Memories: Best & Worst of Clinicals

[TracyRN]

I keep reading about nursing students who are nervous about clinicals for different reasons. Seems that IVs and foleys are high on the list of fears. I thought maybe there are some out there who'd like to get off the controversial issues and maybe reminisce about where we came from.

What do you remember as your best or worst clinical experience, how you overcame and what it taught you.

[Genista, BSN, RN]

Hello. Here's a funny clinical memory...I remember the first time I ever gave a shot to a patient. It was subcutanous lovenox injection. My instructor was standing at the bedside, and I was so nervous about hurting the patient and "getting it right" that my hand was visibly shaking while I was holding the syringe!

The patient smiled, and patted my hand,"It's okay honey, go ahead and give me the shot, it won't hurt me." LOL. So, I did. After that, I made more of an effort to get my "nerves" under control, to at least appear calm. The more you practice, the easier it gets. Most of us feel nervous when we are doing something new and unfamiliar.

[mustangsheba]

My first year in nursing, I had an elderly gentlemen who got an erection while I was putting in a catheter. He was so embarrassed. He said "I'm sorry - he has a mind of his own."

[Q.]

I was helping another fellow nursing student give a bed bath to a male patient, and for no apparent reason (this wasn't a mental health floor either) he hauled out and punched my classmate right in the stomach! She puked, we had to fill out an incident report, etc, etc. His main reason was that he didn't want the bed bath anymore. The hospital just blew it all off and said he never had an outburst like that before and that was all. Needless to say, I now work in OB and don't mind not taking care of another male again.