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Discussion

For those in ADN programs -- how many patients do you have in clinical?

At my school, it coincides with the semester you're in. So, first semester gets 1 patient, second semester gets 2 patients, third semester gets 3 patients and fourth semester gets 4 patients. These numbers are only the minimum number we are required to care for, however, so some instructors may require third semester students to take 4 patients and fourth semester students to take 5.

I am curious to hear about what other schools require because I actually question the safety of assigning five patients to a student nurse. At our clinicals, we are responsible for everything the staff nurses do (all assessments/progress notes, all PRN/routine meds, all treatments, calling the MD, etc.) The only thing we don't do is take a telephone/verbal order (we hand the phone to the RN covering the pt) and hang blood products. Is this the norm at other schools, as well?

Oh, and I go to a public community college in the Los Angeles area. Please mention the location of your school if replying! :)

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    I think it's very reasonable to expect a final semester student to be managing a full patient load. After all, in a month or two you're going to be practicing as a nurse with a full patient load. If you work in SNF or LTC, you might be managing 12-30 patients at one time. Imagine trying to do that if you've only ever been assigned 2 patients!

    One of the hardest things about learning to be a nurse is learning to prioritize and time manage. Knowing how to plan your day when you have 4-5 patients is key. A lot of new nurses struggle with this and feel very overwhelmed when they start out. Why? Because they are used to having 2 patients that they can devote a lot of time to. The real world is very different.

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    Second semseter, MedSurg and we have 1

    They say next semester we will have 2

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    I'm in my final quarter and we are assigned anywhere from 2-4 patients, depending on the complexities of their illness and medications.

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    I could *maybe* see having a "full patient load" if the student nurse has full access to everything on the unit. But I can't even get a hat for a bedside commode without finding a staff RN with a key, nor can I get into the Pyxis, nor am I allowed to administer meds without my clinical instructor being present. This leads to a lot of down-time while waiting for the person I need to be available so I can take care of my patient.

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    I am currently getting ready to graduate in a few weeks. My school in Idaho really lets the clinical instructors decide how many patients you will take care of. For example, in first semester they usually only assigned one patient to us. Beginning in second when we began our Med-Surg rotations and started taking care of more patients. Right now I am in 4th semester and am currently take care of 5-6 patients with a preceptor every 12 hour shift. Love it! I do everything with my preceptor as long as he is with me :-)

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