Passed out on first day of clinical!!!

Nursing Students General Students

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Specializes in SICU.

This is my first post here, and I just wanted to share my story about my first day of clinical, which was yesterday. I did have clinical last year at a nursing home, but this was my very first clinical in a hospital setting. Anyway, my 1st rotation was in the PACU, I got there at 7:00 and we didn't have a patient come in until almost 8:00. Anyway, my preceptor got her first patient and I was just standing there watching the patient start to wake up, and all of the sudden I feel very hot and dizzy. I thought maybe it would help if I sat down, but I started to feel even worse and my vision was getting blurry, so I told my preceptor "Ummm, I don't feel so good," and a few seconds later, everything was black but I was still conscious (I think). So, to make a long story short, about 4 nurses came rushing over and got me onto a stretcher and put a BP cuff on me. Well, my blood pressure was only about 80/40, so they wheeled me down to the ER on the stretcher. After 2 hours and a blood and urine test, I found out that I had a UTI and I was also dehydrated. My instructor wouldn't let me go back to clinical today because she wanted me to get better, but right now I am feeling like a failure and I can't believe this happened to me on my first day of clinical. Anybody out there have a story like mine, or has heard of one, or has any advice for me? Help!

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I'm sorry your first day was not great. :o Yesterday was my first day, too, and I spilled a foley bag all over the floor of the patient's room. :imbar

Cheer up! It can only get better from here.

Oh! I guess my program had a student last semester who fainted in the OR because she locked her knees while she stood there for two hours.

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Wow, that is a great story!!! I hope you are feeling a little better now.

Of course you are not a failure. Your instructor is probably freaking out because she had a student faint (just imagine what she told her husband about her first day of clinicals this year :rotfl: ).

You'll do just fine. Only advice would be to drink more fluids, eat breakfast, and enjoy your clinicals as much as possible. You will do fine. It's never fun to have such a dramatic entrance into clinicals, but, sometimes thats the way it goes...

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that is hilarious. I can only imagine how overwhelmed I would be if that happened to me. It just so happens that one of my classmates passed out while trying to start an IV on a patient, but she went on to finish clinicals and she passed boards, so have no fear. You can have a rough start and still finish strong. Good luck in the future!

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Specializes in Cardiac.

Oooh, so sorry. It doesn't reflect what kind of person you are-so don't worry. Nurses in the OR and PACU are expecting someone to pass out because it happens all the time! In my OR rotation they even pointed out where I should let my body slide down if I should feel faint. I used to work in L&D so I would go back to the OR all the time-so I felt pretty confident when I did my OR rotation, but there was this one part where I was leaning over looking into this guys chest (I was at the head of the bed with the anesthesiologist and it was a valve replacement) and I just stared into it so long that I thought I was gonna go head first into his heart! It was so bright and I was just focused on the heart, I don't think I ate Breakfast (bad move) and I had my legs locked. Can you imagine? A wannabe cardiac ICU nurse fainting in an open heart OR? I would have never lived that one down. I just told the staff I was cold and I needed to walk around.

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.

Wow. Take care of yourself and get your fluid volume back up.

Make sure you eat breakfast before clinical. I know, I can't stand the thought of food at 6am but I've seen 3 others in my clinical experiences hit the dirt and it was usually in the AM. They all had no breakfast in common. I make sure I eat at least a granola bar.

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This is my first post here, and I just wanted to share my story about my first day of clinical, which was yesterday. I did have clinical last year at a nursing home, but this was my very first clinical in a hospital setting. Anyway, my 1st rotation was in the PACU, I got there at 7:00 and we didn't have a patient come in until almost 8:00. Anyway, my preceptor got her first patient and I was just standing there watching the patient start to wake up, and all of the sudden I feel very hot and dizzy. I thought maybe it would help if I sat down, but I started to feel even worse and my vision was getting blurry, so I told my preceptor "Ummm, I don't feel so good," and a few seconds later, everything was black but I was still conscious (I think). So, to make a long story short, about 4 nurses came rushing over and got me onto a stretcher and put a BP cuff on me. Well, my blood pressure was only about 80/40, so they wheeled me down to the ER on the stretcher. After 2 hours and a blood and urine test, I found out that I had a UTI and I was also dehydrated. My instructor wouldn't let me go back to clinical today because she wanted me to get better, but right now I am feeling like a failure and I can't believe this happened to me on my first day of clinical. Anybody out there have a story like mine, or has heard of one, or has any advice for me? Help!

don't get dismayed by that incident. there's a lot more student nurses (some RNs too) who pass out on procedures for various reasons. i had a classmate who was watching an MD start a central line turned pale and just collapsed. another one did during our OR rotation to which an instructor advised always stand with your back against the wall coz its gona break your fall if you pass out. have fun!!

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Specializes in CCRN.

One of the many reasons why breakfast is the most important meal of the day! :)

Thanks for sharing your story. It will get better, just eat!

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ClinicalCutie06, I'm sorry this happened to you - but don't sweat it. You had a legitimate medical reason for "checking out!"

Before I started nursing school, I fainted when I was sick, whenever I had my blood drawn, and when I had a simple procedure done (like a mole removed from my back where I couldn't even see it!) Everyone questioned my decision to become a nurse. During clinical in the OR during my first year, I was watching an inguinal hernia repair on a 5 year old boy (and this was practically a bloodless surgery.) I nearly checked out again at the very end when the surgeon was closing - had to rush out in a hurry and sit down in the hallway. I had eaten breakfast. I was even an anatomy lab instructor prior to this!

But by my first semester of second year, I watched an open heart surgery (on pump with valve replacement) totally engrossed and not even slightly queasy.

Don't let yourself think that you got off to a bad start. Give yourself a break - you were sick! For you, it wasn't a matter of being just freaked out (like it was for me). Your clinical intructor and classmates surely understand that.

Good luck, and remember - at least least you fainted in the presence of medical professionals who saw that you weren't well, and got you the help you needed! You can't expect to have a good clinical experience when you're sick. Take care of yourself first so that you'll be able to take care of your patients.

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Specializes in CVICU.

Hey, at least you didn't faint into the sterile field during surgery as my sister did in nursing school. She is now an otolaryngologist! :coollook:

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Specializes in SICU.

Thanks to everyone who replied to my post, a lot of your comments and suggestions definetly helped!

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