First semester BSN..is it normal not to do anything in CLINICAL?

suzy253, RN · Oct 21, 2007

Doesn't your instructor assign you a patient? Where is your instructor and what is he/she doing?

BrandiBooh · Oct 21, 2007

Yes we get assigned a patient, our instructor is floating back and forth on two different floors bc we lost one of our instructors right before clinicals started...so we are still waiting to have that replacement.

The patient that I had last week is the one that I stayed with all day but the nurse never went in to see him...ever.

Wondergirl0905 · Oct 22, 2007

If you are assigned to that patient, doesn't that mean you are his/her nurse for that shift unless you need assistance? I haven't started clinicals yet so I'm not really sure how they work.

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Oct 22, 2007

So, you've only had 1 clinical so far?

Give it time! You have to start somewhere. You're not going to go in the first day and start an IV. I know it's hard at first but there's a reason you're not doing a ton of stuff at the very start.

You said you looked in the chart and nothing had been done all day? Did you offer to do something in the chart that you felt comfortable with that hadn't been done? Offer to take him for a walk, do his AM cares, give him a bath, etc, etc, etc? Sometimes it's hard at first because the nurses don't know you and don't feel comfortable with what you can do, they don't know what you can/can't do, especially since it sounds like your clinical instructor wasn't very accesible. Maybe instead of asking "is there anything I can do?", think of something that you'd LIKE to do and offer to do it ...... "do you mind if I take Mr. Jones for a walk?" or "is it ok if I help Mr. Jones brush his teeth?"

Hopefully once you get another clinical instructor it will get better ..... it's THEIR job to help guide you and get you going. The nurses on the unit are there to help out, but it's not their job to get you started with whatever you need to be doing.

But yes, to answer your question, my first clinical experience was similar in that we didn't do a whole lot of hands on skills the first few clinicals ..... even the first clinical semester we didn't do a whole lot of actual "skills". It'll come in time though.

BrandiBooh · Oct 22, 2007

Yea, that's true...but you know its easy to get discouraged when you are already feeling down about other stuff related to school, *sighs* thanks for your reponse though!

And Wondergirl, no...you don't do everything for the pt. your FIRST semester I am sure you might be more like "the nurse" towards further education but right now...goodness, i don't trust taking care of MYSELF let alone somebody else, there is just not enough knowledge yet.

BrandiBooh · Oct 22, 2007

I just didn't want to feel "behind" or like we were at a disadvantage in later clinical semesters if we don't get to do much this semester....my instructor was like "you don't learn that much in clinical I but you do learn where you don't want to work.." lol

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Oct 22, 2007

I remember feeling like that too.

Use clinical time as a good learning experience and take in EVERYTHING that you absolutely can. Ask to see any kind of procedure that is going on. Ask to jump in and do something that you feel comfortable doing. Ask questions. That's what you should spend your time focusing on.

Don't focus on all the things that you might not get to do. Don't focus on the things that might put you behind. Because when it comes down to it ...... when you actually start working as a nurse, there are going to be a TON of things you still don't know, a lot of skills that you've never done, and a lot of questions you still have. When you start your first nursing job, that's when you get a lot of on the job training. Right now, it's your time to learn and take in everything you can, in a non stressful way. You'll have plenty of time!

BrandiBooh · Oct 22, 2007

Thanks for the encouragement!! It's greatly appreciate

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Oct 22, 2007

Honestly, I really didn't do anything my first mod (comparable to a semester) of clinicals, especially the first few wks. We did AM care, oral care, vitals, feeding..pretty much CNA work. We observed foley insertions, wound care etc we also learned about care plans etc. But not much if any real hands on "nursing" things. She was a very wonderful woman, who was THE sweetest creature you'd ever want to meet and she did teach us things..it was just not what WE wanted to learn..we wanted to do NURSE things LOL. She told us, you have to learn to walk before you can run..and she was so right.

Second mod was excellent!! Had a great instructor. she wanted to know everything we wanted to do before mod 2 clinicals were over and she tried her hardest to make sure each and everyone of us were able to do what we wrote down. I went from doing pretty much nothing in mod 1 to doing everything I could possible think of. We did foleys, trachs, G-tubes, ostomys, wound care (some heavy duty wounds! One's we'll probably never experience again), injections, and the list goes on and on. I did more with that instructor in 1 day than I did in 8 wks with the other. But what the 1st instructor did teach without us doing nursy-hands on things, really helped with the doing.

We were so "far ahead" of the other clinical groups that our next instructor was thrilled with all that we were capable of and did with near perfection!

I guess what I'm saying is hang in there. Although you might not feel like you aren't doing anything or you'll be behind..you really ARE learning. Because even though you might be doing AM care, you are also doing it through a nurses eyes. You see things, assess things that the CNA doesn't.

Hang in there. It will get better and you may look back in a few months and long for those "easy" first few weeks of clinicals..because it gets very hairy and crazy..very quickly when you finally are able to do all you want and near perfection is expected of you.. :lol2:

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Oct 22, 2007

I think what you are experiencing is very normal. Especially for your very first clinical (sounds like you have only been to clinical once?). My first med/surg clinical we spend the day just following an RN around and getting oriented to the unit. We started off doing just basic CNA type stuff and yes I hated it. It was good experience though because most of the nursing students have no real hospital experience and have to learn the basics, also watch as many procedures as you can, just make sure your proactive....follow an RN around if she doesn't mind (I know some of them won't allow students though). Also reading charts is pretty important--that is where you find out what is really going on with your patient....what the MDs have to say, lab reports, meds, nursing notes, etc. I always spend time really reading the charts before I even walk into the patients room to take a BP.

My first clinical the RNs were really great but didn't trust us much (and why would they?). Once they got to know me more and I showed interest and asked questions they allowed me to do more and more as the weeks went on. Your second semester your really going to be doing more. Part of your job a as a student who is a stranger to the unit is to build up some trust and rapport with the nurses who work there.

Believe me, your clinicals will get more intense and you will be expected to do more and more and more (just because you will be acquiring more and more skills and have a better knowledge base).

Your going to find there are some real nasty RNs who hate students and won't let students do anything, and some RNs where they will ask students to do things they should even be doing. You have to be proactive though to get the most out of clinicals, especially with a less than stellar clinical instructor who is not getting you involved.

MB37 · Oct 22, 2007

We didn't start clinicals until our second semester, so every program is set up differently. We've had about 6 so far, and we still don't do too much. Even though we've been checked off on Foley insertion, NG tubes, enemas, and wound care, I'm on a floor where none of those things happen very often (wound care a little, but that was our last checkoff and I haven't gotten the chance to use it). Mostly I've been getting experience talking to and touching patients, watching my preceptors work and seeing how they organize their days, reading charts, gathering information for my PAT (care plan), looking things up in the floor computers. I also do most of the CNA care for my patient, unless they get whisked off the floor for a procedure halfway through the morning. This semester we're on the floor for 5.5 hours/week, and next semester it's 20. I think we'll catch up then.