LPN Clinicals

[J_nicole]

What does one usually learn or do during LPN clinicals? like what duties?

[leinasmom]

I don't know what state you are in, but I went to LVN school in Ca, in the bay area. I went to some great medical centers, such as, SFGH, Chinese Hospital, St. Lukes, VA...the list goes on..

What I learned depended on where I was placed and the goals you came up with along with your instructor. At St. Luke's I leaned to care for pt. in comas with tracheostomy. At Chinese I learned how to care for pt that do not speak English and still meet their care needs. At SFGH I leaned how to deal with a underserved population of pt. that had AIDS, cancer, hip fractures, strokes, mental illness and anything else you can think of. I lean how to insert a foley, dress different kinds of wounds, do pin care for ORIF, monitor chest tubes, glucose check and insulin coverage and how to pass meds.

You also learn a lot at school in your lab. But, what you learn I think is up to you.. If there is something that you have an interest in..let your instructor know, and when you are at clinical, remind them and jump in and do the skil you wihs to learn.

[Iridescent Orchid, CNA, LPN]

All in all, it depends on where you're placed and what's going on in that facility while you are in clinical rotation. My program gives us a skills check-off list the first semester that we must keep throughout the program. Everything that is on the check-off should be something that we have the chance to do, such as check placement of NG tubes, glucose testing/fingersticks, specimen collections of all sorts, various IV therapy duties, wound management, genitourinary, etc, etc.

I have just finished my first semester in a Senior Living Facility and I had to learn and do the job of a CNA and then some, as well as extract information from charts for care plans and databases for my patients. It's impossible to even begin to list everything that you learn while you're in clinical, but every single thing will be beneficial and exciting! Keep your eyes wide open and make sure you get into anything you can get your hands on! :)