First Semester Clinicals--anyone else need to vent?

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Only a little longer than a month into my first semester and I am getting my first really big blow to the ego--aka the start of Clinicals. I had my first clinicals this week and I felt like a total idiot! Is anyone else feeling a bit like a lost puppy? I am trying to keep in mind that this is normal and that my job as a nurse will not be the same as my experiences in clinicals--but it really shook me up! I felt like i had no direction and I felt helpless doing the simplest tasks. I couldn't even figure out how the patient's gown was supposed to be buttoned!:smackingf I am begining to worry that I am one of these people who is great with books and tests but not to great when it comes to acctually peforming skills--which is a all of what nursing is! I just felt like I was causing more work for the nurse I was supposed to be helping. My patient even asked if I would get someone else to make her bed because I was taking way to long and she was tired! On top of this...my instructor isn't horrible but she isn't exaclty warm and cuddley and ends up making me feel more upset.

I am just curious about how everyone felt or is feeling now about their clinicals. Any words of encouragement from those who have been through it all?

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You are not alone Zenstudent. A fellow classmate and I were just discussing this very thing last night. It is nothing like I expected and by that I do not mean that I was foolishly thinking it would be "easy" but I did think I would have some clue?! Instead I feel like a bull in a china shop!

Oh, and as far as your patient wanting someone else to make her bed... My patient told her daughter to ask the doctor if she could have her foley back because using the bedpan was so complicated (that would be complicated with MY assistance!) :imbar Yep, turns out bedbaths and bedpans and making occupied beds is tremendously harder than it is in lab. I dont mind the hard work, I just hate that I look/sound/feel like a fool all day long.

Well, I reckon this didnt help ease your mind any but at least you know you are not alone! Hope things start looking up... for the both of us!

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Don't worry, you're not the only one. Dealing with real patients is a bit overwhelming at first. Everyone in my class was sharing stories and more than a few of us put the blood pressure cuffs on backwards! The point is, it was little stuff like that that was throwing all of us off our game. It will come around, don't worry.

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Specializes in PICU/Pedi.

Yep. I felt like an idiot, too. And I happened to be sick the first week, so I was not even close to being at my best. Then I stayed up literally all night finishing my first care plan. The next morning, I couldn't even remember how to find the elevators or where our preconference was. I was a mess, but by the fourth week, I felt a little more together, and got an 85 on my first clinical evaluation. I am in the middle of a four-week clinical break and am hoping it won't be like starting all over again when I start clinicals again here in a couple of weeks!

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Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

let me tell you a story...

I started clinicals with NO patient care expierence....not even a CNA. I worked as a activity director, with little medical care. so fast foward to clinicals....I was told during orientation week that the first thing we were to do was to assess our clients "in their rooms" for privacy. So I took my 87 yo diabetic man away from breakfast to assess him....went out to get his meds, and said proudly "i'm ready to pass meds on mr. x"....whereupon the staff nurse said"We've been looking for him! you NEVER take a diabetic patient away from breakfast! go feed him, and then you find your instructor for his medications!" ok, no problem....yikes! after feeding him, I then wound up giving him the oral meds my instructor and I had confirmed.....in the middle of that, the staff nurse came in with a metamucil mix and said "make sure he takes this after..." so I did...fast forward to lunch meds...my instructor looked and said "oh, we missed this fiber supplement..." instead of keeping my mouth shut, I said "oh the staff nurse came and asked me to give it." MED ERROR! Med that the instructor had not confirmed with me! I went home ready to quit....and got a action plan the next day at class with the notice that one more event would cause me to fail clinicals.

WHAT TO DO? I GOT SERIOUS ABOUT EVERYTHING! I watched my Ps and Qs forever because of that!

Now I can say that I am good at my job, and know that even the most trying situation will pass someday! hang in there, you can do it!

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Specializes in -.

I feel the same :crying2:

I did my first placement in Aged Care and it was fine, I worked in a nursing home for 2 years so I had the hang of it..

Second Placement which finished today (went for a week)...Ugh...I just feel like I'm not very good..I did the blood sugars ok, catheter care and the basics but I just feel like I need guidance all the time...I have no clue about what to do in any situation (like when to refer for an ultrasound or x-ray or something, how to know if a patients just feeling pain or if it's a serious situation....)

Everyone else is saying they feel ultraconfident and it was a breeze...but I'm seriously doubting my assessment skills !!

I am doing a part time RN Div 2 course (enrolled nursing)...

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Anyone who says they feel ultraconfident is lying. No, not really, but there are many many of us just trying to keep our heads down and not look stupid. Make sure you know what you're giving meds for (the nitty-gritty actions, not just the Cliff Notes version). Also, start getting familiar with pulling labs and actually knowing what they're saying. And yes, don't pass meds without the instructor checking it off. Even if you've given that med a million times, and the instructor has watched you pass a million times. It's just better that way.

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Oh lord, I was so freaking rusty when I was doing my baseline on my patient. I was looking at my sheet and I had to stop and think about what I needed to do next, plus I forgot to palipate her abdomen. All in all I feel a lot more confident after only a couple days though.

I feel lucky because my instructor is really cool too. Shes nice but doesn't spoon feed you so it really helps you learn. We have a couple REALLY bad instructors that i hope I never get caught with

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My whole class felt lost the first day, I was up all night working on my care plan and meds before going to clinical. During the clinical I was in a daze, struggled to keep my eyes open during post clinical meeting. Seems like plenty of things went wrong during that first day. From now on I will give myself plenty of time to get things together the day before. Oh well, part of the learning experience.

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I'm in my second year of clinicals, and it gets better! Which unfortunately doesn't mean you necessarily stop feeling like an idiot....cause as they increase your responsibilities at clinical...there's plenty of new opportunities to feel like an idiot all over again :)

But you do get more and more comfortable the more experience you get.

Truly, I'm not convinced the whole "feeling like an idot" is such a bad thing....keeps us humble :D

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i am having a horrible time in clinicals. my instructor is tells me i have to show considerable improvement to pass clincals this semester which is half over!! care plans take me most of the night before to complete and they are not acceptable to my instructor (well, the final evaluations of the interventions aren't). i love working with the patients, but my instructor tells me i am too slow in performing am care. i have never had medical experience before except cna class. i haven't made any major mistakes but am in jeopardy of failing clinicals. i am passing the classroom part. i feel so discouraged. everyone else seems to flow so well (all currently work as cna's). i am an not a traditional student. if i can't pass clinicals should i even be a nurse? :cry:

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I feel all dazed and confused at clinicals, too. As a previous poster said, I'm afraid I am good at book learnin' but not so good at the actual taking care of patients. We had one short day of clinical and I got NOTHING done and then the second day, which would have been longer, we no more than got there when we found out our instructor had called in sick so we had to get off the unit and go back to campus. So I am feeling about as UNconfident as possible. Today one of our instructors asked us how our first week of clinicals went (she is not an instructor who takes us to clinicals) and one of the students said "Awesome!" and I thought "Seriously? What was awesome?" I'm afraid this bodes ill for me!

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