clinicals or lectures

Angelica · May 2, 2003

I personally thought that clinicals were more difficult, especially the first two semesters because I was not too self confident. I was always afraid of making that one big mistake that would get me tossed out of school. My confidence greatly increased during the third and fourth semesters, so I felt more comfortable with clinical. My enjoyment of clinicals also heavily depended on which instructor I was assigned. The instructor can make or break you.

Another down side to clinicals is the paperwork. I might spend three hours preparing for a clinical, and maybe another eight hours finishing my paperwork after clinical.

The classes at my school are straight out of the books, so you can miss classes and it's no big deal.

Of course, everyone's experiences and perceptions of nursing school will be different.

Good luck too you!!

memphispanda, RN · May 2, 2003

Clinical was not a big deal to me...the first time at a new facility is a little daunting, but it wasn't that hard. I felt pretty comfortable and confident there.

Lecture was a totally different story. If you miss one class, you can pretty much be sure you will score at least a letter grade lower than usual on the next test. Many of the questions on the test seem to just be out of the blue. The amount of reading and preparation needed for lecture is just enormous.

I find the lecture portion of the class much more difficult than clinical.

Gator,SN · May 2, 2003

I thought that clinicals were easy, once I got there. It was the night before paper work that was a pain! Sometimes I got my assignments at 7pm and did not get to sleep until after midnight, and was up again at 4am to drive to clinicals. This last semester, we got our assignments when we arrived at the facility and that was really nice!

Lectures are a breeze. You are just taking notes the whole time. It is the tests that I stressed out about. I think that some areas were like no-brainers and other content areas were a challenge. I will always be baffled by the endocrine system and all the working of it. (this is my personal area of difficulty) others would not agree.

No matter what, it will be your experience and it will be what you make it. If you study a little each day and never let it pile up, you will do well. Cramming in nursing does not work. You may know enough to pass the test but remembering it later is very hard.

I wish you the very best in your future classes! Don't let validations on lab skills get to you either. Just try to review, and practice and all will be fine!

Gator

Jennerizer, ASN, RN · May 2, 2003

I found the clinicals to be easier......the only tough part is the research the night before with the care plans & medications. Lecture is a necessity as well as attendance at my school.