simulationMSN

Getting pre assignment is up to your clinical instructor. When you meet the first time he/she should go over what is expected. Some instructors themselves can't get to the floor until a few hrs before to make the assignment. The key point is being prepared...knowing the diagnosis, pt care info, meds (when you are passing them), and labs (when you have learned them). Please don't take what I said as an attitude. It is very difficult to come across in a post...automatically being seen as the bad guy. You will do fine....there are many who you'll see are not so nuturing and you'll find the ones who are. Gravitate towards any of them for guidance, in lab or clinical. If you have questions or concerns I am more than willing alleviate any fears.

You will do great! Hopefully your clinical instructor will tell you specifically what is expected. What is frustrating is if you go in the night before to get your assignment (I teach evening clinical and prefer to do that the night before since it is hard to get there early the afternoon of with the kids) any way what is frustrating for everyone is making the assignment and students getting their assignment the night before, do all that work and go in the next day.....and many times the pt/pts are discharged. It depends what type of floor you are on. If you are on a rehab floor or in a skilled nursing facility your chances are better to have your patient around the days you do clinical. Keep in mind your final goal and be flexible...so many bumps in the road during this important journey. It helps to have others that you bond with and stick together as a group, especially for studying. What I like is that students like you have gone through college and have the knowledge of how tough it is to get the studying done and earn your grades. Like I said,,,,,,,,you will do great....just keep saying it over and over. The anxiety of the first day and the "not knowing" is the hardest but all the others feel as you do. Good Luck!!!!

I'm proud to hear you are all planning to become nurses. Don't think it will be easier just because you have a degree. The program is difficult, testing out on skills in the lab is difficult, and applying what you learned on a real person is scarey. Especially if you have a clinical instructor who isn't nurturing. If at any time you do anything unsafe in clinical you will be at a serious risk of failing and also will be sent back to lab for remediation, time by yourself to practice, and more time one on one with a preceptor to work on pt care scenarios with multiple skills. The tests require application of the information you learned which is very difficult at first. It will be like state boards. The strong and motivated will perservere. I believe anyone who has life experiences and families who decide to change their career are the ones who work the hardest. It shows.

The whole point of pre assignment is getting the info yourself and looking through the chart to get pertinent data about the history and physical and labs including meds that you will be passing eventually. Don't think you are going to get spoon fed. You are to do the work and look up the information. How do you expect to learn how to critically think and take care of patients? You should be able to wear your lab coat with decent clothes (nothing nasty and full of holes)

I agree. These poor students are being told to put the table at the head and are getting tied into pretzels while cleaning the abd surgical incision, then to hold a penrose drain with forceps, clean around the penrose and while holding the penrose trying to reach and get the drain sponge to dress the penrose. Hard to do if you're right handed and holding the penrose with the left and trying to reach now to the table at the head of the bed.

I am frustrated with the inconsistancies in skills testouts for nursing students. It has come down to where to place the table for the sterile dressing change...students being told to place the table at the head of the bed. Personnally, the table goes where it works to keep the field sterile without turning your back on it, if you are right handed or left handed, etc. The last thing I would do is put the table by the pts face fearing a cough or sneeze. Such a big deal is being made about this, which is NOT on the critical skills checklist (if it is that important to them where to place the table). What is critical is maintaining the sterile field and dressing the wound correctly. Just venting....

When I started with a diploma of nursing in 1990 I made 13 dollars an hour. I went back for my BSN, MSN, and ANP. I have been back and forth working at the bedside, as an ANP, back to the bedside due to increasing family size and need for flexibility. When I left the bedside I was at 26 dollars and when I went back I was at 26 dollars. This was a suburban hospital, not downtown like CCF or UH. When I left UH as a NP I was only at about 28 dollars. The hospitals in the area do not recognize your education level unfortunately since the BSN is considered the professional level of nursing.