ameliamaern

How'd it go?

Woo hoo~ congrats!! I'm taking it later this year, and did purchase the app. glad it helped you!

My clinical group has clinicals for 10.5 hours a week, over 2 days. They do come and do preplanning, because they are 1st semester. They haven't even had pharm yet. Occasionally I have dismissed the pre-planning, if there are a lot of discharges and I don't have enough patients for all students do preplan on their patient. As it gets further in the semester, and the students become more comfortable with where to find the information, I am not as worried on making sure they do the pre-planning the night before.

I think it depends on where you go. In my area, I am getting paid more as an educator that I would as a bedside RN. They pay pennies around here, because the market is so saturated with RNs.

I haven't been in research for a year now...and I miss it!! Unfortunately when I moved, there wasn't much in the way of opportunity in this area. Hoping to get back to it before too long! That was my favorite position.

Outlook was one big way I stayed organized. I utilized the calendar, obviously, and color coded different trials. I also used their tasks for my checklists. Another way I stayed organized with my patients was this: whenever I was done with a patient visit, I did everything I could to get ready for the next visit and keep it with the chart; whether it be a visit the next day or a year from now. That was really helpful, especially on the days where I was so busy I didn't have much time to prepare for a visit. I will say that staying organized was EXTREMELY difficult for me. I am not an organized person by nature, and you really have to be organized in this field. Haven't been doing research for a year now... and boy, do I miss it!!!

I currently teach the skills/basic interventions class. It is in the first semester my program's BSN program. One major issue I see in the community I live in is that this area is just SATURATED with nursing schools. There is such a demand for clinical space, and students don't get all the experience I think they should get. The BSN program I graduated from was in a different state. We learned about skills in the beginning as well, but honestly the only skills I was ever able to do in the clinical setting were meds, CNA tasks, and really, that's about it. Luckily (for me), the school required that you attended a internship during the summer, and that is where I was actually able to do more skills. That really helped me be more confident in what I was doing. The program I teach at now does not require it, and doesn't even require that the students take a CNA course prior to entry (which was new to me), and the reason they don't require internships is because it would be impossible for the students to all get the chance to do it. I agree that it is a problem. Honestly- I believe all nursing students should have taken the CNA course. That way, they can focus on the nursing things, and not have to focus so much on those BASIC nursing skills, like transfers and bed changes. I also know that if we as a program required that, we would have no students, because there are plenty of schools in the area that would take them. What the answer to this is... I don't know. Thanks for asking!