How to do better during clinical

[NoeIssa]

Hello, I am currently doing clinicals at the hospital in my RN program and I dont feel confident during clinicals. Everytime my instructor asks me question about my patient I go blank. Like this one time my patient had high blood pressure and she asked me well is this patient on a BP med. and I had forgotten to look at his meds, and I was like "Im not sure." I feel like sometimes I get confused with everything going on with my patients. How can I do better during clinicals and not panic when my teacher asks me a question? Thanks

[86toronado, BSN, RN]

Get a form, or a worksheet, my school calls it a "60 second assessment" although I don't like the form they provide, I made my own. But it gives you a rundown of things to check when you go into the room, and what to look for when you review the patient's chart, what to ask about when you get report, etc. I have found clinicals much more organized since I've been using mine. You can see examples of them on the "First year in Nursing" forum, there is a thread about it. I hope this helps!:)

P.S. Here's the link: https://allnurses.com/forums/f224/seeking-assignment-worksheet-form-208051.html

[ADPIE10]

Nurses have a memory queue. Over time, your mind will allocate reserve memory space just for vital information related to your patient. In the mean time, create a form of essential information. My clinical instructor provided us one and I tried improving on it. Put the sheet in your pocket. Keep it updated. Don't be afraid to refer to it.

Attorney's refer to written or computer stored documentation because it's the legal document. Nurses learn to record relevant information and refer to it in the legal documentation.

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

Well, first...if a BP is high, then you have to assess A)are they on a BP med? B) have they gotten it? C) is it due to pain, anxiety or some other issue?

I used a report sheet that had their meds, and always kept in my head....hmmm, ok, what conditions do they have and what can I expect?

[kgh31386, BSN, MSN, RN]

do you guys get to pre-lab? we go the night before and do a full write up of our patient....their past medical history, medications, orders, labs, everything. and we gotta know WHY they're gettin all their medications before we go the next day and what orders they have. when you first get there in the morning, go through your patient's chart and check their medications, orders, etc. just take a few minutes and look over stuff before you start your day...and think what they would get in response to their vital signs or assessment results. but bottom line....look stuff over before and you'll be fine.