I don't enjoy going to clinical

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Hey!

I am in my first year of actual nursing school, and mostly through my first clinical experience. We began in a care home, which I did not enjoy. We are in the hospital now, but I just don't feel excited going. I really enjoyed the patient I had last week, but I am not looking forward to going back.

Any of your experiences would be helpful.

Cheers,

S

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Clinical is one thing I actually enjoyed. I can't comment on the hospital portion, as we go there next semester, but for LTC I enjoyed both the good and bad parts.

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Clinic blows. We are mostly unpaid CNAs who give meds. (Sometimes hours late because we have to wait for our instructors to give out the meds) We also only go to peds and Med-surg for the whole program. Two areas I have no desire to work in. And then there is the ridiculous waste of time that is the care plans. And our instructors are really big on proper NANDA garbage.

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I HATED clinical my first semester. I went home crying every day. I am in my last semester now and I don't exactly LOVE it, but I do enjoy giving care to my patients. Being a nurse is extremely different than clinical. Just hand in there, things will improve.

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Specializes in Neuro.

Finished my first semester of clincals and about 50% of the time I did not enjoy it. The other 50% I can't really say I enjoyed, but, it was interesting and/or I actually learned something or got to do a skill--which is why we are really there aren't we.

To be fair part of the lack luster feeling of clinical is feeling incompetent and having moments of down time not being able to actively do something. What I have learned with the limited amount of things we were able to do was to appreciate the work of the CNAs. Getting those patients up and down to the bathroom and caring for them at times was a marathon.

Careplans are a thorn in my side, but, I see why they want us to do them. Whether we like it or not we actually learn a thing or two while doing them.

I just see these as a right of passage, want to be a nurse, do the time in clinical, try to learn as much as you can and hope the day goes productively and quickly.

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Specializes in 15 years in ICU, 22 years in PACU.
I HATED clinical my first semester. I went home crying every day. I am in my last semester now and I don't exactly LOVE it, but I do enjoy giving care to my patients. Being a nurse is extremely different than clinical. Just hand in there, things will improve.

Adjust your expectations. Whoever said you were to "love" clinicals?

It's an observation/learning experience of the most basic kind. I think of it more as placing your hand on a window to see how heavy a coat you need. You are not given any significant responsibility in clinicals but you can see the structure of the environment you may eventually be in when you do have real professional and legal responsibilities.

Using my example: who wants to stand around with their hand on a window when what they really want to do is get out there and play in the snow? (assuming you like snow!)

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I think that is true... You hear a lot of people being so excited for clinical, and I worry because I am just not excited. In fact, there are a few people in my clinical group who dislike going as much as I do... But you are right about it being a learning experience... We see on TV (ie, Grey's Anatomy) that the new doctors are so excited to go and learn things in their residency program.

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There were a lot of clinicals I hated. One I came home from and called my mom and told her I was intent on dropping out...luckily my mom talked me down. Another time I hated it so much that when it came time for lunch I called my mom crying saying that "this time I was for sure dropping out...this IS NOT for me"...again, she talked me down.

I always felt so incompetent. I was always so good in class, getting good grades on tests and always aced my care plans. It was just actual clinical made me feel so useless!! Other than those 2 clinical rotations, for the most part it was okay. The only clinical rotation I actually enjoyed going to was peds, which I didn't expect. I am a single mother and I have always loved kids, but I didn't think I'd like peds because I didn't want to see sick kids, or have to give them shots, etc. The reason I enjoyed it so much was (1) I had a great group of students in the clinical rotation with me and (2) thanks to a WONDERFUL RN!! She was the best RN I had ever worked with during clinical. Instead of picking patients based on a disease or health issue I was learning in class and wanted hands on experience with, I chose patients based on the fact that they had that RN assigned to them! She was so wonderful, so helpful, and never made me feel incompetent.

Stick with it! As other posters have said, there isn't much students get to do. It's mostly to introduce you to the environment.

As for care plans, while they are time consuming, they definitely have a point. It helps us learn about disease processes, patho, signs and symptoms expected with certain things, nursing interventions, and allows you to start thinking critically once you see what your patients signs and symptoms are and if and how they relate to that nursing diagnosis. When I did my practicum, I watched my assigned RN pick nursing diagnoses and check them off or chart notes about them at the end of each shift. So, it made sense in relation to that as well.

Good luck!

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I hated it too! My clinical experience was really all about cleaning up patients and occasionally giving medications and then hiding in a spare room the rest of the time so I could study for my next nursing test. Clinical was always very boring and menial tasks to me. My preceptorship got a whole lot more exciting because I did one month night shift in a trauma hospital E.R. and that is when the fun truly began for me. I NEVER worked med/surg or tele. It was NOT for me. I only worked E.R., O.R., and ICU the most during my 10-year career and I loved it. You may just not be a regular floor-nurse. But you will find somewhere that fits your personality.

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There has got to be a much more efficient and productive way to learn then this though. I would love to here any innovations some schools are trying. One on one mentorship seems like a better option.

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Specializes in Critical care.
We see on TV (ie, Grey's Anatomy) that the new doctors are so excited to go and learn things in their residency program.

Grey's is fake, fake, fake. I think the only really true thing is how they try not to kill patients. I'm really shaking my head at that statement. Working in a hospital is NOTHING like Grey's or any of the other fictional medical shows (which I do like to watch and call out all the BS). I work in the ICU of a teaching hospital, so I work with residents everyday I'm at work. Residents can be pretty oblivious and one-minded- in my short time I've stopped some from probably killing a patient or two.

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I apologize for the misunderstanding, but to clarify, I was only comparing to Grey's Anatomy as an example of the passion the doctor's felt, and not the work that they did. I realize real hospitals are not like Grey's Anatomy, now, and before I was a nursing student. I thank you for your input though.

S

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