School Pretty Much Canceled Clinical

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I am really sorry. I just need a space to be upset.

My BSN program’s university just permanently shut down for the rest of the semester due to COVID-9. All instruction and testing will be done online, including clinical. We were given a number of ATI assignments and case study quizzes, and were told this will be our clinical for the rest of the semester.

I feel completely cut-out from the bread-and-butter of nursing school, which is hands-on, clinical experience. I feel like this is not prepping me to be the most competent nurse I can be. I hope I never want to be an OB or Peds nurse, as I will basically have no clinical experience in these areas before entering the work force. Even more frustrating, medical students’ clinicals are not canceled. Apparently only future doctors’ hands-on learning matters. Forget that nurses and doctors are equally responsible for patient well-being once school is over and we’re on the floor.

I just don’t understand how on Earth online quizzes can possibly be considered a clinical. Reading and writing does not prepare you to be a nurse.

Rant over.

Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Actually, med student clinicals have also been cancelled in my area. They are also being switched to virtual learning experiences.

On 3/20/2020 at 12:15 AM, Cactuslover said:

WOW!! looks like you are also a hypocrite. “Help manage the provider workload”. So it’s okay for medical student rotations to continue, but not for nursing students

Medical students, who aren't residents aren't being allowed in hospitals either at most places. Nursing students come in large groups and can be a huge contributor to the PPE burden. It is hard, but this is necessary. Totally understand being frustrated but know that nobody wants this....this isn't a decision that was taken lightly.... educational experiences are just not the priority right now. Part of that decision making is to protect you as a student and to stop the community spread. Your sacrifice, willing or not, is a small part of the solution.

4 Votes

Not sure why you're complaining about this. Did you want to go to the hospital and use valuable supplies and take up valuable time/space and most likely be exposed to Covid-19? B/c that's what continuing clinicals would mean for you.

I'm in the same boat. I am disappointed and nothing more. There will be plenty of time for us to gain our hands on experience. In the meantime, if you're really that tore-up about it, apply for a job as a PCT or CNA. Most of the jobs around here only require completion of a fundamentals course to apply, and I've noticed more jobs have been popping up, probably as experienced PCTs and CNAs are moved around to accommodate an influx of patients.

1 Votes
30 minutes ago, Rnis said:

Medical students, who aren't residents aren't being allowed in hospitals either at most places. Nursing students come in large groups and can be a huge contributor to the PPE burden. It is hard, but this is necessary. Totally understand being frustrated but know that nobody wants this....this isn't a decision that was taken lightly.... educational experiences are just not the priority right now. Part of that decision making is to protect you as a student and to stop the community spread. Your sacrifice, willing or not, is a small part of the solution.

During my last clinical (before they were cancelled) myself and FOUR other nursing students donned full PPE to watch a wound debridement on a cdiff patient. CV was a thing at the time, and I felt awkward about it knowing there was a shortage of supplies at other hospitals, but I didn't want to challenge my instructor by saying something.

Specializes in Urgent Care NP, Emergency Nursing, Camp Nursing.

While I agree with most other posters that losing some of your clinicals isn't the end of the world, make sure that you and others fight to ensure that you get your capstone/internship term as you normally would, if this situation continues into later terms. Capstone is different - you're one-on-one with a preceptor and are basically on mini-orientation, and it's much more useful in your job search if you want to start anywhere other than med-surg. One of the reasons I was able to go directly into ED nursing out of school was because I did my internship term in a different ED, and I know of some specialty units that do not take new grads unless they did their capstone on that unit.

Specializes in Critical Care.

Some of the responses here are very aggressive and the tone is getting in the way of the message (which is very accurate). For the sake of your own sanity, I’d recommend venting to your other classmates who will offer you more understanding and empathy. It sucks for y’all, clinicals are an exciting part of the experience and you were probably looking forward to graduation and all the other normal things that come with finishing nursing school. Unfortunately those things have been taken away. I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this. Talk to your classmates so that you can get your opportunity to vent. I’m sure if you’ve gotten to my comment then you’ve already read the tons of other posts explaining why it’s important that nursing clinicals do not continue through this pandemic and why nursing school is a bunch of hooplah setting up unrealistic expectations once you actually get on the floor. Good luck to you! We will be excited to see you on the floor as an RN!

OP, the situation, frankly, sucks. I understand why you're upset. I would be upset in your situation, too.

