1st Clinical Prep

Typically your first day of clinical they will not expect too much of you besides a positive attitude and minding your P's and Q's. I remember doing a lot of CNA work and helping feed patients.

Do you know what unit you will be on or is this in a nursing home? That would help with specific material. I think the most important area to brush up on would be your assessment skills. Know how to assess cranial nerve functioning, know what to assess for in a stroke patient/post-op patient/seizure risk patient.

I would also look up some of the common jargon and lab values you will hear during report like PERRLA, PT/PTT times, K levels, Na levels.

Mostly, I would make sure to go in with a positive attitude be willing to help with anything and everything, be sure to know the rules your school has as well as the rules of the facility and develop a positive relationship with the nurses and your instructor. They understand that this is new to you and are here to support you!

My sister and I are both nurses and we have a blog with tips and tricks for nursing students along with career advice and interviewing advice etc., if you are interested it is:

Calling the shots, sisters in nursing blog

you will probably do a lot more observation than anything else at first. You might get to do vital signs, help transfer patients from bed to chair, change beds, bathe patients - the basic nursing things. You should not be expected to do anything for which you have no competency demonstrated at some level. For instance, in school you should be taught how to do a task like changing a sterile dressing. Then you get to demo that in the clinical area.