Precepting Questions

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Hello-I am in my 4th semester of nursing school and getting ready to submit my precept/floor request. Basically we put down our top three choices and my clinical instructor matches us with a nurse/floor. No guarantees that we'll get our first choice, but they try and accommodate. Anyhow, my options are: surgical, ortho, tele, AMCU, oncology, renal/diabetic, Peds, or Mom and Baby. Any suggestions on what you'd recommend. I want to be well rounded and obviously hope to get hired after. My interest so far lie with oncology and anything to do with babies. I feel that precepting Mom and baby might not give me enough of a foundation in case I ever wanted to do something different. Your thoughts? Thank you in advance for any input.

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Specializes in Med/Surg/ICU/Stepdown.
Hello-I am in my 4th semester of nursing school and getting ready to submit my precept/floor request. Basically we put down our top three choices and my clinical instructor matches us with a nurse/floor. No guarantees that we'll get our first choice but they try and accommodate. Anyhow, my options are: surgical, ortho, tele, AMCU, oncology, renal/diabetic, Peds, or Mom and Baby. Any suggestions on what you'd recommend. I want to be well rounded and obviously hope to get hired after. My interest so far lie with oncology and anything to do with babies. I feel that precepting Mom and baby might not give me enough of a foundation in case I ever wanted to do something different. Your thoughts? Thank you in advance for any input.[/quote']

It was my experience in nursing school that regardless of what I requested, I got sent where there was an opening. And when I mentioned where I precepted during interviews, it didn't much matter in the way of where I was offered a position.

Your best bet is to choose an area you'd like to explore as a potential specialty. Odds are, you won't get hired there but you'll at least know if you like it or not! ?

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Thank you for your feedback. I appreciate it!

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If you like babies why not pedi? I thought pedi was a cool rotation because one day I took care of a 6 month old and the next I took care of a high school senior. Every day was a different challenge.

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Specializes in Ambulatory Surgery, Ophthalmology, Tele.

I was on telemetry during my last quarter as a student. I was hired on this floor after completing school. There is a med-surg component to it which is good/well rounded. Many of our patients had CHF, were there for observation for a possible MI or s/p heart catheterization. It is a busy, high paced floor and there is much to learn.

I also precepted last quarter students a few times. :)

Hope you get the floor you desire but know you can glean good experience from where ever they place you. It's up to you to learn from the experience. You can do it. :yes:

Good luck and keep us posted.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

My instructors strongly encouraged med-surg type floors for our final internship to let us hone our time and pt management skills and to get us ready for the NCLEX (seeing all those scenarios in real life). I heeded this advice myself and did mine on med-tele; I did find it very helpful! I went into my first job as a new grad very comfortable managing a full acute care pt load. :yes:

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Thank you both for your responses! :)

SwansonRN-to answer your question Peds scares me a bit, lol. I think of how you have to really think about how you say things to kids, and then doing things that hurt (for example an IV), and seeing the sad little faces and the parents looking on. At least with babies they aren't saying ouch or things like I want to go home. That stuff breaks my heart. Although, now that I think of it maybe it would be a good option to learn and push past my comfort zone...

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I think doing mother/baby for my practicum was a poor decision since getting into a specialty area as a new grad is becoming more and more difficult. If I could do it over I would not have picked a specialty area and just done med-surg or Tele. I hope that the unit you end up on extends you an offer..I've heard it happens!!

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This is you last chance to test out a specialty before your sent out to earn a paycheck. I would choose a specialty you think you might be interested in.

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I'm in my last semester too and I requested surgery at a decent-sized hospital for my preceptorship. I got it, but now I'm second-guessing. The nurse manager in charge of students told me she had no trouble getting me in because "nobody wants surgery". She said she thinks nobody wants it because they want rotations that will "actually help with NCLEX". Ugghhh. So maybe I made a poor choice.

I think if I could choose over, I'd probably go with med-surg or something more general so I could get some useful experience to apply to NCLEX. Good luck, hope you get what you want.

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.
I'm in my last semester too and I requested surgery at a decent-sized hospital for my preceptorship. I got it, but now I'm second-guessing. The nurse manager in charge of students told me she had no trouble getting me in because "nobody wants surgery". She said she thinks nobody wants it because they want rotations that will "actually help with NCLEX". Ugghhh. So maybe I made a poor choice.

I think if I could choose over, I'd probably go with med-surg or something more general so I could get some useful experience to apply to NCLEX. Good luck, hope you get what you want.

If you know that's the area you want to be in once you're a nurse, I see no problem precepting there! I'm precepting in mother/baby, as I plan to work there when I graduate (studying to be a midwife, and MB is a "gateway" to L&D where I am). I'm just working to stay on top of my general knowledge/med/surg stuff so I don't let it all slip while I'm taking public health and leadership. Stay on top of your stuff (amid the other assigned "fun" you have, surely!), and you should be okay.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Cardiology, Hematology,.

I graduated in early 2010 when the econ. was rough and it was very difficult to get a job as a new grad and basically impossible to get a job in Peds or Mother/Baby. My school offered me a rotation on a unit I did not want to work in and in a hospital I did not want to work at. At the time I was working PRN as a PCT in the staff float pool at the local university hospital and met a nurse in the unit that I wanted to work in so I asked her to precept me and it was approved. I was offered a job before I graduated and actually hired and started orientation before I even passed boards. Working in the Neuro ICU opened up doors immediately to basically do whatever I wanted and wherever I wanted to do it after a year of experience.

I do not want to tell you not to precept in your passion. But think long term and future goals and what is the best way to get there. Sometimes you have to tough it out in the most demanding/difficult unit at the lowest paying hospital on the night shift in a city you do not want to be at in order to get where you want to go.

I would also say that whatever you chose it is not going to affect your nclex. If you are relying on your senior preceptorship to help you pass your nclex after all the book work you have had to complete in your program you are going to have some problems passing boards no matter where you are.

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