Pre-clinical dread (why I hate Sunday)

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Specializes in CV Surgery Step-down.

Does anyone else ruin their entire day/weekend before their clinicals by worring about them? Our clinicals are Mon/Tues. It never fails that sometime Saturday afternoon a small veil of anxiety slowly creeps over me about clinicals. I then spend all day Sunday in a parallel universe--somewhere between the present and the next two days. I once knew someone who said "Don't make Sunday your Monday", meaning, don't let your dread of going to work on Mon. ruin your perfectly good day off. I like the advice, just can't seem to put it to work.

Once I'm at the hospital, I'm okay. I think most of my dread comes from knowing all the work I'll be doing on my careplan Monday night, and the four hours of sleep I'll get before returning the next day...

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every monday u have to do a careplan? damn i thought my school was bad.

clinicals have been smooth sailing for me for the most part. it was hard in the beginning becuase it was the first and i hardly have any hospital experience. for the most part, its fun. we do a mini careplan session on post conference. but nothing like a paper to be submitted the next day. dang, that really sucks. i feel for u.

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we have to preplan and make drug cards on thursday night for our friday clinicals, and after spending about 3 hours doing that, i go to bed and dont sleep very well because im anxious about clinicals, and i dream about weird hospital related things all night. im like you, i feel ok once i get there, but i do get pretty nervous the day before.

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we have to preplan and make drug cards on thursday night for our friday clinicals, and after spending about 3 hours doing that, i go to bed and dont sleep very well because im anxious about clinicals, and i dream about weird hospital related things all night. im like you, i feel ok once i get there, but i do get pretty nervous the day before.

#1 There are many books on the market that practically spoon feed you care plans for any diagnoses condition.

#2 Haven't you heard of networking. A group begins doing drug cards and then supply each other with the drug card for their day. Pretty soon you have a library to choose from and so does your study group.

#3 If you have had a similar patient before, don't reinvent the wheel, modify it.

I have many students on my unit and having completed a masters within the last few years I am more than willing to share info, research material, and read their papers for content. All A's so far. Help is out there, use your nurse and let her expound on what she knows best. You never know until you ask.

Everyone likes to show off sometime. :p

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Happycamper,

Which careplan books did you used for your clinicals?

Thanks

#1 There are many books on the market that practically spoon feed you care plans for any diagnoses condition.

#2 Haven't you heard of networking. A group begins doing drug cards and then supply each other with the drug card for their day. Pretty soon you have a library to choose from and so does your study group.

#3 If you have had a similar patient before, don't reinvent the wheel, modify it.

I have many students on my unit and having completed a masters within the last few years I am more than willing to share info, research material, and read their papers for content. All A's so far. Help is out there, use your nurse and let her expound on what she knows best. You never know until you ask.

Everyone likes to show off sometime. :p

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Specializes in NICU.

Last year we went up to the hospital Sunday night to get the information from our patient's chart. Took about 2 hours getting that info, then took about 4-5 hours writing up the careplan that night. Up at 5 a.m. to be at the hospital by 6. Good thing was that we had the same patient for both Mon. and Tues. So we didn't have to do another careplan on Mon. night after clinicals. Are you having to do 2 careplans, 1 Sun. night and 1 Mon. night? If so, then YIKES! After I got home from clinicals on Mon. I would just crash.... I would be so exhausted, I couldn't imagine having to write up a careplan that night!

I've been there though.... not sleeping well the night before clinicals, and dreaming about all kinds of crazy hospital stuff! My mind wouldn't shut up when I tried going to sleep! That was 1st semester. Second semester was a lot better! I actually got excited about going to clinicals. I still had a little anxiety, but it was more excitement than anything. I really enjoyed clinical days. This semester we're in OB/peds and I'm loving the clinicals too!

So just know it gets better!!

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Specializes in LDRP.

our clinicals are tues/wed. like others, mon is get pt info at hospital, go home and write up careplan. it sucks.

but, i dont really get nervous about it. maybe b/c i am in 3rd semester and i've been at it for awhile, but if i get a bit nervous i just think about "what is honestly, the worse thing that could happen" and what would i do.

i guess with experience you get more calm.

and careplans? they always suck. but save your old ones, like someone said, so you can modify. there are only so many nursing diagnoses out there, and only so many you regularly use-pain, impaired physical mobility, risk for infection-those come up alot here. the interventions are essentially the same from pt to pt, give or take. so save those old careplans!

good luck! remember "this too shall pass"

love, rose

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Specializes in Emergency Dept, M/S.
our clinicals are tues/wed. like others, mon is get pt info at hospital, go home and write up careplan. it sucks.

but, i dont really get nervous about it.

That's what I'm doing right now. Or, uh, supposed to be doing right now. I just got my pt. info late this morning, and spend the rest of the day preparing for tomorrow.

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Happycamper,

Which careplan books did you used for your clinicals?

Thanks

Try The Nursing Diagnoses Reference Manual by Sheila Sparks. Can be purchased online, new or used, from Amazon.com. Hope it helps.

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