1st Day Of " Clinical"

SolaireSolstice, BSN, RN · Sep 22, 2009

OK, I may be stepping in it, but I'm wondering what could possibly go wrong with a skills lab on bed baths and handwashing?

Clinical instructors I've had seem to have two modes: They expect you to know everything correctly, no mistakes; OR: They expect you to be completely ignorant and know nothing. I study to be the former, and keep my mouth shut if the instructor treats me like the latter. It works for me.

LibraRNinNY · Sep 22, 2009

I'm a little confused too, could you elaborate a bit on what exactly the instructor was yelling at your classmates for?

I'm not sure if your nursing textbook came with a supplemental CD, but mine did. I used to look at my syllabus to see what would be covered in my skills lab that week, and then view the related content on the CD. Even if my instructor wanted us to perform the skills in a slightly different way, I had the basics covered and was never totally lost.

If your book doesn't have an accompanying CD, or if it's not in-depth enough to be of much help, feel free to ask your friends here on allnurses for help before you go into skills lab next time! If your next lab is to cover IM injections for instance, come on here and ask for tips! You'll feel more confident and enjoy your time in clinical much more if you feel confident going in each week!

LongIslandNurseDream · Sep 22, 2009

Thank you Guys!!!!! like one of you said, she expected for us to know everything and it kind of overwhelmed us. Some of us were sweating ( Bless our hearts LOL), u imagine someone asking u to do something U have never done???? - she also told us not to bring care plan to clinicals, now I have to ask , is that true? how do you record the patient's history to do an assesment? !!!

2 girls wanna go and complaint about her because she is new and they want me to back up, and I honestly don't want to. I don't wanna her to get more meaner than she allready is LOL

Anyways,, last nite I watched the CD ( good advice!!!!) and practiced all afternoon today in the nursing lab; finally I went and took my skills test on Bed Bath and passed :) I feel so much better than yesterday, but Im still a little concern because this class is based in the foundations of Nursing and I need to learn as much as I can for future clinicals. Now my next skill test is Vital Signs and then Ill be ready for Hospital Clinicals :) I will def ask questions here whenever I feel a little lost. Thank youuuuu:redpinkhe

abbyann · Sep 23, 2009

As far at the care plan, my school has forms for us to write ours on. Maybe that's what they mean.

My first day in the skills lab was hard, too. I get really nervous when other people are watching me, so I messed up some really simple things in front of one particular instructor. I was horrified to learn that she would be my "real" clinical instructor. But she's great, and she ended up giving me a terrific evaluation.

Hang in there!

LibraRNinNY · Sep 23, 2009

I'm glad you're feeling better! It's such a cliche, but practice really does make perfect! You'll be able to do these skills with your eyes closed soon enough.

Follow your gut if you feel uncomfortable backing the other two girls up... I would advise against it personally. You don't want to get off on the wrong foot with your instructor, even if she was being overly critical.

Every school probably has different procedures when it comes to care plans, so I'm not sure how to advise you... We would fill out some pre-clinical worksheets and bring an assessment form to the hospital on which to record our observations. Then we would go home and fill out a complete care plan for the patient, which would be due the following week. Definitely double-check with your classmates or professor though.

Good luck in the coming weeks!