Importance of Nursing School Clinicals?

Quidam · Apr 6, 2010

Sometimes they are disorganized...sometimes hodge podge describes the experience perfectly. In the end, you get out what you put in. Focus on learning something from each clinical experience. Research whatever disease process your current patients have. Look at what labs are being done on those particular patients and try to connect the dots as to how these labs monitor this disease process.

I think clinicals are invaluable. You get a feel for the ebb and flow of different units, get comfortable with being hands on with your patients, get comfortable with the different personalites you encounter, and the different disciplines involved in day to day care. Being familiar with equipment will help you tremendously once you graduate. Get your hands on as much as you can. Do as many procedures as possible.

I am a new nurse, since January and yes, I am still learning how to be a nurse. But without my clinical experiences I would be so far behind in the learning curve.

Don't stress over how clinicals are done, just be grateful for the opportunities and make the best of whatever is set before you. You will be glad you did.

redraider1977 · Apr 6, 2010

Thanks, I am still getting acclimated to direct patient care.

smarti15 · Apr 6, 2010

The best thing you can do is learn everything you can in this closely monitored environment. Clinicals gives you the opportunity to get a feel for giving the care that you read about in your textbooks. When a clinical rotation gets a little crazy, just remember that your instructor is trying to give each student some hands on instruction. Your turn is there to glean the knowledge, you just might have to wait out the crazies for a bit

wahwahgerman · Apr 6, 2010

How important are they in terms of learning to be a nurse? I have heard some say that you learn to be a nurse after nursing school. Im just finding them to be hodge podge and unorganized. Opinions?

I can't speak for everyone, but for me, I learned more during the clinicals than I could have in a year's worth of classes. There is nothing like caring for a patient with a half dozen (or dozen) of the illnesses you read about....not to mention seeing the effects of medications on a human. Plus, becoming familiar with all the tubes, treatments, and everyday cares is not something you can truly understand from reading alone!

guiltysins · Apr 6, 2010

I agree with the first poster. I think people look too much into clinicals and say "Well I didn't learn anything" or "you learn most on the job". That's true, but there are other things to get out of clinicals. Exposure to different environments, even if you're just observing you can see things being done. Also getting use to interacting with the patient, learning how to chart, hospital policies ect.

50caliber · Apr 6, 2010

It is what it is. You get a taste of what to expect in the real world in terms of skills, organization, and working in hospital environment. Just enough so you know what to expect when you get out there. Don't expect to learn or see everything cause that is not humanly possible. Just be grateful you have this opportunity.

Blackheartednurse · Apr 6, 2010

Honestly, you start to learn more after finishing school...You can actually see the theory in practice rather than scattered pieces of information that you gain in nursing school.

Blackheartednurse · Apr 6, 2010

Sometimes they are disorganized...sometimes hodge podge describes the experience perfectly. In the end, you get out what you put in. Focus on learning something from each clinical experience. Research whatever disease process your current patients have. Look at what labs are being done on those particular patients and try to connect the dots as to how these labs monitor this disease process.
I think clinicals are invaluable. You get a feel for the ebb and flow of different units, get comfortable with being hands on with your patients, get comfortable with the different personalites you encounter, and the different disciplines involved in day to day care. Being familiar with equipment will help you tremendously once you graduate. Get your hands on as much as you can. Do as many procedures as possible.
I am a new nurse, since January and yes, I am still learning how to be a nurse. But without my clinical experiences I would be so far behind in the learning curve.
Don't stress over how clinicals are done, just be grateful for the opportunities and make the best of whatever is set before you. You will be glad you did.

But the truth is you dont really have the time to look up too many things in school..All your time is preocuppied with either studing for exams or writing long care plans,at least that was my experience..I'm not trying to devaluate clinicals but I really do believe nursing school doesnt not prepare you for the real world and one must continue to study.

Up2nogood RN, RN · Apr 6, 2010

But the truth is you dont really have the time to look up too many things in school..All your time is preocuppied with either studing for exams or writing long care plans,at least that was my experience..I'm not trying to devaluate clinicals but I really do believe nursing school doesnt not prepare you for the real world and one must continue to study.

To the OP if you do take the time to look things up in school it really will help the pieces come together and easier to connect the dots. And in a way that's like studying for an exam. I found it's easier to apply what I learn when I have a real example to remember it by.

Be assertive in clinicals, ask questions and if certain procedures need to be done that you want or need to do. Realistically you won't get to try everything you need but basics like injections should be mastered by the time you're done with school. You'll get Orientated to a new grad position but a preceptor should not be there to Teach that's why nursing school is called school and a job a job. And in this economy you'll want to be one of the new grads who is ready.

Quidam · Apr 6, 2010

But the truth is you dont really have the time to look up too many things in school..All your time is preocuppied with either studing for exams or writing long care plans,at least that was my experience..I'm not trying to devaluate clinicals but I really do believe nursing school doesnt not prepare you for the real world and one must continue to study.

I don't know about you, but preparing care plans helped me tremendously in understanding patho. I DID look up the disease my patients had. I correlated the signs & symptoms the patient was having with the expected signs and symptoms of whatever the disease or disorder was. In listing my labs, I looked those tests up to see what was being tested for so I could understand what the abnormals meant.

Care plans were a pain, but I learned so much doing them.

I still study, there are many things I look up and research just because I want to know and it will enhance my practice as a nurse. I think I will forever study in this field. An example is last night I looked up why metformin is prescribed for PCOS. Had I seen that in practice I would have been confused. I saw it mentioned here on allnurses and made the effort to research it so now I will know. There have been other instances when a Physician has ordered a test and I did not understand why. So I look it up.

But without my solid educational foundation, I would not even be able to begin to put the pieces together. I would be struggling daily. I work in acute care area, and see a variety of disease processes. I have been on my own for 3 weeks now, and although I struggle with time management, the rest of my practice seems to be going well. I am told I am doing well, and I strive to constantly do better. I embrace every learning opportunity that comes my way. But that is what I did in school as well.

So...to the OP don't wait to learn to be a nurse once you have a job. Your employers will expect you to have a solid foundation of knowledge. They will not teach you patho, they will not teach you labs, they will not teach you critical thinking. That is what school and clinicals are for. Be a self directed learner. Bring a solid knowledge base to the table and you will be more successful in your first position. It is hard, and I constantly feel inadequate in comparison to experienced nurses. But I am proud of what I do know, unafraid to say when I don't know, and I am proactive in advancing my knowledge base.

Just my .30 or .40 cents worth. :)

Hopeful2011 · Apr 6, 2010

Clinicals are important for many reasons, but if for no other reason.. I agree with the other posters.. definitely spend the time to look at all of your patient's chart .. and think about the information.. for example.. I had a patient who was diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis, and one of his labs was a white blood cell count that was normal.. and at first I thought "Why in the world is his white blood cell count on this lab report?".. and then I went back and read the doctor's progress notes and realized that when the patient came into the emergency room.. in order to figure out the diganosis.. the white blood cell count was ordered so that the doctors could rule out infection or sepsis of any kind for a reason for the patient's symptoms...

You really have to look at everything and make the connections... I know right now we (nursing students) are all scrambling to get our paperwork done and study for exams.. and to keep our heads above water.. but in my opinion clincals are invaluable and each patient teaches you something... so just take each patient you get to encounter as a learning opportunity.. because once we're RN's we won't have 1 patient to spend 8 hours with...

Good luck!