direct hours experience

[lvan0904]

Hello all,

I wondered what your experience was like when you obtained direct hours from an NP and or MD. I was in a busy primary care office and saw pts, provided my assessment findings, dx & tx plan with the NP/MD who then provided their input. There was not a lot of time for discussion on each case. I did a lot of research on my own after hours to help with understanding the rationale for tx.

I'm asking this question because I don't know if my experience is typical or if others received more thorough/detailed training. A new NP was placed with me to obtain 200 direct hours and I tried to emulate my training experience with her in the post acute care setting (which is my place of employment now) as much as possible. However, the nature of post acute care is chaotic at times with residents presenting with critical conditions at any given moment. We meet before lunch & before leaving for the day to discuss cases, review labs, & discuss tx plan including follow up.

I have recommended resources to her (i.e.- Epocrates, Lexicomp, Family Practice Notebook, sites to national association specialties for guidelines, 5 minute Clinical Consult, etc). How much self learning was involved with your direct hours & do you have any recommendations on what I could have done differently? Please keep in mind that my position is not even 1 year old in this post acute care setting and that we are still working out a lot of kinks. If another new NP is placed with me, I would like to try to improve upon my approach next time. Perhaps with more experience on my part (new NP & almost at 1 yr experience), I will be able to provide an approach that sufficiently meets their needs.

[Nursetonp]

I think it depends on where and who you do your clinical with. For me, each preceptor was different. Most gave me the experience like you described above which I liked. One was super busy so I didn't get to do much of anything, another was the opposite, and I couldn't even go to the bathroom without her lurking in the corner. Lol.

It sounds like you are doing your best : ) and it's great that you are willing to be a preceptor. I know I had such a difficult time finding preceptors in my area.