What were your clinicals like?

Nursing Students LPN/LVN Students

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Did you do the majority of your clinicals in the hospital? If so, what portion? Do you find that the hospital setting prepared you for your current position? Would you have spent clinical time elsewhere if you knew then what you know now?

Keeping it real,

Fara:specs:

Our clinicals focus mostly on hospital, and we do one at a nursing home. We do med administration, med surg, OB, leadership, elder care, peds, plus they always get us short term things like flu shot clinics, assessments, bp clinics, etc. Most of our program focuses on the entire LPN scope of Practice, and works towards going on for RN. I would really hate a program that just focused on working in a nursing home :( That's awful for you, I'd say something to the director if I was you.

Interesting the responses to this thread from a director's perspective. It is true that only about 20% of LPNs work in hospitals but prefer to do their clinicals there. The geriatric, long term patient needs quality care as well. To the learn the processes of where the LPN is likely to be employed seems to be the most efficient use of program time. After all, these 20% who will work in hospitals will have programs available to them after graduation, what about the other 80% who will find themselves in long term care or home health?

hello, I am supposed to start the LPN program next winter at St paul college and after reading your post, I feel that I do not want to go to that school. I work at United Hospital and like you said, I do not really see student from Saint paul college. Most of the students that I see are from DCTC. I want to ask you for clinical 1, how many times a week do you have to go.

thanks

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Hmmm.....Let's see, because I have to think back approximately 1 year.

6 weeks in a nursing home.

8 weeks in sub-acute LTC.

8 weeks on a med-surg floor in 2 different hospitals.

4 weeks in a busy family practice clinic.

4 weeks doing postpartum/labor & delivery.

2 weeks at a cerebral palsy facility.

2 weeks at an LTC rehabilitation hospital.

4 weeks doing peds inpatient & teen outpatient.

Edit: clinical rotations don't prepare students for the real workplace, so don't expect much.

Specializes in OB (with a history of cardiac).

We had to go Mon-Thurs if we were in a night Clinical and Mon-Fri if in a day clinical. You get no choice in where you go, what time you go etc. They do not care- it is a horrible school and I'm sorry if I am offending any former SPTC grads out there but there is no justice in that school. The teachers lie, they cheat and there are CLIQUES- how mature of them. Come if you want, but seriously- in my opinion, and a few others' (one of whom can attest to this) it is a waste of time and money because you're not getting a taste of what you can do as an LPN outside the scope of NURSING HOME. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Oh yes, and we ARE getting people together to try and make a difference but from what I've heard from past folk, that's pretty futile.

WOW we did not get have the experience that many of ya'll have had.

First semester we spent 6 weeks nursing home.

Second semester we spent 5 weeks nursing home.

Third semester 3 days peds, 3 days L&D and 5 weeks Rhab center (our clincal group got lucky there) the other went to nursing homes.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
WOW we did not get have the experience that many of ya'll have had.

First semester we spent 6 weeks nursing home.

Second semester we spent 5 weeks nursing home.

Third semester 3 days peds, 3 days L&D and 5 weeks Rhab center (our clincal group got lucky there) the other went to nursing homes.

When I was in LVN school, our instructors gave a frank answer as to why the clinical sites might be less than optimal. They said that RN students are given priority status and usually receive the better clinical sites, whereas LVNs/LPNs usually go to whatever's remaining.
Specializes in OB (with a history of cardiac).
WOW we did not get have the experience that many of ya'll have had.

First semester we spent 6 weeks nursing home.

Second semester we spent 5 weeks nursing home.

Third semester 3 days peds, 3 days L&D and 5 weeks Rhab center (our clincal group got lucky there) the other went to nursing homes.

Did you per chance go to St. Paul Technical College?!:banghead:

Did you per chance go to St. Paul Technical College?!:banghead:

LOL no but I take it that you had similar clinicals? :chuckle

When I was in LVN school, our instructors gave a frank answer as to why the clinical sites might be less than optimal. They said that RN students are given priority status and usually receive the better clinical sites, whereas LVNs/LPNs usually go to whatever's remaining.

It was like that at our school as well. Although I enjoyed my clinical instructors & sites I just wish we had more areas to learn from.

We did our LTC stuff and it was boring as all get out. Then we did some more LTC stuff and it was boring as all get out. Then we went to acute care for 4 months solid and spent time in a lot of different departments with 2 solid months on med/surg. The floor where I did my med surg clinicals hired me b4 I graduated and Im still there 1.5 years later and loving it...

Our clinicals...were...interesting..aside from the fact that one of our instructors was on some kind of trip where she was screaming at the top of her lungs threatning to call security if one of our fellow students didnt leave because according to the teacher the student was 1 minute late...and on everyone else's clock INCLUDING the hospital she had well over 2 min. to spare. it was so bad the nurses heard across the hall and told us they were going to complain to our school because it wasnt right the way our teacher handled the situation.

talk about someone needing ativan :lol2:

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