I know, in a way, this is a question that you can never really answer until you get there, but I have been giving this some thought lately.
I am in my upper 30s - nursing is a career change for me from a totally unrelated field. I am married with 3 children. I am currently making my way through the pre-reqs, and am in an ADN / RN program. I will start the first nursing course (which is only a theory course) in the fall (hopefully), with the first clinical course in January 2011.
But sometimes I think, what if I finally get there, and am not good at clinicals? How can you really know?
Has anyone had this concern, and got to clinicals and felt much better (hopfully I will!). I just feel like I am so invested in this, both financially and emotionally (as I have always wanted to be a nurse), that I really want it to work. If you start out a bit rough at clinicals, does practice make perfect, or is it an innate thing: you either have it or you don't. Somewhat of a philisophical question, but definitely has real-life implications!
Anyone care to please provide some encouragement and/or share their experience?
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
i am confused how to reply to other people's posts!!??
Are you meaning to like quote a specific person?? On the right hand side at the bottom of someones post there is a quote button. Hit that and it will quote a specific post. Or you can just do a general reply by hitting post reply on the left hand side after the last post on a thread. You can quote multiple posts but best to start off simple if this is what you are asking.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Yes, practice makes perfect! The more you do, the more you will get comfortable with. We ALL shake in our shoes that first day of walking into clinicals which is why I think they start us out in LTC.
Some random things that I think help in clinicals? Common sense, people skills (humor helps if it's appropriate, we all know there are times when it's not!) and most of all, try not to let the pt know you are nervous! I mostly waited until after a procedure to tell the pt it was my first time and most of the time they were like "really!" But all of these things will come to you as you start getting comfortable talking to pt and having people looking over your shoulder constantly while you are doing something!
The part I bolded in my opinion is KEY!!!! If you have a good rapport with your patient, the rest is gravy because even if you do screw up they will be right there to laugh with you and will be a good sport about it. I have gotten many compliments from nurses and instructors about how good I am with the patients. I am all about the humor. In fact, the hardest patients I face are the ones with no sense of humor. (granted like pointed out, when appropriate). But you go in and break the ice and feel the patient out and go from there.
If you can build a good rapport with your patients you will have a very successful time in clinical and as a nurse I feel.
I have only had my CI instructor receive one complaint and I was shocked by it, the nurse felt I was TO FRIENDLY with the patients. My CI was asking me about it because she said that she was very impressed with the times she was in with me how at ease I was with the patient. I was totally shocked, and in the end we concluded that maybe the nurse had issues because the patient appeared to be more comfortable with me. I didn't get in trouble or anything but I thought it was a bunch of BS and as soon as my CI told me I knew exactly what she was talking about. Anyway, back to the point. Get good with your patients when you can. Some you will never be able to get through, but never stop trying.
You hear so many people talk about how bad this patient is and will set off just a negative impression about them. Then you can find out, the patient is just needing a little TLC and you as the student will have the time to give it to them. Sometimes when the patient is being a pain and on the bell a lot, there is something else going on.
I do kinda belief it may be an inate thing. I see girls who are just naturals and some who just don't get the patient care aspect. I'm in my second round of clinicals now, and go into each one scared! It is intimidating as the pressure that's on you. But just as I enter everyday scared I do always leave feeling fufilled.
I do kinda belief it may be an inate thing. I see girls who are just naturals and some who just don't get the patient care aspect. I'm in my second round of clinicals now, and go into each one scared! It is intimidating as the pressure that's on you. But just as I enter everyday scared I do always leave feeling fufilled.
Well yeah, but you don't know if the "girls who are naturals" go into each one scared as well.
You really won't know until you're there. For me it takes me awhile to get comfortable at something. I'm in my 2nd semester and I remember last semester we only had 6 weeks of clinical because the first half we were in the lab learning skills. Well....6 weeks was nothing. I didn't start getting comfortable until week 5 or 6. And even then I was still fumbling, lol. Anyway good luck! Remember whatever you're feeling....we've all been there. :)
Are you meaning to like quote a specific person?? On the right hand side at the bottom of someones post there is a quote button. Hit that and it will quote a specific post. Or you can just do a general reply by hitting post reply on the left hand side after the last post on a thread. You can quote multiple posts but best to start off simple if this is what you are asking.
Hope that helps.
yes that's what I mean! I'm new to the site..and I cannot find my way around it easy! But thank you!
Oh one question..if someone replies to what you have said..should you just come back everyday and chack if someone replied to you or do you get notified in some way?
Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.
yes that's what I mean! I'm new to the site..and I cannot find my way around it easy! But thank you!
Oh one question..if someone replies to what you have said..should you just come back everyday and chack if someone replied to you or do you get notified in some way?
:) thakx again!
You can set up your account to receive email notifications for responses to threads you have posted in. To do this, click on My Account located at the top of each page in the yellow bar. Click on Edit Options and that will take you to a screen that will allow you set up your Messaging and Notifications options. You will have to provide an email address to which the email notifications can be sent.
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Instead of shadowing a nurse for our first Med/Surg clinic day, we were partnered up. It was a good way to throw us in and give us a life-preserver at the same time.
I was so scared before my first clinic (at an LTC), and now I look back at it and giggle. All we had to do was talk to the patient and help with ADL's.
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~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN
5,259 Posts
Are you meaning to like quote a specific person?? On the right hand side at the bottom of someones post there is a quote button. Hit that and it will quote a specific post. Or you can just do a general reply by hitting post reply on the left hand side after the last post on a thread. You can quote multiple posts but best to start off simple if this is what you are asking.
Hope that helps.