Picking Clinical Sites

[NuggetsHuman, BSN, RN]

We have the option in our program of selecting our clinical sites provided we are in good standing with academics and financial obligations.

If you had the option to choose between the following types of sites for your first hands-on clinical site, what would you choose and why?

• Inpatient rehab
• Inpatient veteran's home
• Long term skilled nursing home
• Hospital affiliated with long term nursing home
• Inpatient hospital

[stockmanjr, BSN]

I'm going to guess this is for your first semester but please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Tacocat, ADN, RN]

It depends what skills you're allowed to practice as a first semester student. Are you passing meds? Just doing fundamentals like vitals, hygiene, etc?

[J.Adderton, BSN, MSN]

I like the idea of inpatient rehab. You will have an opportunity to practice basic skills but still be exposed to treatments and working with interdisciplinary team.

I also think the veterans home would be a good experience.

[maggie0, BSN, RN]

My program's first clinical placement was in a nursing home. It was a really good experience if you don't have any: you learn some basic skills that will give you confidence later. For instance, how to move people around: in bed, out of bed, etc. It's hard, and you do a lot of it as a nurse. You also get a general sense of how a hospital is run, without having to deal with the acuity or pressure of a hospital. You learn to walk into a room confidently, how to deal with crabby patients, etc. I highly recommend long term care as a first clinical.

[NuggetsHuman, BSN, RN]

Ohh. I didn't see all these replies... need to remember to turn on some kind of alert.

This is my first semester of hands-on patient care. We have had a communication clinical and health assessment lab where we practiced on each other.

Summer term just started last week. I believe I'm going to be on inpatient rehab, but there's actually two clinical groups at the same site, so I'm not entirely sure what we will be doing.

This clinical is for fundamentals, so we will be doing hygiene, vitals, meds (assuming I pass my med math exam on Tuesday), and whatever else we are allowed to do under the supervison of our clinical instructor.

We definitely will have to write 3 care plans associated with clinicals this summer, but I'm not sure if that gives you any ideas about what else we will be up to.

My coworkers seemed to lean heavily toward hospital because "you get to see a lot more there." But one wise and calm and kind person I respect said she would choose long term care/SNF because of the slower pace and time to focus on patient care.

Our first clinical weekend is next weekend, June 1-2. I'll try to remember report back. ?

[AnnieNP, MSN, NP]

Best of luck to you!

[NuggetsHuman, BSN, RN]

Other than having a bugger of a time getting into the EHR, clinical is going well.

I try really hard to make myself useful to my staff nurse with basic things that I can do. She really took a shine to me last Sunday for some reason.

“What’d you in clinical yesterday, Nugget's Human?”

*singing 12 Days of Christmas*

On the 4th day of Fundamentals clinical, my staff nurse gave to me...

Fiiiiiiiiiive sub Q injections
Four PO med passes
Three Accuchecks
Two up and dressed with weights
And a bunch of meds in a PEG tube