Becoming a nurse and accepting responsibility for the safety, health, and even lives of your patients is a monumental undertaking, and it's incredibly scary to think you'll be given that role when you're unprepared. I remember being in nursing school, and my biggest fear was that something I did (or failed to do) would directly lead to patient harm.

That said, other posters are correct when they say your lack of clinical experience this semester will not have a big impact on your ability to be a good nurse. It won't. Nursing clinicals (at least around here) are so incredibly limited in scope. Not allowed to put in IVs, not allowed to put in foleys. Only doing a med pass on maybe one patient once a week because the clinical instructor must be right there with you. What you will do with a good preceptor your first few weeks of orientation will be so much more than you would have done this whole semester combined.

The current situation is very stressful for most healthcare workers. I could not fall asleep last night, not because I wasn't tired but because I was worried about the mask shortage. Even nurses who are not taking care of COVID patients are finding they have inadequate supplies for their patients diagnosed with other respiratory illnesses or in need of protective isolation practices. We don't have enough PPE for ourselves, let alone extra for students. With no visitors allowed in my hospital, the phones have been ringing off the hook with family members wanting multiple updates per shift, in addition to all our regular tasks. I know nursing students think they are helping, and sometimes you are when I can reasonably designate a task to you and your clinical instructor, but mostly you interrupt the work flow and slow us down. I genuinely love having students, but please understand that most nurses don't have the extra time for you right now. As much as we wish we did, we just don't. Training the next crop of new grads is important, but taking care of our current patients is even more important.

It doesn't make the situation any less disappointing to you, but maybe the above will help you understand why things are as they are, and also reassure you that you will be okay in the end, even without the next two months of clinicals.

1 Votes
On 3/17/2020 at 5:42 PM, Futurenurse7321 said:

I am really sorry. I just need a space to be upset.

My BSN program’s university just permanently shut down for the rest of the semester due to COVID-9. All instruction and testing will be done online, including clinical. We were given a number of ATI assignments and case study quizzes, and were told this will be our clinical for the rest of the semester.

I feel completely cut-out from the bread-and-butter of nursing school, which is hands-on, clinical experience. I feel like this is not prepping me to be the most competent nurse I can be. I hope I never want to be an OB or Peds nurse, as I will basically have no clinical experience in these areas before entering the work force. Even more frustrating, medical students’ clinicals are not canceled. Apparently only future doctors’ hands-on learning matters. Forget that nurses and doctors are equally responsible for patient well-being once school is over and we’re on the floor.

I just don’t understand how on Earth online quizzes can possibly be considered a clinical. Reading and writing does not prepare you to be a nurse.

Rant over.

I hear you. It is normal to be frustrated. All of your feelings and worries are valid. Most of us students are feeling the same way. Interestingly enough here at my school, they canceled med students' clinicals before cancelling ours. Just depends on how the decision makers are thinking. Glad to see all the nurses responses telling us we were always going to really learn how to do this job on the job anyway.

Specializes in Critical Care, Palliative Care/Hospice.

OP-

I’m so sorry you are in this boat. You are entering nursing at a very strange time! Today I’m starting a new job at a new hospital (like my 10th new nursing job in my career!) and interestingly, what I see is everyone is anxious, confused, frustrated, tired...but we are all in this boat together. Don’t let anyone tell you your feelings are invalid-it’s OK to feel all those things. But don’t stay there, OK? I promise, it will be OK. Like everyone else said, find a good hospital with solid orientation or even a graduate nurse residency program-you will find that most of the training you need will be over the weeks/months in new grad orientation. When you get there, find a mentor, someone you can ask about clinical things you may have missed or not covered as well as you would have liked. Watch videos about procedures. You’re missing out a little bit, it’s nice to get exposure to different areas during clinicals, but also, you are missing out on getting yourself exposed to C19 during this time.
you’re not alone in your frustration-climb on in the boat, we’ll all make it thru together!

Specializes in Pedi/ NICU.

I'm going through the same thing right now. I'm due to graduate next month. My senior practicum (which I absolutely loved) was cut incredibly short- rumor has it we're still good to graduate though. It's just so unfair, I feel unprepared.

There is a policy brief on the website that calls for students to work as student nurses in healthcare facilities and earn our clinical credits.

http://www.nln.org/newsroom/news-releases/news-release/2020/03/26/u.s.-nursing-supports-practice-academic-partnerships-during-covid-19-crisis

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