Looking for some inspiration!!!

I'm sorry you are having a rough time. You mentioned in your post that clinicals last semester went well. Are there any nurses that mentored you last semester that you could contact for some encouragement and support? Good luck!!!

I can remember my first quarter last year in clinicals, I was so ready to walk away. A year later, 7 weeks from graduation and I am so proud that I did not walk away! It will get easier for you. I still get nervous when I am in a new facility. Good Luck!!

Ok...I usually write on a paper & carry it with me for what has to be done & the time next to it....I put a box next to it so as I go I check the box..so I can just look at the paper & see that I have x, y, & z to do at this time & so forth. I also set time limits as well...like say meds at 8 am then breakfast (pt.) at 830 am, am care 9am and with the meds I put each med name down & have a box next to it to check off...I am the most unorganized person but everyone else thinks I am the most organized..lol.....you can do it! Don't get too upset & throw it all away. Is your instructor making you nervous????? I used to be the most nervous but not any more! You'll get over that as you get older, you'll see. Just don't do or say anything to make yourself stick out to your instructor because then you could be a target for him/her.;....trust me I have seen it. Good luck & remember...breathe!!!

I think criticism is part of nursing school. I am going into my 3rd semester and along the way have cried many times after clinicals. I didn't want to quit though because, like you said, I had already put much time and effort into it and I want to do NICU more than anything...not med/surg. I figure I could use the criticism to my advantage to become a better nurse. If your instructor told you that you needed to be more organized, make yourself a chart of times, etc. Prove your instructor wrong and show her you can do it. Relax and take some deep breaths and then figure out what you need to do to move on. You can totally do this!! Good luck.

I think criticism is part of nursing school. I am going into my 3rd semester and along the way have cried many times after clinicals. I didn't want to quit though because, like you said, I had already put much time and effort into it and I want to do NICU more than anything...not med/surg. I figure I could use the criticism to my advantage to become a better nurse. If your instructor told you that you needed to be more organized, make yourself a chart of times, etc. Prove your instructor wrong and show her you can do it. Relax and take some deep breaths and then figure out what you need to do to move on. You can totally do this!! Good luck.

:yeahthat: ..I did this too..and maybe even show your chart to the instructor so he/she will see that you are serious about your career in nursing & that you want to succeed..good luck!

I am a senior in a BSN program and the summer off has been great to re set my nerves and get ready for the last year of clinicals. I find that many of my classmates have benefited from team work aproach and helping each other to cover all the bases and each others back sides when the instructors would get ultra critical and single out one student or another for harsh critisism. What has also helped is having pre and post conferences at each clinical session so that everyone understood going in what was expected and what the work load would be. We were not allowed any missed clinical days in our program. A missed clinical causes you to have to wait a full year and restart again with the junior class comming in. In order to survive, we worked a system of team work. Then when we as a team would discover that student "A' was expected to do something she was not physically able to due to her pregnancy, or student "B" had a terrible sleepless night because she was sick and throwing up and could not focus on her duty we could work around it as a group so that everyone passed and made it thru the excercises. Many clinical sessions I ended up caring for 3 or 4 patients in addition to the one assigned to me. Although it caused me to be called "a work horse" by our instructors, it gained me the respect of being the team leader and the respect for "gettin it all done on time and right the first time" for our 9 member unit. I say keep your head up, never quit, and use ALL your available resouces to survive the program. There is strenth in numbers, and in the real world very few nurses work alone in a vaccume. Build these skills now to go with your book work and it will help your carreer in the long run. You can do this!

You just have to get more organized like you instructor said. I have a palm pilot, I plan to use it to the fullest to get organized. I wish you well.

the clipboard with a piece of paper that has been divided columns/boxes:

Patient - Meds - PRNs - Treatments - Comments

was helpful for me

don't think that I missed anything when using it - no one ever mentioned anything missing while I was working with this method

I couldn't make it without my "brain"...a simple form I printed out each day of clinical. I'd carry it in my pocket and check off tasks/txs/meds as I completed them.

brain.doc

you may be one of those nurses who needs to make lists(to do, meds,etc) and check them off for tasks.

I was one of those nursing assistants and now an RN. It has helped me in my past 18 years-I have a much abbreviated form now though........