What were your clinicals like?

1. 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

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2. 

   About FarainFlorida

   Joined: Oct '05; Posts: 14

   23 Comments

   Topic Closed

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3. 
   Oct 12, '05

   Hmmm... let's see... I spent:
   
   8 weeks in LTC
   4 weeks in OB
   4 weeks in Med-Surg
   8 weeks in a OB practice
   
   Nope - didn't prepare me AT ALL for what the job really is. BUT - don't panic... you can find jobs that will let you go slowly at first and learn what you need to. You just don't learn it all in school.
   
   Michelle
4. 
   Oct 13, '05

   8 weeks in a long term facility
   8 weeks in a medsurg unit of a major hospital
   8 weeks in a clinic setting floating to various departments
   8 weeks on our own basically somewhere of our choosing--some folks did rehab nursing, I ended up in another medsurg unit.
   
   I think all my clinicals were very real life, except for the long term care. We only had one or two patients at a time and did everything for them. In real life, a nurse may have up to 30 patients at a time and spends majority of time passing meds, doing some treatments, and paperwork.
5. 
   Oct 14, '05

   what is an OB practice? simulator? clinic? thanks for your input.
   Fara
6. 
   Oct 14, '05

   did you do any OB or Peds (hospital setting?) how long in each? Thanks for your response.
   Fara
7. 
   Oct 17, '05

   I did 2 weeks in labor/delivery
   2 weeks LTC/subacute
   400 hours telemetry floor
   400 hours regular med/surg floor
   100 hours school nurse's office: HS & special ed. schools
8. 
   Oct 17, '05

   Well that sounds nice, it looks like we're doing 2 weeks of a nursing home for first clinical, a nursing home for second clinical, and then a day care for peeds. I hate my program.
9. 
   Oct 17, '05

   why do you hate it? what state are you in?
10. 
    Oct 17, '05

    I'm in florida. I can't do much learning with someone looking over my shoulders. I'm now a new nurse and doing fine with a great preceptor.
    
    10 weeks between LTC/hospital
    14 weeeks Med/Surge
    14 weeks Psych
    14 weeks OB/ PEDS (same semester)
    10 weeks practicum in ICU
11. 
    Oct 17, '05

    Thanks for your input, I am collecting data from around the country because I run a PN program in Florida. All insight is appreciated and helpful.
    Fara
12. 
    Oct 17, '05

    I'm in MN. Not all LPN programs in MN are like this but this one sucks. For clinical one we're going to be at a nursing home for 2 weeks, for clinical 2 we'll be at another nursing home for 2 weeks, and for clinical 3 we'll be either at a pediatric clinic or a day care that is 2 hours drive away from here, for one week.
    
    The reason I don't like my program is that the instructors are focusing soley on the age 65 and older group. They say nothing about hospital care or clinical care- it's specifically nursing home. Everything we learn is in relation to nursing homes. They even say "when you graduate and get working in your nursing homes..." she even said of clinical one: "you'll just shadow the aides and pretty much do what they do." Not trying to be high and mighty but I didn't pay 2500 dollars to be an aide. When I became an aide I didn't have to take pharm, or med-surg. We get no choice in where we go, what time we go, (we could be there at night) and we find out where we're going about 2 days before clinical starts which is sucky for those who work afternoons. I realize in the real world one must be flexible...but that also means the school must be too. I know they must use LPN's outside of nursing homes...but how are we to get jobs when we have no externship or get to choose where we go? We need expereince in the places we want to work, and not all of us want to work in nursing homes... other LPN programs offer clinicals at many MANY other places...but for some reason this one doesn't.
13. 
    Oct 18, '05

    I live in MissississippiI enjoyed my clinical experience, we spent 2 week at one nursing home and then 2 weeks at another and then we went to the local hospital. Some students were in the floor and then others were sent to specialty areas(ER, Surgery, GI lab,) for 2-3 days and everyone rotated.
14. 
    Nov 6, '05

    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.

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