Bored in clinical?

Nursing Students General Students

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Im finding myself with nothing to do for 8 hrs in clinical. Im on the OB rotation and we normally have 1 patient........needless to say I can only look through the charts for so long..... Me and my classmates literally stand around trying to look busy. There's just never anything happening. And dont get me started on the RN's we get assigned to who try their best to lose us every chance they get. Im so annoyed! Why does it bother someone that Im there to learn from them ?! I would be sooo flattered, I'd eat it up.

AND then they act like I sucked when their filling out my little daily evaluation form. And Im just thinkin you avoided me, gossiped with the other RN's the whole time, and didnt wanna let me do anything.

Its really quite degrading, because Im supposed to follow them around like a puupy dog and Im totally not wanted. And for what reason? Im the nicest person ever....they just dont wanna be bothered? Im sorry but for lack of a better word, thats ******.

I

I loved OB. My final day I had 5 patients. 5 Assessments, 5 chartings, 1 admission, not too many meds, d/c a foley, d/c an IV. Also had two babies to take care of, barely came up for air.

The only day I had 1 patient was L&D and I helped with a lady partsl birth. I had 3 babies in NICU, the Nursery was really busy that day I was there and got to give Vitamin K shots. If you want brownie points ask your instructor for another patient. If all else fails, study.

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Specializes in ICU, PACU, Cath Lab.

I had a good OB rotation too!! I got to observe a C section for a mom that was 32 weeks that had PROM with Meconium...I got to follow the baby to the NICU and help take care of her and 2 other babies!! My advice is just do something..even if it is changing the garbage..sometimes if the nurses see you doing these things they will know that you really want to help and will get you in on the good stuff!!

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I bring PDA with me and pluck away looking like I am pulling up med information!

Yes, my PDA, while required by my program, has more than once turned out to be an overly useful investment....I bought a Pocket PC and I've loaded all sorts of stuff on it, medical and otherwise....I'm thinking of getting an e-book or two and sticking it on there as well!

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Specializes in Dialysis (All Modalities) , Ex-CVICU RN.

Beapeadoo - You will have a great clinical experience. Sometimes it just won't go that way. Just come from it learning new things.

Since i'm a guy. I don't see myself fitting into a OB/Maternity floor.

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Beepeadoo, yes, more than likely your clinicals will be great! I think clinicals where you just stand around are much more the exception than the norm... but I agree, OB tends to be the place where there's the least to "do", and like others have said, the nurses aren't always doing a lot either.

I did have a couple of low-census days on OB where there was NOTHING to do. My instructor asked me to research an OB topic and present it to my clinical group... it helped the time pass a little.

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Specializes in Renal.

Believe me, you aren't the only one!!! I sometimes HATE going to med/surg clinicals because it's so boring. Not only that but we have to be there at the buttcrack of dawn at 7am, so all we do is vitals (and usually a tech will beat us to that), assessments (which take less than 5 mins), and then.. sit around on the computer looking at the patient's chart. Unless your patient has a med, then we give that. We're there until 2pm, 2 days a week, and sometimes we'll get to do cool stuff... I've started a few IVs, changed a wound dressing yesterday (this sucker was 6 inches in diameter, 3 inches deep..bed sore... i almost passed out lol)... And that's about it. And we only have one patient, too, and Im a second semester student (BSN).

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Specializes in OB.

whatta bummer. My L&D experience was amazing. There were 8 births within 2 hours, I got to see 2 of them and a C section that I also got to see. On the post partum side, I took care of 3 moms and the newborns. Spent one shift in the NICU. Guess I got lucky that my OB rotation came exactly nine months after Valentines Day :)

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Specializes in Peds, PICU, Home health, Dialysis.

I am not in the nursing program yet (I start in May 2007!), but as a requirement in one of our pre-nursing classes, we had to do a few shadowing experiences in a department of our choice. I decided to shadow a nurse in the NSICU (Neuro Sciences ICU), and there was one other student there who was in her 4th semester of nursing school (at our school, they allow 4th semester students to select basically any area of the hospital to do their final clinicals in and they do three 12-hour shifts a week).

Anyway, I was extremely bored considering I was only shadowing my nurse; however, I noticed the 4th semester nursing student was sweeping, changing trash, answering phones, etc. I thought it was kind of funny that a nursing student would be doing all of those duties.

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Specializes in Med-Surg so far.
Believe me, you aren't the only one!!! I sometimes HATE going to med/surg clinicals because it's so boring. Not only that but we have to be there at the buttcrack of dawn at 7am, so all we do is vitals (and usually a tech will beat us to that), assessments (which take less than 5 mins), and then.. sit around on the computer looking at the patient's chart. Unless your patient has a med, then we give that. We're there until 2pm, 2 days a week, and sometimes we'll get to do cool stuff... I've started a few IVs, changed a wound dressing yesterday (this sucker was 6 inches in diameter, 3 inches deep..bed sore... i almost passed out lol)... And that's about it. And we only have one patient, too, and Im a second semester student (BSN).

That's about like my med/surg clinicals this term, although we take vitals as part of our assessments even if they have already been done. After that I look up my meds so I am ready to pass them. If I don't have anything to do I will shadow my nurse and see what s/he is doing. I have got to see and do some cool stuff that way (d/c foley, d/c IV, bedside ECG, observed a chest tube removal). Your clinical experience is what you make of it.

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Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.
After that I look up my meds so I am ready to pass them. If I don't have anything to do I will shadow my nurse and see what s/he is doing. I have got to see and do some cool stuff that way (d/c foley, d/c IV, bedside ECG, observed a chest tube removal). Your clinical experience is what you make of it.

You're right to a certain extent, but I think a lot depends on the RNs and your clinical instructors...last semester we were on a floor where I think the nurses and aides would've preferred we were anywhere but there....they barely acknowledged us when we tried to get/give report and then acted truly p.o.'d if we had questions or needed to search them out for something, never mind would we have asked one of them to let us shadow them!! :(

This semester we are at another hospital and I can not tell you the difference in staff....they are so helpful and kind (with one crabby nurse being the exception)...I got rather discouraged last semester and thought that if all nurses were that miserable, I'd rather go back to my IT job and be miserable....but now I can see the flip side of that coin and am so much happier!! We spend some down time from time-to-time too, but we're gearing up for 2 pts sometime soon, so I anticipate our time being well-spent!! :rotfl:

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Specializes in L&D.

I've had two totally opposite clinical days in peds so far. The first one I was assigned to a T&A pt who was dischared 2 hours after I got assigned to her. And her chart was shipped off to medical records promptly after she left. So, the rest of the day was a total waste of time. Then, yesterday, I was assigned to a little baby with a heart transplant who had a fever of unknown origin. I was doing everything under the sun with him all day (tube feedings, medication admin, IM injection, you name it)...I didn't even have time to chart all of the stuff I was doing..

Very different days...

You just never know what you will be given...I suppose.

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.
You're right to a certain extent, but I think a lot depends on the RNs and your clinical instructors...last semester we were on a floor where I think the nurses and aides would've preferred we were anywhere but there....they barely acknowledged us when we tried to get/give report and then acted truly p.o.'d if we had questions or needed to search them out for something, never mind would we have asked one of them to let us shadow them!! :(

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I think your bring up a good point. I have been extrememly thankful in that I have had nothing but wonderful and educational clinical experiences. But I have seen and talking to other students doing clinical at the SAME hospital but having a totally different experience because they had a crappy clinical instructor and even worse RNs who HATED students and would let them do nothing but aid duties.

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