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I'm in my last semester of nursing school and will be doing preceptorship for about 5 weeks to get 120 clinical hours. In the beginning of the semester, we got to choose 3 units that we would like to do our preceptorship in. I chose Cardiac Progressive Care unit, because I love cardiac and that is where I did my advanced med surge clinical last semester, IMICU, and ICU (which I kind of didn't want to do but I couldn't find anything else to put down). The only unit I was sure I wanted was CPCU. All in all, I just wanted a floor I will learn a lot in and grow. I was very disappointed to find I was assigned same day surgery, which is nothing close to what I put down (the instructor did say we might not get what we want and it is based on what is available). I'm really unhappy with this because I don't think I'm going to learn a lot and I personally don't think this is a good unit to put a student nurse who needs to learn. I went to talk to my instructor about this and she basically tried to tell me I get out of it what I put into it. I emailed the dean of my SON asking if he can find another assignment for me since speaking to my instructor didn't work. I honestly don't think there is any change that can be made at this point since we are starting preceptorship next week (she put out the assignment really late). I just fear that this assignment will limit my experience and growth as a nurse and I won't get to be the good nurse I want to be. I want to work on a normal med surge floor when I graduate and I think this outpatient floor isn't going to prepare me well. Any advice or similiar experiences? It feels like I'm getting the short end of the stick. Thanks
I think it is true, you get out of it what you put it. I work in psych. We have a lot of students come through and we know most of them do not want to be there. I tell each and every one, if you are open to the experience, you'll get a lot of it. I also tell them they will see psych pt wherever they go in nursing, you can escape them! :)
You have to be open and have a willingness to learn. While I understand this is not your first choice, you might be surprised at how much you learn and find you might enjoy it. Just be open and be grateful for any experience that the nurses you will be working with give you.
Whining isn't a good look for anyone. I feel like this post warrants some tough love, so here it goes:
Stop whining, keep your head down and just do the best you can on the unit you are assigned. Plain. And. Simple. Additionally, why don't you think you'll learn?
Finally, I think it was a bad move to whine to your dean, especially after already whining to your instructor.
Suck it up. It's only five weeks. Pass the NCLEX and then you'll have the privilege of applying to jobs you really want.
gennn19, BSN, RN
74 Posts
Although not the same, I did an externship where I rotated to different units and I have to say--PACU was my favorite hands down! Like other posters said above, you won't really be doing much as a student nurse in any unit anyway and you will learn the "real" nursing stuff after graduation. I say you should go in with an open mind. The PACU is FILLED with learning opportunities. PACU nurses conduct HTT/Vital sign assessments very frequently after surgery, you get to hear report from anesthesia, you get to see pain control at its finest (med admin opportunities) post-surgery, you get to be a pro at patient education and also many hospitals consider PACU an intensive care environment!! You can get any type of patient. Yes, same-day surgery isn't as acute, but honestly some patients can still decompensated. In my externship I remember once a patient was extremely bradycardic after a very simple surgery and they were trying to get him stable again. Anything can happen!!! At the very least, you will hone skills that are essential for med-surg nurses such as med-admin, charting, patient education, and head to toe/ vital signs assessment (all FOUNDATIONS of nursing) over and over again on the same day! I really do believe you'll have a wonderful experience and become a wonderful nurse after graduation!