OK, clinicals in two weeks?!....NO experience!

secretgeek · Feb 23, 2012

I remember my first clinical was basically an orientation to the facility. The instructor gave us a tour, told us specific rules the facility had, and then we signed a paper saying that we understood the rules and all. But usually my classmates and I took vital signs, gave meds, fed food, do some treatment, and then charting. It was all exciting to me since it's a new experience :)

MyMystudentRN · Feb 23, 2012

yes just like secretgeek my first 2 clincals were orientation, signing papers and learning all the whereabouts of the facility. it was very exciting because ive worked in a nursing home before but only had 6 patients in one home! so this facility was def much bigger. our instructor gave us 1-2 patients each and we were able to buddy up if we weren't comfortable entering a patients' room by ourselves eventually everyone got comfortable enough to do their own thing and only asked for help if they needed it, for example shower or lifting a patient with a drawl sheet in bed. some even upped their patient work load asking for 3 patients!

Streamline2010 · Feb 23, 2012

I was in RN school but I don't think that the initial clinicals are all that different. You bed-bathe pts and assist them to get up and get dressed. You change the bed linens. You get a little tour of the facility and get to look at pt charts. You'll see the med cart and watch somebody pass meds. You instructor will probably find some patients with special needs for you students to observe or care for: Laminectory, tube feedings, brief changes, ostomy care and receptacle changes, get a little exposure to dementia pts, etc. We RN students didn't do anything with assisting patients take showers, but maybe you will since you are LPN.

Basically what they wanted us to do is get used to odors, bodily fluids, and doing hands-on care; learn falls prevention & other safety; practice safe lifting and repositioning of pts; learn how to control your own reactions to people or events or conditions that might shock or disgust you; put pt care first.

Jeannie89 · Feb 25, 2012

expect to wipe old peoples behinds, bathe them, change dirty diapers, lift heavy patients, and most importantly get ready to SWEAT !!! LOL no, seriously ! have fun

VanessaRn89 · Feb 25, 2012

Well my first clinical day in the hospital we were partnered up. We took turns taking vital signs, making the bed, helping the patient with other activities of daily living. I remember trying to take my patient's bp-I felt so bad because I just couldn't do it and I had to keep trying. Luckily my instructor showed me and the patient was very pleasant. My assigned nurse was very unhelpful and unfortunately the worst nurse I had to work with in my entire clinical experience. Thank God I only worked with her that weekend. Overall my clinical was not too shabby. I also didn't have any medical experience, my last job involved making coffee so you can see what an extreme that was lol.

Aimeelynn1 · Feb 25, 2012

No worries!! I have been through 4 clinical rotations and I still get nervous too!! Everyone has pretty much covered what to expect....but if you have good classmates, someone will take you under their wing and help you out. Im sure you'll do great! Good luck!

mommieof3 · Feb 27, 2012

I had my first clincal 2 weeks ago.. Like everyone else is saying be expecting to wipe behinds, feed patients, lift heavy patients, and sweat. So its basically CNA stuff. We have a few CNA's in our class and they were a great help. Good luck and have fun! :)

spectrabrite, LVN · Feb 27, 2012

You will be learning to do the basic activities of daily living for patients. These are for the most part CNA related tasks, though every LVN / LPN should know them well!

Iridescent Orchid, CNA, LPN · Feb 27, 2012

[color=#2f4f4f]thanks you guys! i am very anxious and excited! i do not mind shadowing the cnas one bit, i just hope i get paired with a nice one who doesn't mind showing me how to do everything. i think i fear having a cna who is dreadful of me more than anything else right now. i learn quick and love to take everything in i possibly can, so i can only hope they love to teach their skills above what is required of them to show us. i feel i'll thrive in the nursing home, for i've taken care of my grandma for many of years, and boy, does she have multiple disease processes! my nerves are manageable, but as my instructor said, she much rather be taking someone into the nursing home nervous, rather than someone nonchalant and walking in there like "let's do this thing!" lol, thanks again everyone, wish me luck!

garnetgirl29, BSN, RN · Feb 29, 2012

My clinicals started on the medical floor of a hospital, but the majority of the patients were 70+. I never did CNA and have NO experience whatsoever in the medical field or with the elderly, but I did ok. We were allowed to team up with our classmates to assist pt's with hygeine care, etc. We mostly did CNA stuff our first semester, but we also had prep plans(we went to the clinical site the day before to get info from our pt's chart to fill out our prep plan, then discussed it with our group in pre-conference at clinical), shift assessments, physical assessments, and a case study to do. Lucky for me, one of the nurses on that floor was a clinical instructor for the RN program at my school who loved to teach, so in addition to my actual clinical instructor, she encouraged us to follow her around and always explained what she was doing. She was great! For me, our hardests assignments were IPR's (interpersonal Process Record). That's where we practiced therapeutic communication. We have to write down a conversation with our client and show which therapeutic techniques we used. Then we had to write a paragraph talking about how we felt about our communication skills. Oh, we also had a journal entry every week, based on a topic assigned by our clinical instructor. Every group had a different topic.

We were allowed to perform basic nursing tasks, supervised by our nursing instructor, as we passed off on them in lab. ...d/c IV's, dressing changes, foleys. I still haven't had an opportunity to start or remove a foley. I'm VERY nervous about that. I'm in PEDS rotation right now(2nd semester), so I don't think I'll be doing any soon. In 2nd semester, we just passed off on medication administration, injections, and starting IV's. I hate that we're starting this while in peds rotation. I'm hoping I don't have to start any IV's until my next rotation, OB, b/c they'll have nice big veins for me to practice on.

We didn't shadow the CNA's since we were each assigned to one pt, but we did help each other. They mostly worked independently, but they were happy for the help we offered, since we lightened the CNA's work load. One CNA I worked with was trying to get into the LPN program, so she was eager to listen to our tips for getting in and happy to help us out and answer questions. On one clinical day, I worked with a CNA who was brand new. It was kinda funny cuz she kept asking me questions as if I knew what I was doing! I really don't think she was ready to be on her own.

I haven't been in a nursing home yet, but I think that's where our last clinical rotation is.

leenie45 · Feb 29, 2012

Hi Everyone,

Just finished my 2nd day of clinical, 4 weeks into the LPN program. It wasnt a good experience.

I was at a SNF. I kind of felt "thrown to the wolves". I did work with another student, and a CNA. I felt the bath was rushed, the care was "just get it done", and I was pretty upset about how the residents were treated, bathed, fed and care for ( or lack thereof). I actually did cry later to 2 of my instructors. I learned at school and lab that when bathing a patient, only the being washed area is to be exposed, why then were my residents completely naked, and exposed? Door open! I did ask this, and insisted he be covered. Have people become so complacent that we forget about giving dignity? It was very upsetting to hear 20 yrs olds call residents "hon" etc. Have some respect, really! I have been around, and I am not thin-skinned, but I am shocked and distressed to see this type of care. I know now that I have to continue on this path, as discouraged as I am, because we should all be treated with dignity and respect. I am not on a high horse, I just need to see this changed, and I have to be the one to follow through. I would want a person I loved to be cared for in a compassionate manner. Thanks for letting me vent