I need help with LBCC clinicals!

labrador4122, RN · Oct 4, 2008

I've going to be a new RN student, and the one thing that I'm nervous about is the clinicals during the first 9wks of the program. Changing poop, , and seeing naked adults probably won't bother me. The thing that would bother me is how I would interact with sick patients.
How is the clinical like? What should I focus on so I won't fail the clinical part? And if you fail the clinical part, can you remediate?
Please help me!
Thanks Alot,
noraneka

Noraneka,

I can tell you that I used to feel the same way as you back in the day when I started my first semester of nursing school.

I was very nervous about seeing adult patients (I was a peds nursing assistant), nervous if I would do something wrong infront of my teacher--- like not making a bed the right way....

but it's not as bad as you think it is. Taking care of sick adults is just like taking care of sick adults. THey need someone to talk to, they need their meds on time-- and they need their questions answered if they have any, and they need respect just like you and me and any other person.

Clinicals, your first semester you will do a lot of bed baths, vital signs, and assessment, and probably pass meds more towards the end of the term after you passed your medication competency test.

On the clinical you should focus on paying attention to instructions and follow instructions as you are told. Never give any meds by yourself always have your instructor and ask if you can give meds with an RN because teachers are your supervisors and you may get into trouble if you have the RN watch you. when you are in the nursing lab at school, pay attention to skills & practice with other classmates, because you will get tested on bed making, vital signs, assessments, on how to give meds, on how to get patients in and out of beds/wheel chairs.

If you fail the clinical part you probably will be able to make it up, but it all depends in your school. At my school we were only allow to fail 5 credits, a clinical was 1 credit, and a class was 2 credits. But most people passed except a few who failed the math test--- but that is at my school that doesn't allow the use of calculators that have been around since 1965 and are allowed to be used in the NCLEX-RN.

I hope that helped you!!