like an employee file. the school refers to it when you ask for a recommendation for your first rn job. so treat clinicals as if you were working at a job. show up on time because future employers will ask about your attendance and any tardiness. try not to ever miss a clinical day. the state board of nursing determines that you must have a specific number of clinical hours in order to take the nclex for your rn. your school may or may not have made allowances for any missed clinical time. it is this simple. . .if you do not have enough clinical hours you cannot get your diploma or take the nclex. have a positive attitude. volunteer to see and learn new things. always put your patient's safety first. help your fellow students. obey the rules.