how to pick a pt. for clinicals?

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We started clinicals last week and our instructor picked our patient for the first week. Starting tomorrow we have to pick our own patient. We go to the hospital on monday and pick a patient for the clinical days (tuesday and thurdsay). I'm on a med-surg unit right now. What type of pt. is "easy" to work with? What age group? Male/female? How many days post-op? Any other things I should take into consideration? Thanks! :)

Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

At this point in my schooling career, I would pick the patient with the fewest number of meds that I'll have to look up and write down. But this semester, we aren't assigned to patients, but to a nurse. So we get all the patients s/he has (usually 4-5).

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Specializes in OB, lactation.
At this point in my schooling career, I would pick the patient with the fewest number of meds that I'll have to look up and write down. But this semester, we aren't assigned to patients, but to a nurse. So we get all the patients s/he has (usually 4-5).

Off topic:

Moving right along girl! I can't remember, do you graduate in the spring also?

We still haven't moved beyond 1 patient; but I think we are going to move up to 2 soon (like in the next few weeks)... I'm kinda lazy at the idea (this is a rough semester for me)... but it's definitely time!

Do you still do patient worksheets/care plans? On ALL the patients or do you just pick one?

P.S. I passed the IBCLC exam. :)

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Specializes in Oncology, Med-Surg, ED.

Honestly, what I would recommend, is that you pick the patient that scares you the most.

We naturally avoid what is unfamiliar....if you dive in, it will be familiar and wont scare you next time.

Just my two cents.

Jen

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

We were allowed to pick our own pt. (as the pt.'s nurse saw fit) for the first week. After that, the instructor did it.

One thing i did was i kept a list of my pts. I put the date in the paper's margin, then beside of it wrote "56 yr. m. dx: MI h/o:yada yada."

That way i had a quick reference list of what i HAD worked with before, which helped to rule out what i had worked with.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
You know, I wish my instructor would pick the pt. for me! But that's just not the way they do it here, nothing I can do about that.

Another random way to do it is to shut your eyes, take a step closer to the chart rack, grab a chart, and that's who you will work with.

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Just thinking- In my last clinical of school "Leadership" (on a Med/Surg floor), we all got the honor of choosing each others patients and playing "charge" for at least one week of clinicals. No matter what, the student picking the patients suddenly became much less popular based on the patients chosen... and oddly it does reflect some days when I am in charge (You mean I have to have the pelvic rooms again....whine.) :)

After I looked at your clarification: I can see you are intersted in what type of patient will be pleasant to work with. Unfortunately, the only way ot find that out- is to work with them, or ask the nurse. Over time, you will find the talkative patient to be your worst enemy to time management!!!! But right now, with one patient, you are definitely brightening the day of those people.

Good Luck!!!

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I think I would pick the harder cases just to get the experience while have that much supervision. Good luck!

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I would think that you would want to be picking patients that fit in with what you are studying in class and those who will need procedures done that are kind of on your "to do" list.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Great suggestion

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At first I would pick patients according to the diagnosis that we were learning about at that time. Second semester I started to pick some of patients by what nurse was assigned to them. After going to clinicals at the same place for a few weeks you start to learn who the nurses are that enjoy working with students and the ones who you want to avoid.

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Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.

We still haven't moved beyond 1 patient; but I think we are going to move up to 2 soon (like in the next few weeks)... I'm kinda lazy at the idea (this is a rough semester for me)... but it's definitely time!

Do you still do patient worksheets/care plans? On ALL the patients or do you just pick one?

Hi, not the poster you're addressing, but we do all the paperwork on all the patients in our care...and all their meds...and all their NDs...and all their careplans...and...and...and...

:uhoh3:

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Specializes in OB, lactation.
Hi, not the poster you're addressing, but we do all the paperwork on all the patients in our care...and all their meds...and all their NDs...and all their careplans...and...and...and...

:uhoh3:

I'd be having a heart attack if I had to do our current pt care worksheet on 4 or 5 patients!!!! It takes hours just do to it for 1. Now I must pre-worry about this. ;)

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