How much clinical time to you get?

Nursing Students General Students

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Not so much hours in a day - although I am interested in that, but how many days per semester? all at once or spread out?

We started the 3rd week of class (2nd year - 1 semester - supposed to grad in May with ADN), we go once a week for 7 clinicals out of a 15 week semester. I don't think it enough. According to my instructor " I am just not where I need to be", I think it is lack of experience and it is taking me longer to get there (wasn't a CNA first - change of career from education).

So I was just curious if this is about the same amount of time everyone gets or what?

Sunny

Specializes in OB.

1st semester, 12 hours a week for 11 weeks total 132

2nd semester 12 hours a week for 13 weeks 156 total this total included

16 hours of Peds, 16 hours of OR

3rd semester 50 hours a month for Sept, OCt November and 1/2 dec

equal to 175 hours includes 32 hours of OB

4th semester, 120 hours of precepting, 36 hours of ICU/ER, 36 hours of Psych

total by the time I graduate will be 655 clinical hours

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LTC we had 6 clinicals. we do between 8-10 clinicals each for OB, psych, and peds. 12 clinicals med surg and 30 for synthesis ( I don't know yet what units synthesis is), but it is twice a week and our exit class. Each clinical before synthesis is 6 hrs... synthesis is 8 hr shifts.

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

I'm in a BSN program and we have 16 weeks of clinical each semester, nothing less--we start the very first day of class. We do 2x/week usually. So that is 32 clinicals a semester. Anywhere from 192-384 hours a semester. We are also required to have nursing volunteer hours (health fairs, flu vax clinics, etc) in order to graduate so that is even extra experience. I feel that we get a lot of experience actually.

Right now I am in OB clinicals and we are there from 6:30am till 7pm at a time --that makes for a ton of experience in a day (foleys, meds, full mom/baby assessments, PKUs, NICU, etc etc etc) but those are long days...I'm a wuss I guess, I'm ready for a hot bath by the time I get home ;) I love it though!

HTH

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Specializes in ER, CCU.

by the time i graduate i will have over 1,000 hours of clinical time!!

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2 times a week from 7:00am until 3:30 pm. Our second year we do 12 hour shifts twice a week.

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Specializes in NICU.

Semester 1 (fundamentals) - 96 hrs

Semester 2 (all med-surg) - 192 hrs

Semester 3 (pedi,ob,psych) - 288 hrs

Semester 4 (advanced nrsng) - 192 hrs

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Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.

I'm on the floor every other weekend from 7-3:30.

We are also doing 1 evening of clinical from 5-9.

There was 1 weekend where we had morning lecture and afternoon lab.

Our other labs are all done during the week.

Our classed are Tues, Thurs from 5-9 and so the labs will be schedule during that time along with lecture.

The state has a requirement for # of hours in clinical and # of hours in lecture. Our labs are counted as clinical. We meet the requirements.

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:bugeyes: It's kind of a relief knowing that other nursing schools don't seem to get any more clinical time than we do. We have four semesters a year, two of those being clinical; one community nursing clinical and one hospital. In our community rotation we had one week for obstetrics and two weeks in psyche (years two and three). The hospital clinicals amount to a six week rotation/year, although in year 4 we also get a 3 month rotation for our preceptorship. My colleagues and I frequently complain at how little clinical time we get as well...and when we're on clinical, we're suddenly supposed to know everything too. It's very frustrating and daunting to say the least. So far, I cope with it by telling myself to suit up, show up, do the best I can and just get through it! (Even though it feels like hell sometimes!)

Take care!

Entepe

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Specializes in Newborn ICU, Trauma ICU, Burn ICU, Peds.

Holy crow! I'm shocked! I did my LPN in 92 and my RN in 96, both times our clinicals were 24-30 hours per week. Except for the first rotation for the LPN, the LTC part. We went two 8hr days. After that, every class was some combination of going for a four or six hour day/evening to get our patient assignments and collect information, then two or three (depended on the subject) eight hour days and a final four hour day.

