Nervous about Clinicals

Jack245 · Feb 7, 2011

Everything will be fine.

The clinical portion of the class is simply to apply what you learned during lecture into actual practice. When I did it, the instructor did not have us do anything we had not at least discussed during class. What you might do, is review what you have learned, and write the steps down in a little notepad, just to make sure you do it correctly. Other than that, just relax, you're doing clinicals to learn, you're not expected to perform flawlessly just yet.

KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN · Feb 7, 2011

Yes, relax! It is a little nerve wrecking @ first, but you have nothing to worry about. Your instructor will walk you through everything, and also the aides on the floor will help you out too. You & your classmates will probably work in pairs once you do start doing procedures on the residents.

vtmainer · Feb 8, 2011

Thanks for the reassurance. I want to do well and hope I don't get too nervous and get "blank brain" under pressure, lol.

Jack245 · Feb 8, 2011

Even if you do, that's okay! That's what clinicals are for. You're not expected to know everything right away. As the clinicals progress you will get more comfortable, trust me ;-)

interceptinglight, CNA · Feb 8, 2011

I thought doing clinicals was fun, because there was no heavy pressure on you to do everything in a hurry and you had plenty of time to ask questions. You'll find that questions will come up that you never would have thought of in a classroom setting because you are actually doing it 'hands on' instead of just discussing it. You'll feel better about the job you're going to be doing because this will help prepare you.

vtmainer · Feb 8, 2011

Thank you all so much, your replies have helped. I'll be back to let you know how it went.

driveintothesun · Feb 9, 2011

The skills that CNA's perform are not any sort of foreign tasks. Everything we do as a CNA are things that relate to every day life. You know how to eat, take a bath, brush your teeth, make a bed, clean up a mess, etc, so now you're just applying those concepts and performing them on other people. Skills such as taking a blood pressure or getting the brief on the patient while they are still in bed are things that you can only master with practice- and no one expects you to be perfect at first (or even close). With time, you will be more comfortable working closely with other people, and more confident with your new skills.

Chamorrita671 · Feb 11, 2011

Everyone's clinical experience is different! I personally loved clinicals. It was the best 40 hours/week of my life. :) It was a wonderful learning experience - one that I am thankful for and the memories will stay with me always. Since you have completed the NA course, you should not be nervous. Trust me. They say 'knowledge is power'. This saying is not true!!! Knowledge is only power when you APPLY it! Clinicals is the time to apply all that you have learned in your NA class. You will do fine. A little word of advice is to BE ACTIVE! Learn all that you can and volunteer to do everything you can get your hands on! Do not just watch the CNA at work... request if you can do it... Jump in it, but most of all- HAVE FUN! :) ♥ You will do just fine, so hopefully this has calmed your nerves soome. Also, when it comes to your stateboards... be sure that you are proficient in performing your skills! You cannot afford to make any mistakes... especially in the real word. Take care.

-Desiree, CNA, CMAA, CBCS, MT, EHRS

nurse2b013 · Feb 11, 2011

I too was terrified for the first day of clinicals...and my program simply assigned you to a resident (by yourself), gave you a sheet of what needed done, and left you on your own with the resident. No shadowing, nothing! I was appalled. I was constantly running out into the hallway and asking the CNA's how to do so and so. I had never been told during the classroom time how to change a brief for a bed ridden resident, and here I had to do it on day one! I was really disappointed by their approach to clinicals.

It did of course get better the more experience I had...but I sincerely hope your program doesn't just "throw you to the wolves" so to speak!

Good luck!

taalyn_1, CNA · Feb 12, 2011

Hope it goes well for you. try not to be nervous (even though you probably still will be :)). It will be fine though. just make sure you tell the aide you are working if you haven't done something in class. They will understand. OH and if you get an aide that is unhappy with their job/day/personal life or whatever, do not let their attitude affect YOUR day/learning experience. That's something I had to deal with in my clinicals. Again, good luck, hope all goes well 4 you.

staceface80 · Feb 15, 2011

I totally understand the nerves....just had my first weekend of clinicals in a LTC facility and couldn't sleep the night before the first day. When I got there, the CNA that I was paired up with (who, by the way, is AMAZING at his job and as a teacher) was showing me how to use the pulse oxymeter by putting it on my finger....I was so nervous that my pulse was 138bpm and he asked if I needed to sit down and collect myself (on day 2 he checked me and it was only 72bpm....much calmer!). After the first hour of being there, he had put my mind at ease and was SUPER helpful the whole weekend by making sure I noted many of the "tricks" they like to throw at you during the practical part of the state exam. The most difficult part of the whole experience, for me at least, was dealing with the emotions I felt while dealing with people with severe dementia/alzheimer's and permanent vegetative state. I kept it together while at the facility, but came home and had to have a good cry. Made me really think hard about my own parents or myself being in LTC down the road and how difficult it would be to deal with.