Topics About 'Student Clinicals'.

Bewildered, I put the first binder back on the shelf (it was big and heavy) and turned to face the other rack. Not really sure what I was looking at but attempting to look professional, I grabbed the binder with my newly acquired client's room number...

My instructor said, Mr. Fernando...And I said who was that again ma'am? She repeated it, Mr. Fernando. The only thing I said to my instructor was "thank you so much and remember with a crocodile smile..." The moment I looked at the patient's chart, I...

I was set to do a saline lock flush with my instructor. Mind you, it wasn't my first, because I had done them in the second semester without any problem. But it was the first one with THIS instructor, and she was very very strict. A total stickler! O...

Having good social skills is crucial when working in a field like nursing where a large part of your day is caring for and communicating with people. It is important to develop positive social skills so that it will be easier to succeed with your goa...

The day started EARLY (at least it was early for a 19-year-old girl at the beginning of summer). My instructor was VERY strict. She had been a military nurse before becoming an instructor at the local junior college. All the students in her clinical ...

Every nurse remembers their first day of nursing clinicals. I would like to share my first day with you. We were a group of ten brand new nursing students. Dressed in all white, some had excited expressions of anticipation on their faces. Others had ...

Once, during a clinical rotation in a medical-surgical ward, a doctor asked a volunteer to check the CR (or the cardiac rate) of an unstable cardiac patient. Willing to impress my instructor because of my earlier mischief during that day (arriving 30...

Having had a Home Health Aide with a certificate from the American Red Cross, I worked with the elderly in their homes and Assisted Living facilities and I loved it. For 5 years I had a lovely client who became very dear to me and I enjoyed taking go...

It's 7:20 am. I stood there for a few minutes, looking down the hall at my two companion student nurses scampering around with their buddy nurses. I watched with envy at how their mentors actually talked to them. Now, let me be fair to my mentor. Whe...

Have you ever been to Disneyland? I know. What does Disneyland have to do with clinicals? I enjoy going to Disneyland and have always been impressed with the excellent customer service that one will experience there. At Disneyland, all employees are ...

Halfway through my program, nursing school has thus far, for various reasons, ranged from being disappointing to discouraging to despairing. I've been disappointed in the quality of the school and of the clinical experience. I've been discouraged abo...

I spent a lot of time coming up with interventions that I felt could really help our almost-a-century-old patient. As we pass room 221, I realize that there is a different patient there. Where's our group patient? Oh no. At that moment I know exactly...

Also, you get the chance to see things you never, never dreamed you would have the opportunity to witness in person. Ever. In your life. That is where my story begins. I remember it ever so clearly. "Leslie" and I, 2 nincompoop students who had just ...

I was a little too enthusiastic because when I tied them up I broke the string out. So I broke out the needle and thread and a safety pin and proceeded to fix them. I congratulated myself on a great job and slipped them back on. This time went I went...

The clinical instructor should be careful to promote a learning atmosphere that respects human values, rights, and choice of spiritual and cultural beliefs. Educators should be approachable, receptive, and supportive. instructors need to be excellent...

Privately, Mrs. R described this student as a usually happy-go-lucky individual who did very well in school and was well liked by many of her peers. One morning, however, she received a phone call from one of this student's teachers explaining to Mrs...

Before you begin, investigate the floor in which you will be having the clinical. It is our responsibility as nurse educators to facilitate our students' education. In other words, we partner together with our students for their learning. It is our r...

Our clinical instructor asked us who would like to do these two-bed baths. One was an assist, one was complete. I jumped at the chance to do the complete bed bath. I wanted this first experience to be done and over with! My partner and I got picked t...

During my clinical rotation in the nursing home, I was assigned a gentleman in his 70's (we'll call Mr. Smith), as my patient. Mr. Smith had severe Alzheimer's disease, which had progressed very quickly. He had gone from sailing solo from the coast o...

When sailing, one chooses a destination and then charts a course. If the winds or currents change, the navigator must chart a new course. You don't have to change your destination, but if you don't adapt to the changing winds and currents, you will n...

The dreadful day came, I can still imagine that very moment when our instructor announced my name being listed as one of those who will have their duty inside the delivery room. "Mr. Stuart, you'll be reporting this Thursday at the delivery room. Ms....

This self-assessment enables them to carefully explore their strengths and weaknesses. The narrative account requires thoughtful consideration of successful actions that could be applied to other situations. Additionally, students can identify action...

Case in point: when I started working in the hospital, my experiences in the medical field included several emergency room visits and one overnight stay as a kid, and sleeping in a chair at my grandmother's bedside the night before she died. I guess ...

I was in my teens when I started work in a local nursing home. This was eons before HIPAA, way before the nursing home industry was regulated. This was when nursing homes were true hellholes, where residents could be restrained for days, where dressi...

Here's some tips from the other side: - There are about 20 bazillion schools in my area. If you aren't from the school I attended, telling me what semester or rotation you're on tells me nothing (unless you tell me you're on your first or last one). ...