revising clinical prep forms for students

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in cardiac, OB, supervisor, instructor.

Hello,

I am a nursing instructor and feel the need to simplify our clinical prep work that the students do the night before clinical. They spend hours, stay up half the night and then do 2 shifts back to back 12 hours each. We are teaching them that it is OK to stay up all night and be dead tired and take care of sick people. Not good!

I'm looking for assistance- does anyone do a 1 hour prep before clinical starts- such as show up at 6 am, prepare for an hour and then hear report, talk with the clinical instructor and primary nurse before beginning assessment and cares? I'd love to see your worksheets, whatever you use. Also interested in using concept maps. What do you have them turn in for grading purposes? Do you feel this type of prep is enough as compared to the prep they did in the past?

Any ideas welcome-thanks!

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Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.
Hello,

I am a nursing instructor and feel the need to simplify our clinical prep work that the students do the night before clinical. They spend hours, stay up half the night and then do 2 shifts back to back 12 hours each. We are teaching them that it is OK to stay up all night and be dead tired and take care of sick people. Not good!

I'm looking for assistance- does anyone do a 1 hour prep before clinical starts- such as show up at 6 am, prepare for an hour and then hear report, talk with the clinical instructor and primary nurse before beginning assessment and cares? I'd love to see your worksheets, whatever you use. Also interested in using concept maps. What do you have them turn in for grading purposes? Do you feel this type of prep is enough as compared to the prep they did in the past?

Any ideas welcome-thanks!

It depends on the level that they are in in the program...I would think it would be very hard for a first year student to have a 1hr prep. By making them stress, you would be sending a wrong message again. My school prepped us in the following way....

A)1st semester we had databases we had to fill out.....with information in the chart that we just filled in what would could(this was in LTC for 8 weeks) We could come in anytime between 10-8 between clinicals and get the info....But with clinicals a week apart, we often would get info the day before...

B) 2nd semester same form, but we had to come pick up assignment (a pt. summary sheet) the day before, and fill out what we could (we only would have 1-2 patients so it wasn't bad). In the hospital.

C) 3rd semester - we had different 1 page forms for OB/L&D, and the same forms for the hospital assignment.

D) 4th-final semester- We would get the patient form about 30 minutes before, discuss care with instructor, then go and get report from staff nurses. some student was charge, and would be responsible for assigning patients to other students. in LTC, we would get quick report, and have 3 students to 13-14 pts....1 student would be responsible for making sure ALL meds and tx were done before we left, and on time.

hope this helps

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

there is information on concept maps on this sticky thread on the student forums:

in her book, concept mapping: a critical-thinking approach to care planning by pamela mchugh schuster which runs $25.95 the author has a clinical form for collecting information from the chart. it's all part of assessment, you know. i never put together a form, but some time ago i put down what needed to be collected from the patient chart as part of the pre-clinical information. it is posted here:

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