How does nursing school and clinicals work?

applesxoranges, BSN, RN · Mar 24, 2014

It depends on your school.

We only had lab the first semester and then random competencies the rest of the semester where we would meet in the lab and get evaluated on some skills. We also had the human patient simulator classes for about 3 hours once a semester. Our school had clinicals once a week and it was for about 8 to 10 hours a day depending on where you were. Our classes were not 8-5. They were usually 3 hours twice a week per class so if you did something like adult health, patho, and pharm, then you were in class for 9 hours that week. The lab was four hours. Some did lecture online but they had to take tests, go to the HPS, and lab sessions on campus.

Nursing labs were easier at my school than A&P labs. However, you did your practical skills in labs like IV starts, NG tubes, physical assessment, etc then you could do it in the clinical setting.

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Mar 25, 2014

Labs at my school were not as hard or structured as labs in my science prereqs. In nursing school, labs consisted of watching the instructor use a mannequin to demonstrate something and then usually we would have to do a demonstration of the same procedure in order to get checked off.

We had to read our books and also make sure we followed the steps to do a procedure that were listed in the books. Lab days usually also meant a lot of unstructured time milling around.

Our lab and lecture days were all 8 hour days. 3 days of 8 hr clinicals and 2 days of 5-9 hour lecture.

mrsboots87 · Mar 25, 2014

That does seem like a lot. Is it an accelerated program? We have lecture for 4.5 hours a week and lab for 6.5 hours a week, with clinical for 9 hours a week. Then we have random clinical sim lab days in the school "hospital". Plus the time at the clinical site spend researching the patient and then starting the careplan. Lab for nursing school is not really like science labs. My science labs were dissecting things, chemical labs, looking at body parts and bones and such. Nursing labs (at my school) are sometimes just lecture about pharmacology (we don't have a separate pharm class), or lecture about assessment or body systems and their pathos and meds and such. And some lab days are spent learning and practicing skills like PO meds, assessment, catheter, injections, wound care, ADL's and such (I'm first block right now). Not really science except for pharm content. Just lecture about skills or pharm, or practicing skills.

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Mar 25, 2014

That does seem like a lot. Is it an accelerated program?

It was 12 months so yes I guess that was accelerated. But there are no part time programs on my area, some programs are a little longer. We had no breaks either!

LoriRNCM, ADN, ASN, RN · Mar 25, 2014

You do things in lab and get checked off on them before being allowed to do them on an actual patient in clinical. So injections, dressing changes, etc...... lab first, then clinical. One day a week clinicals for us for the 1st two semesters but that will change next year.

ambitiousBSN · Mar 25, 2014

It depends on your program. For my first semester, we were in the lab for the entire semester, but we didn't begin clinical until 8 weeks into the semester, but after clinical began, we still met for lab once a week to continue learning skills. This semester, we really don't do much in the lab except for the first week, and then maybe one or two times for specific skills, but we have open lab opportunities to continue practicing as needed.

NursingGirl0726 · Mar 26, 2014

It does depend on your school and their specific program. At my school the labs are practice scenarios where we learn and perfect skills that we then carry forward into clinicals which is the actual patient setting. My first semester we had lectures that corresponded with the lab material which worked really nicely because I am a hands on learner.

As far as labs go, my A&P labs were mostly worksheets and a little bit of hands on material in addition to that. My experiences with labs in nursing school have been much more hands on. They've basically been imitating the patient care setting but with mannequins rather than actual patients.

It will be a lot but I promise that you will be surprised how fast it goes and how much you can accomplish while doing it. Take it one day at a time :)