I cannot imagine coming out of school and feeling at all confident in my skills if I only had 8 or 12 hrs of patient care per week. I'd be scared poopless! At the same time I was in my ADN program, my cousin and my best friend were both attending local university (BSN) programs (one is a Big Ten school) and one had one 8 hr day of patient care, the other had one 12 hr day of patient care. My cousin (the 8 hr day) was able to place one foley in school and did NO other procedures, gave no injections, hung no IV meds. My friend did one simple dressing change and gave one IM injection, that's it. I did IM's SQ's, intradermals, complex dressing changes, total care, placed lots of foleys, NG's, dobhoffs, hung lots of IV meds, blood (with my instructor right there, of course), etc... I think clinical time is very important, but even if you have limited time, you have to stick your nose into whatever you can and beg, borrow and steal so that you can get to do as many procedures as possible.

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.
Holy crow! I'm shocked! I did my LPN in 92 and my RN in 96, both times our clinicals were 24-30 hours per week. Except for the first rotation for the LPN, the LTC part. We went two 8hr days. After that, every class was some combination of going for a four or six hour day/evening to get our patient assignments and collect information, then two or three (depended on the subject) eight hour days and a final four hour day.

I cannot imagine coming out of school and feeling at all confident in my skills if I only had 8 or 12 hrs of patient care per week. I'd be scared poopless! At the same time I was in my ADN program, my cousin and my best friend were both attending local university (BSN) programs (one is a Big Ten school) and one had one 8 hr day of patient care, the other had one 12 hr day of patient care. My cousin (the 8 hr day) was able to place one foley in school and did NO other procedures, gave no injections, hung no IV meds. My friend did one simple dressing change and gave one IM injection, that's it. I did IM's SQ's, intradermals, complex dressing changes, total care, placed lots of foleys, NG's, dobhoffs, hung lots of IV meds, blood (with my instructor right there, of course), etc... I think clinical time is very important, but even if you have limited time, you have to stick your nose into whatever you can and beg, borrow and steal so that you can get to do as many procedures as possible.

I'm in a BSN program and we get 24 hours a week of clinical, we get a ton of experience and I feel pretty confident. We have a clinical skills check off sheet. I'm in my second semester and have everything checked off already except post-mortum care. Oh and I haven't done a fecal impactation removal checked off...lol. Most of the complex wounds are handled by the Wound Care Team.

I think the bigger question is what are you doing at clinicals, not how many hours are you there for. I have met students that were at clinical for 24 hours a week yet the clinical instructor had them passing meal trays the whole time and following the RN around but got no actualy hands on experience.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
I think the bigger question is what are you doing at clinicals, not how many hours are you there for. I have met students that were at clinical for 24 hours a week yet the clinical instructor had them passing meal trays the whole time and following the RN around but got no actualy hands on experience.

That is an extremely valid point! You can spend all the time you want on the floor but if you aren't doing something in the way of nursing skills you might as well not be there.

My first semester was spent on a CHF unit. Most of our patients had a laundry list of diagnosis. I would spend hours researching. On the floor I spent a lot of time in the room and working. I had 1 patient near code. We were VERY close to having to call. The patient told my instructor and myself "thank god for you girls". She was a trach patient who wasn't getting O2 and the nurses didn't really get it. I ran & got my instructor who came in and after a few minutes saw what I was talking about.

I had such hands on experience with complicated patients. I was able to be VERY involved in their care.

Other students had their first semester on a med surg floor...actually the floor I'm on now. I can't believe how bored I am. These patients are EASY. Sure there are some here and there that are more involved but most aren't bad at all.

I certainly had more experience with complicated pts then the other students on other floors. Hopefully next semester I will get another challenging floor.

Hours don't always matter...hands on with actual skills do.

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Specializes in Gen Surg, Ortho, Urology, Vascular.

I'm in a 4 year BSN program. During the school year we get 2 or 3 8-12 hour shifts/week (depending on the rotation) for 7-10 weeks each term. In the summer we do 6-9 40 hour weeks, generaly on a medsurg floor.

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