So much for address taken into consideration

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We were told our addresses would be taken into consideration for our clinical sites. The line up looks very random to me. However, the clinker is...my first rotation site is the absolute farthest location from my house possible. It is 1.5 hours in no traffic and no way to access it without going straight through the city right as rush hour hits as the only bridges that connect to this place over a large river are all in the city. Must be there by 7:00 a.m. officially. All students previous tell me I won't be ready to go if I don't arrive by 6:30. I will never sleep again...

It is in a major city. I would not camp overnight in my car. I work an hour away from home and lecture is an hour as well. I tried to nap in my car before work, which is outside of the city because I can't get home on Fridays before I have to work. I had pillows and everything. It didn't work. The temperature was dangerously high in a few minutes with the windows open slightly and in the shade. If I slept away from home for clinical days plus the fact that two days a week I'm at work overnight with class I would simply have to relocate, being it would be more time away from my children than not. Relocating is pricey and the area I would have to relocate to is a much higher cost of living. I'll suck it up because I have to, but I'm probably going to be reduced to sleep deprivation tears a few times.

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Specializes in retired LTC.
Each school handles this differently. I know one BSN program in Baltimore where a student can be assigned to a clinical site 75 miles away in any direction. So a student can have clinicals in Virginia on Monday and in Delaware on Tuesday.
My point exactly.

Schools have cut-offs on admissions for several reasons and limited clinical practicuum facility space is one reason. (Everybody has heard about not enough qualified faculty available is another.)

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

When I was in school, the expectation was that you WOULD be able to get to any clinical site that you were assigned to. If you couldn't, you had to find another student assigned to a closer site who was willing to switch with you--that would be the only way an instructor would let you make the change. If you didn't find someone to switch with, then prepare for a lot of driving.

For one clinical rotation, I had to leave at 0430 and drive an hour into farm country. My phone service would cut out and I'd lose GPS along the way so I prayed I'd never break down. Sucked big time, but I had no choice. I did listen to class lectures during the drive, so on the upside I had two hours of studying under my belt by the time I got home.

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The listening to lectures would rock if we were allowed to record.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

It seems that you have accosted your fate for this semester, which is good. It is what it is. If, moving forward, you are placed in a remote location, you could diplomatically remind your prof that you were placed in a remote location last semester.

For those who are in similar situations, I want to give it to you from my perspective (as someone who once did the clinical placements). Everyone (usually) wants the closest hospital to the school, because they most likely live near the hospital. If not, they want the one that is in the safest neighborhood, or has the best parking. I live in a city, and the prime locations are the ones accessible to bus/train. We have a hew that are on the outskirts; unless people happen to live in that direction, they dread going there. Then, there are the ones who want an easily accessible hospital so they can get there right before/after work.

So, if I'm the coordinator of clinical placements, how do I please everyone? Is your story more heartbreaking than the next students'? I remember when I did placements, I'd have the same people emailing me the same story semester another semester. How many times do you think I'm going to accommodate you? At some point you need to bend too. It's hard to think of others in this situation, every time I Give you what you want, someone else is being asked to compromise. (I know this is not your case) but at some point you either need to get a car, make a friends who has a car (and find a meeting point if you don't live near him/her), get a babysitter. Change your work hours. Something's gotta give! My husband cannot work morning hours on my clinical days because my child needs to get to school. If our lives depended on it, we would have to find a way to make it happen. But I cannot budge on my end, because I am not that special at work; everyone has had morning childcare/school issues on clinical days.

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Specializes in Labor and Delivery.
No one lives near me. So car pooling is out and I can't afford a hotel right now to even sleep a few hours before work. Gas has been killing me. There are multiple sites for our first rotation, some of which are much closer. I probably will just suck it up though, because moving me necessitates moving another student too. That's not fair to them. I can only hope I get into a closer facility for the next rotation. And that I can find a kick butt coffe pot (my brother broke mine when he stayed with us lol). Just was taking a moment to whine. Nothing more.

I know I got a site like that last semester and it seemed all my classmates got teh furthest possible placement. It was very frustrating because the gas was insane, how can you afford it with everything else...but somehow I did and by me I used to have to leave some day because if weather at 4:30 and the starbucks mermaid by me was still asleep :(:(:( it sucks bad though I know..

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