First Clinical Jitters

[ellaballet]

I start my first clinical placement in next week! I am excited, anxious, and quite frankly terrified! Any one have any tips for how to succeed in clinicals? Or how to get rid of these jitters...I worked as a PCA for 2 years and managed to pull a 3.95 in fundamentals, pharm, etc...As comfortable as I feel in the hospital setting and as confident I am with my education so far I keep getting hit with waves of "Someone out there is going to trust me enough to let me stab them with needles!"

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

Be on time. Plan for traffic, parking issues, getting lost. Eat breakfast...and a lot of it. Look professional. I don't know how many times I have seen students with too much perfume or makeup on, or long/loose hair. If you do not know the answer, admit it. Remember, everyone was most likely nervous on their first day too. You are there to learn so be a sponge.

By "on time" it means be early, in fact, be there as early as they'll let you. Not just first day, every day. Look professional. By that, wear your uniform exactly as you're supposed to have it worn. Hair up and put together. Think stereotypical "perfect looking" student... be that! Definitely admit it when you don't know something. They don't expect you to know everything, but be willing to learn. Don't just be a sponge, be a proactively learning sponge. Seek out knowledge and experiences. The more willing you are, and the better the rapport you have with your floor nurses, the more likely you'll get experiences that you'll never really be able to get otherwise.

That's how one day I got to follow my patient to IR and watch 3 stents being placed...

[AZirish]

You will probably have jitters every single clinical day from now on, I know I did, but that's okay! From what I understand, the jitters get worse when you start your first job as a nurse! Lol

Do everything you can to help your nurse and other nurses. You will have days that the nurses will not want a student and they won't be especially friendly. That's okay, you are there to learn. Help every way you can. Linen change needed? Volunteer with a smile. Someone need water, coffee? Go and get it without being asked. Simple little things like this will pay off, I promise! When your nurse finds out you're not a know-it-all and you're willing to help with anything that needs doing, they will be happy to show you skills, teach through an assessment, find learning opportunities for you, they will tell their fellow nurses to call you when they have something unusual come up. Enthusiasm and willingness are the key to great clinical days! Good luck!

[SubSippi]

Here is my tip: don't forget about the CNAs, they can be a very valuable resource, and teach you things that will save you loads of time, and make your job much easier in the future. A nurse doesn't need your help passing out medications, but a CNA could almost always use your help giving someone a bath.

Putting in a foley is easy, giving someone meds through an NG tube is easy, you will have this down after your first try. On the other hand, getting a 300 pound patient on and off a bed pan without making a mess is NOT easy, and CNAs have loads of valuable tips when it comes to patient care.

I find that nursing students are so focused on meds and "skills" that they overlook the patient care aspect. You might give your patient a bed bath, with the help of another student, but you will learn to do these things more efficiently by helping a CNA with several patients that day.

Imagine this: you are a new nurse, and in the middle of your big morning med pass. One of your little old lady patients needs the bed pan, NOW, and there is no CNA to be found. So you get her on it and she fills it to the brim.

This is when you'll wish you'd spent more time with a CNA who could show you how to get that bedpan out without spilling it everywhere. But now, you have a patient whose bed and gown are soaked, and whose daughter is in there watching your every move. Which means you have to immediately clean her up, and change out the whole bed, which will take a minimum of 45 minutes.

OH and you still have to give her medicine (she has 28 pills, and can only swallow one at a time).

Take my advice.

[mag426, ADN, BSN]

Not necessarily true @lorirn2b I was giving injections/passing meds last semester which was my 1st semester of nursing classes, but of course with the clinical instructor present. But regardless if you are expected to give injections the instructors prepare you well and we had to pass a check off before we could.

[mag426, ADN, BSN]

You will be fine! Relax and go into clinicals with an open mind and positive attitude. I also have been a PCA now for 2 years and that helped me out tremendously in clinicals my 1st semester because I already had the basic CNA stuff down and was comfortable talking to and helping patients when some of my classmates would shy away. I loved my experience, I learned a lot, passed medications, gave injections (tons) and was able to soak in everything on another level since I was now at a hospital working as a nursing student rather than just a pca. Good luck!:)