Graduate in 3 months, and have only done three procedures

garnetgirl29, BSN, RN · Feb 11, 2012

In my program, we are broken into clinical groups of about 8 students per instructor. Each group is assigned a clinical site, and we are each assigned a pt. The evening before clinical, we have to go to the clinical site to get our pt assignment, then check the pt's charts and fill out a prep plan. We research anything we don't understand in the pt's chart, and when we meet with our group the next morning at the clinical site & we discuss our pt with our group & instructor. We then go meet our client and decide what we can do for them, it may just be keeping them company, hygiene, toileting, etc. I have done 3 dressing changes, d/c'd one IV, and the rest was mostly hygiene/personal care. I have yet to do a tube feeding, ostomy care, foley, etc. We just did our lab check-off's for injections & passing meds, so we will soon be doing that. I'm in my 2nd semester and plan to graduate next August.

So, your entire class goes to the same clinical site together with one instructor? All of you in the same unit? That seems ridiculous to me. Did you research your school? Is it accredited?

We are doing peds rotation this month & next, and then we go to OB. The pt I was assigned to was taken to surgery just after we arrived & didn't come back up until 20 mins before we had to leave. I did however, get to assist with some post-surgery care before I had to go. In the meantime, I did learn how to take vitals on infants & toddlers. It's pretty different from adults, but we did a lot of standing around & wondering what to do with ourselves as well.

RainMom · Feb 11, 2012

Sounds a little odd to me too. In my program we were assigned a patient, sometimes 2 or 3, & gave total care. You didn't always get to do a lot of skills like foleys, IVs, dressing, etc., but you were always doing assessments, meds, personal care, basically whatever was called for during that particular shift for that patient. Do you not have to do a care plan for each clinical?

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Feb 11, 2012

Im about to graduate from my one year lvn program, I only have about 3 months left.
The only procedures I have done, are blood sugar checks (twice), given medication by G-tube, and given a sub Q injection. My clinicals usually consist of sitting in the break room with my class,until the teacher calls one of us out to either give medication to one patient, or do a blood sugar check on one patient. ( Usually he will only call out 7 people to do something out of the entire class) Then we go back to the breakroom until its time to pass out meal trays. Then we pass meal trays, sometimes feed a patient if they need it, and go back to the break room, and do nothing. Sometimes, all we do is go to clinicals, take vital signs, and then go to the break room. No wound care, trach care, IM injections, ID injections, catheter insertion, NG tube insertion or care, no G-tube care, or priming, no dressing changes, NOTHING except medication pass or blood sugar check for 7 students. I feel like clinicals are a huge waste of time because we don't learn anything, or do anything. Is this normal? Am i just supposed to learn on the job later?

Normal? Not for the school I did my LPN training in. We had to demonstrate our skills in lab, were checked off and then allowed to do it in the clinical site. We had two care plans due (we were assigned 2 patients usually). We performed ALL care on that patient during our shift..everything from personal care to assessment to meds, treatments etc.

During LPN training I had done wound care and dressing changes, any treatment you can think of, all meds (via all routes with the exception of via IV-LPNs in my State need a special certification after getting the LPN license in order to do that). I never did an NG tube because there was never an opportunity to do so at any of our clinical sites (although because I was also an EMT I had done NG tubes), I did straight caths and indwelling caths, blood sugars w/coverage out the wazoo, trach care (I was lucky enough to be placed in a clinical site that was a majority of trach/vent patients), i seemed to be 'lucky' and always end up with a patient that had a G-tube and responsible for all the care that pertains to that.

I will say, that many of the skills you learn you aren't always able to do during clinicals. If the opportunity isn't there they can't have you do it (ie: NG tubes very rare to find an NG tube here or say indwelling caths..years ago it was like everyone in a SNF had an indwelling cath..not so much these days, also trach care is difficult to come by here, there aren't many LTC facilities tha have trach/vent patients.

However many of the skills I learned during class and did perform during clinicals, I haven't seen since (trach care, my facility has no trach patients), NG tubes..haven't done one since clinicals. And even the skills I did learn and practice during school, I have to refresh sometimes because they are far and few between.

Trixyp · Feb 12, 2012

Yes my entire class is at the same clinical facility. We also spent the first 3/4 terms at the same facility, and we have never been anywhere where except at a nursing home. They are accredited, and they have a 96% Nclex pass rate, but I feel like the clinicals are just worthless. The classroom lectures are great, I'm sure I'll pass the nclex, but we never get to apply what we've learned in skills or theory in our clinicals. It's a complete waste of a day. I was just curious if this is what ll the schools were like or just mine. Apparently it's just mine.

Seas · Feb 12, 2012

I didn't go to school to be a LPN, I am a RN. However, I have never heard of such clinical assignment. Not normal. Looks like one of those schools that only worry about their NCLEX pass rate, but nothing else.

RonCA84 · Feb 14, 2012

I can relate to what seems like a very sloppy, disorganized LPN/LVN program (according to what you have shared with us). I could go on about my LVN program, feels similar in that many students have not done a foley, barely know how to handle a needle, chem strips, wound dressings, g-tubes, ng-tubes, ostomy care, etc.

But I would like to answer your question and offer a piece of advice. No, that is not normal for your entire class to be located at one site and remain at one site. (from my experience and most friends' lvn programs as well). Many are split up (8-10 students per clinical site) similar to what was shared earlier, and in our program we are assigned the same number of patients according to the # of rotation we are in (e.g. 1st rotation - 1 pt, 2nd rotation - 2 patients and so on) and required to turn in q2 charting with a full care plan.

Considering you only have three months left for you to graduate and take your exit boards and nclex, too much time has passed; my advice is to focus on studying for your exit hesi, OB hesi (4th term here and what we are preparing for) and make time to look up procedures (youtube, etc). You can get an idea of what it looks like and prepare yourself. You can be more proactive and approach the staff to shadow during procedures (not assuming you haven't done so, but just throwing it out there.) But like i said, at this point in the game, focus on moving forward and forget this school. At least now, you know how prepared you need to be the next time you are researching a program (hopefully RN). Hope this information helps. Kick butt on your exit hesi, be well. =)

Anonymous2 · Feb 18, 2012

I am 6 months into my clinical and I feel I haven't done enough in these 6 months.

Sorry to hear you sit in the break room all day, our clinical instructor would go nuts if he saw sitting down all day.

hlfspn1973 · Feb 18, 2012

I have gotten in many skills at my facility but still feel a little overwhelmed about the day when I will be responsible for a whole unit:) I will be graduating LPN in July. Currently we have only been at LTC facilities and we are split up. There can only be a max of ten students to one instructor. I have been the only one fortunate enough so far to do a catheter on site. There just isnt that many of them. In the summer we will be going to spend time in the hospital setting where I hope to get in my IM because there isnt much opprotunity for that in the nursing home. We wont even learn IV until we are just about to graduate. I hate to see that you have to sit in the break room until you are called on, seems like a waste to me as well. I know that it isn't the easy to express these concerns to the instructors because I'm sure they have a rationale for why the program is like that. You gain alot by just being with your client during the day and being able to give them a little extra attention. Hope it starts to pick up for you!

nekozuki, LPN · Feb 19, 2012

Wow, scary stuff! I was specifically warned about any LPN program whose clinicals were only in a nursing home. At our program, we do LTC, then rounds at the hospital in med-surg, peds, etc. I start clinicals this week, and from my understanding, we'll be responsible for total patient care with an instructor supervising. No sitting around for us!

caliotter3 · Feb 19, 2012

This is not normal. You are in a poor program. Too bad you did not have this information available to you before you made the decision on which program to attend.