Are clinicals flexible?

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Nursing2102

276 Posts

Hmm.... The nursing program I am in requires you to have your own method of transportation in order to get to and from clinicals, whether that be a car or public transportation. It is your responsibility to get to and from. There will not be a shuttle from your school to your clinicals..... :cheeky:

Specializes in cardiac-telemetry, hospice, ICU.

To complicate matters further, you may be required to have some 'off site ' clinical days. By that I mean, you might have days where you go to a nursing home, hospice, home health, psych facility, etc. It could be very difficult to car pool because the off site assignments are usually not for the whole class, and maybe only a handful of students may be going there at one time. Check with your program. Maybe a scooter?

Stephalump

2,723 Posts

Specializes in Forensic Psych.
To complicate matters further, you may be required to have some 'off site ' clinical days. By that I mean, you might have days where you go to a nursing home, hospice, home health, psych facility, etc. It could be very difficult to car pool because the off site assignments are usually not for the whole class, and maybe only a handful of students may be going there at one time. Check with your program. Maybe a scooter?

Very true! I could probably find someone in my clinical group to carpool with to the hospital, but our outpatient clinicals are usually done alone. No one to ride with.

Sun0408, ASN, RN

1,761 Posts

Specializes in Trauma Surgical ICU.

Make things easy on yourself and buy a car. It doesn't have to be a brand new one.

MrChicagoRN, RN

2,597 Posts

Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

If you don't want to buy a car, can you rent one, or live somewhere where they have zip-car or I-Go?

Wrench Party

823 Posts

Specializes in Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgical.

Questions to ask yourself if you want to pursue nursing school without a car:

1) Are there reliable public transit options? Do they run when some clinicals start? (5-6 am)

2) If I ride a bike, do I know basic bike maintenance? Traffic laws? Can I carry all the stuff I need (uniform, notebook,

equipment, laptop, etc.?)

3) Am I disciplined enough to use these transportation options? (if you take the bus and it has a transfer, are you able

to figure out what time initially you need to get on it?)

4) Do I have a backup transportation system in place (i.e. bus doesn't run on the weekend, can I hitch a ride to the hospital

with a classmate instead?)

5) Do you have the social skills and money to chip in with carpooling?

grownuprosie

377 Posts

i did not see this mentioned before, so i will chime in. What about a cab? it would be much cheaper than buying a car if that is the only thing you are using it for. For me anyway, my clinicals have been in different counties and the cab fare would be ~$40 one way, but still cheaper than gas/ parking at the facility/ parking at my home when not in use/ cost of the car/ maintenance. If your city has public transportation, you can take that home so you are only paying cab fares one way.

also, spread the net out to your friends. Does any of them have a car that you can borrow?

Specializes in NICU.

I slacked and never got my licsence...working on it now. Clinicals are not flexible and they don't care how you get there. My clinical this semester is in my city but a pretty far bus ride, the bus doesn't run early enough to get me there on time. I had to ask a classmate if I could ride with her and she has to go out of her way to get me...I feel bad. In subsequent semesters my placement could be in any of the surrounding cities..up to an hour away. I have no clue what to do...it sucks. I wish I had a car.

grownuprosie

377 Posts

Oh, and a classmate of mine figured out that a cheap hotel near the far away hospitals is cheaper than a cab. so she takes the bus there the night before, sleeps, goes to clinical the next day then busses home.

nothing is perfect, but it is alwayse doable.

erinmarie320

23 Posts

As previous posters have mentioned, it will depend on your school and community whether a car is necessary. For my school it is written right in the student handbook, and in pre-application literature, that if you wish to attend this program you are required to have a car. We can have clinical 2+ hours away, and transit is not always an option (and I live in a major city with 1 million+ population). They will not place us based on our address, it is completely random and we are expected to be there no matter our situation.

checkmarks0725

32 Posts

Specializes in None yet!.

No, clinicals are not very flexible. Most programs I've heard of will not give you a say in where you are placed/what times you are scheduled. You are expected to show up when and where.

I lived around the corner from one of the hospitals my school did rotations at......never got placed there. The one an hour away from school....got to spend two semesters there. It happens.

KelRN215, BSN, RN

1 Article; 7,349 Posts

Specializes in Pedi.
I dont have a car right now so if i enter nursing school without a car, i will still be able to go to clinicals, right?

Go to school in a city with reliable public transportation and you won't have a problem. I had a car on campus when I was in school but we always car-pooled to clinicals (and I rarely drove since I had a small car that didn't fit the entire clinical group) or took the subway. In my city, the subway starts running at 5am. In the first nearly 5 years of my career, I worked in the hospital and never drove until the last six-ish months on the job. Even then, I only drove on nights (because I didn't want to take 2 buses home after working a night shift and could park at a meter overnight for free) and on Sundays (because street parking was free and the bus didn't start until 7am). I took the train when I lived in one part of the city and then the bus (2 buses actually) when I moved to another part of the city.

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