Choosing clinicals

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Hi Guys!

I need your help on something! I just found out that we get to pre-register and choose our clinical settings for the next three semesters (this spring will be a first semester junior in my BSN program). Anyway, I have four choices...Neuro, surgery/oncology, extended care, or one that has yet to be determined. I can't decide! I know I don't want to do extended care, so basically I'm choosing between Neuro and surgery/oncology. What do you do as a student in these different areas, especially surgery? What were some of your favorite floors to work on? I know everyone different preferences, but I'm just curious about your different experiences. Thanks for your help!!!

RutgerskidBSN

13 Posts

What I would do is start out small! I would do my extended care to start. This will serve as a introduction to the nursing process. I am under the impression that this is your first clinical. I would then progress to the more difficult clinical; med/surg, then neuro. Doing this in a progressive manner will build your knowledge and you will be able to get more out of your clinical situations. Just from my experience I think extended care is the easiest and the best place to practice your fundamentals and head to toe assessments. This is only my two-cents. I hope it helps.

Kevin :D

renerian, BSN, RN

5,693 Posts

Specializes in MS Home Health.

LOl we all will give you our best thoughts. I worked onc/hem/bmt and loved it. The death can be sad but helping people when they are so afraid is so rewarding. Tough floor but great experience.

renerian

Ortho_RN

1,037 Posts

I think the surgery/oncology does sound interesting...

Thanks for your opinions everyone! This actually won't be my first clinical. We start this semester working in acute care in a few weeks. Surgery/oncology sounds the most interesting to me...I'm just afraid that it might be a more difficult place to start out.

researchrabbit

603 Posts

Meet with both instructors for those clinicals. A good instructor is a good experience, no matter WHERE you are. I didn't get my first OR second choice on the clinicals we got to choose and wound up at an LTC...but it was a wonderful experience, and that was all due to the instructor, who all the other instructors called "the nurse's nurse".

RNIAM, BSN, RN

1,214 Posts

To be honest at some point you will be expierencing extended care. If you don't like it my point would be to get it over with and it won't be hanging over your head. We aren't this lucky, we have no choice. We go to wherever they send us.

AmiK25

240 Posts

Do most of you have to do extended care for clinicals? We do not do extended care in my program at all (Indiana University BSN), and until I started coming here, I guess I didn't realize some nursing schools had clinicals in ECF and MD offices. Is that pretty much the norm for most other nursing programs? Just curious....and also grateful we don't have to do it.

AmiK25

240 Posts

By the way, if I were you, I would do surgery/oncology b/c I think you would get more experience with dressing changes, IV meds, and such....just my opinion.

legsmalone, RN

125 Posts

Yuppers, we did an extended care stint. It was part of our 2nd quarter of med/surg. I have a feeling that with the increasing size of the geriatric population, a lot of schools will start to include something in their program.

My suggestion would be to start with what you think you won't like as much, in this case the extended care, you may be surprised, I didn't think I could enjoy it at all, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined.

My only question is: How is it you get to choose like that? So unfair, the only leway I had in my program was deciding what order to take my ped and pysch clinical in, that was only because Bakersfield onyl had facilites to handle half our class in each area a quarter, so we had to flip flop. How fun to get to choose!

Good luck in deciding!

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