First day of clinical rotation - your experience?

ChipNurse · Feb 8, 2014

My first clinical was in a nursing home and I was very excited. I remember vividly entering the facility and seeing all the cute little old ladies and men being wheeled outside their room to breakfast and wondering which patient would be mine for the next 4 weeks. I however got assigned the patient who was the notorious pain in the butt... younger, and foul mouth. I will never forget walking into her room to introduce myself and when I did, she whipped off her sheets/blankets and was butt naked with a back scratcher covered in mystery white goop. Mind you, I was a previous retail manager and I had never seen a naked adult other than my significant other and I was stunned. I'm pretty sure my mouth was on the floor. So my advice is, if you have no healthcare experience, then be prepared for a lot of shocking moments and try not to let your emotions show. And despite what other people may tell you about other patients, do not listen. This "pain in the butt, foul mouthed patient" is someone I will never forget and I learned a lot taking care of her and I truly believe that she will never forget me as well. Listen to your patients and try to get to know them. They may seemingly seen hard on the exterior but they have feeling and are going through a lot. Have fun as nursing school will fly by! Good Luck!

unicoRNurse · Feb 8, 2014

Wow -- so funny to think back on that as a fourth semester student. I was on a med/surg-tele floor. My pt was relatively young, walky-talky, and I was scared $***less. S/he was very nice, but honestly I was hoping the floor would swallow me before every time I had to walk into that room. I can't believe how far I've come since then...

RunBabyRN · Feb 8, 2014

I was so excited! I've worked in patient care before, so I was really excited to be back at it! I was nervous, because it's very different being in a nursing role versus a Navy corpsman role. Also, my experience was outpatient, so I knew I'd be seeing patients who were more acute. But it felt SO good to care for patients again, and it really helped to build my confidence that I could do this. My instructor rode us hard, but it was because she wanted us to learn. She challenged us. There were plenty of times I was terrified, overwhelmed, and felt like I didn't know anything, but I made it through and became stronger and better for it. Now I'm in my preceptorship, and really loving it! I feel more confident about my ability to prioritize and think things through, though I, of course, still have a ways to go. I can taste that first nursing job!

Funny stories and tips-

I seem to always win over the drug users. Why? I treat them like PEOPLE. I've had a few thank me for it, and because I treat them like human beings, they open up to me. I had one guy that my nurse (a young woman) was TERRIFIED of. He got snarky and sarcastic, and I threw it back at him, and he instantly was like, "I like you!" My nurse loved it, because I dealt with him all day and she was able to keep her distance! LOL I've learned some really cool life histories (I love when I have time to listen to a patient's story!), seen some really poor life decisions catch up to people, seen crazy traumas, seen crazy blood alcohol levels, seen a baby born that was NOT the gender the parents expected... It's been awesome, and really, pretty much every day in clinical reinforces that I'm doing what I want to do. There have been rotations that have also shown me what I DON'T want to do, but that's just as useful as learning what you DO want to do!

#1 tip- speak up for yourself. Get in there and get dirty! Ask to be part of stuff!

Good luck!!

keeithh01 · Feb 9, 2014

Where are you starting? My school started us in a nursing home and to say the least... I was scared out of my mind.

And while I'm not trying to sound.. pessimistic. But very few people I know enjoyed those 6 weeks we had at the nursing home.

However, when we went into acute care, things changed a lot! I love it there.

On a side note though, the school I go to sends the students all to different facilities and the majority of the students I know have so much orientation that they rarely end up doing anything patient-related on their first day.

Oraelo · Feb 9, 2014

My first day was on a med surg floor. We got our patients and their diagnoses the night before. I had one of the toughest professors and was determined to do a good job. I was up until 2 in the morning learning the patho of my pt's diagnoses, the treatments, the meds, everything i could know about this person. Then the next morning came, i arrived on the floor, and my patient had been transferred.

Talk about deer in the headlights. I completely lost my bearings and struggled greatly for the first few hours until my professor threatened to send me home. At that point i realized that i worked way too hard for that to happen, went into the bathroom for a 60 second regroup, and restarted my day.

Was a horrible experience but one i am grateful that happened. Got to think on your feet and be ready for anything. That day made me a much better nursing student.

douxmusique · Feb 9, 2014

What was the the most difficult situation you encountered?
Is there anything you would've done differently?
Any funny/interesting stories you'd like to share?
Did you love it, hate it?
Thanks you guys!

I have the hardest time with alzheimers/dementia/confused patients... I am not sure how to respectfully and effecivelty communicate with them. Those have been my most challenging moments.

I wish I would have had more confidence to just deal my first few times but I guess I'm slowly learning that. Speakly slow and clear and loud and smile ks what I have found works best.....

Shocking/funny? Followed a tech in to do some foley care and I wasnt warned the patient had scrotal swelling. Any other fun details of the story would give away too much personal info but it was pretty hilarious.

I dont really enjoy clinicals. I feel like a constant annotance and completely incompetent. I learn alot and make the best of my situations but some days my nurses are just not very willing to jave a student and it really messes the day up.

CountryMomma, ASN, RN · Feb 9, 2014

I'm on my last semester of my RN, and we are on the cardio floor, so my first day might be a little different. :)

What was the the most difficult situation you encountered? Getting an assignment in which the instructor laughed as she gave it to me. Having cared for a woman who was as close to a ticking time bomb as one can be without sitting in the ICU down the hall, I treated myself to one helluva coffee at the end of that night and shook halfway home. EFs should not be less than 20% and LifeVests shouldn't be considered routine equipment. :wideyed: I celebrated the fact that I didn't kill the patient.

Is there anything you would've done differently? Been more aggressive in treating her nausea initially and running down the doc in the hall to ask him to verify the whole strict-NPO-but-no-you-can't-have-her-meds-switched-to-IV. Naw, that's ok, doc, she doesn't need the Coreg. We'll ignore the tachy, the HTN, the ****-poor output (get it ) and the EF of 20%.

Any funny/interesting stories you'd like to share? I got all gowned and masked up for a client because the precautions on the door indicated droplet precautions. Get in the room, the two floor nurses were not in droplet gear. They looked at me like I had three heads. Then they started laughing at me and one said "Honey, they took him off of droplet an hour ago." I could've just shredded that dumb mask! I just told the patient I liked to play dress up still, at 31 years old.

Did you love it, hate it? It was something else. On this floor, I find myself more on the edge, stretching my brain to make all these new connections. I like the learning and experience, but that whole new level of apprehension and awareness is kinda tiring at the end of the day. Woo adrenaline, it's a b***h coming down though!