Med/Surg Clinical

[MBrickle]

So...tonight I began my med/surg clinical. It wasn't what I thought it would be.

It's not on a med/surg floor, and I got the impression that we would mainly be doing med passes - no wound care, etc. Now, I could be wrong...after all, something else has got to occupy the time in clinical other than med passes to one patient...and we DO have functional health assessments due (implying that at some point there would be a head-to-toe assessment...which intimidates me greatly b/c I have hearing issues so lung/bowel auscultation makes me very nervous)...but I kind of thought it would be more IVs, and dressing changes...

What experience has anyone else had here with their Med/Surg clinical? Also, for graduates, when did you feel it all came together for you, if at all? I just feel like we learn so much theory on how to do things, but never actually get to execute...does anyone else feel the same way? I guess I am just nervous that I am going to be incredibly under-skilled upon graduation.

[itsmejuli]

You didn't say how your expectations weren't met.

When I did clinical rotations there were plenty of days where we had next to nothing to do.

[CrunchyMama, ASN, RN]

I think it depends on the school and the professors. At my school it seems like instead of the professors having a set standard of doing things, they all do things their own way. Last semester which was my 1st semester, we were on a medsurg floor and within an hour of being there I was hanging an IV of antibiotics, giving an injection and passing meds. It was like that almost every week. Now some students I know with different instructors weren't hanging bags until their 3rd or 4th week. I'm GLAD I had an awesome professor that pushed us right in because the more experience you get, the better. Don't worry.....it'll get crazy before you know it. :)

[ncsportsfan]

It really depends on the program and what level you are on. If you are just beginning you have "crawl before you can walk". My first med surg rotation I felt like a CNA doing all the dirty work. If I was lucky I got to pass some meds.

Not every floor or unit offers quality student experiences. My best advice is if you can't do, then watch what the nurse does. If she hangs a bang follow that nurse, if she does a dressing change watch her. Don't be afraid to ask your instructor about the expectations, goals and oppurtunies available for your learning experience.

It really came together for me my last rotation. I was confident and my instructor was confident in my abilities. But I was prepared I thought about everything I had to do and had a plan for my routine, whether or not I was able to stick to it may have been something different but just having a plan really helped.

[mammac5]

In my experience it depends a lot on the hospital where you're doing clinicals. I've been in several hospitals for different rotations and each agency is different. Some hospitals don't allow us to do anything other than ADLs and po meds. Some hospitals set us loose and it's all up to the instructors' discretion.

One rotation I had very little to do and a whole lot of time on my hands. I really didn't want to be that nursing student who stood around in the hallway or sat down somewhere to read, but I don't know how else to get through 12 hours of nothing to do -- especially when we were at a hospital that obviously did not want students there and did now allow us to do anything other than vitals and chart review.