How was clinicals for you?

Clinicals were really difficult on everyone. After 8 hours, everyone was exhausted. It wasn't the physical labor, it was the nervousness of actually having to do the skills you really knew very little about on real people. On the other hand, you got 'real' experience and everyone was very excited about that.

Today is my last day of clinicals.It is a good experience.It is at nursing home.Most my class mates say they were nervous on first day.The Cnas that work there are very helpful.Ask them of you don't know what you doing.I wish my school had clinicals at hospital.Good luck.

I start clinicals on Oct. 6th and I'm excited. Right now, in the lab, it seems like a lot of girls in my class are "goofy" during labs because we're working on the mannequins or each other. Today we did complete bed baths (not peri care, obviously...we wore tank tops and shorts and washed only the exposed areas) and oral care on each other and there was a lot of giggling, etc. going on.

I'm really looking forward to clinicals so that the goofiness will go away. We are doing ours at the hospital connected to the nursing college I'm attending. Each of us are going to be paired up with a current CNA on the floor we are working on. We are going to be doing clinicals in cardiac, oncology, orthopedics, med/surg, and rehab. (I wish we were doing postpartum...that's were I hope to work someday. I can see why they don't have students on that floor, though. I'm very familiar with that floor. I had all six of my kids at that hospital.):)

So, what was your clinical experience like? Do you feel that you learned a lot and that it helped you feel more comfortable with your first CNA job?

ETA: Sorry for my horrible grammar in the title line...wish I could edit it! How were clinicals for you? :)

Are you in a prep course or something different? You practice on each other doing oral care? Hmmm...I don't think I would like that. I am going to be going to a prep course and it is either 1 week or 2 weekends is this alot different from what your doing?

Hopeful76...I think that each CNA course differs based on the school, state and instructor. In the program I'm in we do a lot of practicing on each other. My program is Monday through Thursday 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM for three weeks, then three days of clinicals (all day), one day taking the written exam and skills testing with the state. So, 16 full days total.

Another thing that may make the program I'm in different is that it is at one of the top nursing/medical colleges in my city. The college is part of a hospital system here, so we do our clinicals at the attached hospital. I specifically chose this program because I hope to work at that hospital and get my "foot in the door" with the system. (They help the graduates of their CNA program with job placement within their system.) They are building a women's hospital less than a mile from my house that is opening in 2010. I'm hoping to get a job there when it opens (my goal is to become a L&D RN). I also want to take advantage of their school program. After I have worked there for a year as a CNA they will pay for 100% of my nursing school tuition, if I contract to work for them for three years after graduation. I intend to work them anyway, so it's a great deal for me!

As far as practicing oral care on each other it really wasn't that bad. We pretended to be responsive patients (using a toothbrush/toothpaste & emesis bowl). We practiced oral care of unresponsive patients on a manniquin (using sponge swabs, peroxide cleanser, oral moisturizer and emesis bowl).

We finished our clinicals today which was at a nursing home. My favorite part was in the Alzeheimers wing. They each had some interesting & outspoken personalities at times. I saw a tiny bit of the residents getting angry, but overall they play games and have activities and just to talk to them was sometimes very funny. Had one little lady that I fed, and when I was done she kissed and kissed my hand, other than that she really was kinda of a vegtable, didnt talk or anything. That was very touching. I liked the Alzeheimers better than the other wings, infact I'm going to start volunteering a little there. It should be fun.

We practiced on each other in lab a lot also. The girls who were goofy and not concentrating in class had a hard time in clinicals. That kind of bugged me in class too. We practiced transfers on each other too. I'm kinda tall and not a tiny person and I got tossed one day, onto the side of the wheelchair. Good lesson for the student that you don't need to use THAT much force if you use the right technique but hitting the chair hurt. And I didn't much care for the laughing.

I hope your clinicals sort out the serious students! Sounds like you'll do great :) You're working on some cool floors!

I loved clinicals! My first one was sept 20th and it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. My first 4 weeks are at a nursing home but when I go into CNA 2 then I'm going to the hospital. I really really found I love doing this job.Haha which is a good thing. We practice everything in labs with the other people in my class. We all giggle but by the end of the day we all know what we're doing too.

There was a lot of giggling in my class when we were practicing skills. I understood some of it, but a lot of the time it was just annoying. It would get to the point where you couldn't hear the instructor and people were acting silly just to get attention. My first day at clinicals saw that come to an end, though. We were in a pretty bad nursing home, unfortunately, and I think it really made people realize how important it is to be good to these residents.

The CNAs we had to follow were a mixed group. Some of them were extremely helpful, would answer questions, helped you in whatever way you needed, etc. The others, however, would throw a fit as soon as you were assigned to shadow them. Another girl and I had to be transferred to a different CNA at one of the nursing homes because our first one told us to take care of four residents and then sat in a break room for two hours.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE being goofy during class and lab!!! It's the only way to get through some of the most mind-numbing common sense things! I don't interrupt the class and contribute plenty but I also like to make things fun. I have a lot of students who like being in my group in lab because not only are we having fun but we are learning more than most groups. I would NEVER act like this in clinicals or with real people. I think that's it's really sad that people lose everything and have to rely on other people to do the simplest tasks and I only hope that I can make a good difference in every life I touch. BUT, it is okay to have fun in life and in school. It's even sometimes okay to have fun while working (not in an obnoxious way). Humor is what makes the world go round.

Good luck in clinicals.

clinicals are so much better than i thought it would be. i was really nervous that it would be weird and i would be terrible at it. by may first patient wa the sweetest old lady ever. she had so much fun and so did i. you just need to go in and be comfortable and reassure yourself that you KNOW what you are doing. we all make mistakes and we are just learning.

Im a little goofy in lab but it hard to be serious when it isn't a SERIOUS situation.

have fun and remember why you decided to go this direction

I start my clinicals on jan 5th and i am so excited i can hardly wait. I'm in a 5 month cna class in the bronx and although I'm excited about clinicals i really don't feel prepared for it. We spent about 3 months on thoery and about a month and a half on skills. I do practice a lot outside of the class it's just that i feel as if i'm not ready. Maybe it's just my nerves acting up or just nervous about practicing what iv'e learned in class on the residents in the nursing home. I have two weeks of clinical so i guess that i will have a lot of time to practice what i've learned in the classroom. I'm really worried about the state boards exams not the written exam but the skills. we will see what happens and when it's time for me to take the skills exam i will be back to let everyone know how it went and the clinicals too.

I start my clinicals on jan 5th and i am so excited i can hardly wait. I'm in a 5 month cna class in the bronx and although I'm excited about clinicals i really don't feel prepared for it. We spent about 3 months on thoery and about a month and a half on skills. I do practice a lot outside of the class it's just that i feel as if i'm not ready. Maybe it's just my nerves acting up or just nervous about practicing what iv'e learned in class on the residents in the nursing home. I have two weeks of clinical so i guess that i will have a lot of time to practice what i've learned in the classroom. I'm really worried about the state boards exams not the written exam but the skills. we will see what happens and when it's time for me to take the skills exam i will be back to let everyone know how it went and the clinicals too.

Totally normal! You'll learn a lot, make friends with the residents, and come away with a new career! Good luck!