Management/Leadership/Delegation - what to expect?

[chinacatSN]

Hi, everyone!

I'm in the LAST 4 weeks of my PN program, set to enter the ADN program this June (I got accepted, yay!). Anyway, the last 4 weeks of clinical are called the Management, Leadership, and Delegation phase of our clinical experience. I don't know if other schools do this or not, so I'll briefly describe it:

Instead of the usual thing, where each student gets 1 or 2 patients and cares for them on their own, each clinical group (8 nursing students) will be given a group of patients at a nursing home (don't know how many patients - won't find out until the first day) and then each student is given a role: charge nurse, team leader (like an RN but without RN scope of practice), PN, or CNA. The goal is to teach us how to manage, lead, and delegate effectively. The charge nurse needs to know everyone's scope of practice and not ask anyone to go outside that scope. The charge nurse also is responsible for everything that happens - ADLs, med pass, safety, etc. The charge nurse should check over the meds before they are passed to prevent med errors. The charge also makes assignments - who has which residents, who passes meds for which residents, who does which treatments for which residents, etc. The Team Leader (TL) is basically the go-between for the charge and the PNs and CNAs. The TL is in charge if/when the charge goes on break. Our instructors will be there, but they are not allowed to say or do anything unless a resident's or student's safety is at risk. They can problem solve with us, but must not give any answers. We are to do everything on our own. If a MD needs called/faxed, the charge is supposed to speak with the facility staff to facilitate the call or fax.

So, if anyone's school is/has done this, do you have any tips or suggestions? I'm not really nervous for myself, because I've been a CNA for so long and I've seen how real-life nurses handle things, I'm nervous to be working with my classmates and being accountable for their actions as well as my own - especially since there are a few in my group who don't seem to understand the simplest task from someone (our instructor) who has experience in management/leadership/delegation! Any suggestions or tips are welcome! Thanks in advance!