What are your schools doing about COVID and clinical?

BIG-OG · Mar 18, 2020

Non-essential workers ( students) should not be going to clinicals. Why would it be OK for students to be in clinical?

llg, PhD, RN · Mar 19, 2020

16 hours ago, BIG-OG said:
Non-essential workers ( students) should not be going to clinicals. Why would it be OK for students to be in clinical?

Because:

1. Students face potential exposures every day in the hospital. Anyone who thinks it was totally safe in the past with no risk has been in a state of serious denial.

2. To manage the crisis, hospitals may need every capable person they can get.

3. Many students have enough knowledge and skills to be extremely helpful.

4. Many students want to help -- out of a sense of compassion and commitment to serve the community if they are able.

5. Many need the clinical hours to graduate and be eligible for NCLEX.

6. Without the cohort of seniors graduating this Spring (if they can't graduate and take boards) ... who will be the nurses next Winter? This problem could be around for a couple of years. We can't afford to stop producing nurses, doctors, RT's, etc. indefinitely.

Maybe take a couple of weeks off to "flatten the curve," but eventually, people are going to need to get back to work -- and back to school/clinical -- to keep society functioning. And they will need to get back to work/school prior to the eradication of this virus.

That's my personal opinion -- not an opinion of my employer.

Tencat12 · Mar 20, 2020

I'm thinking that in this environment it is better NOT to expose students to the risk of catching this thing. Dead students don't make nurses next Winter either....I'm a clinical instructor and all the other colleges in my town did shut down clinicals except our program. I am also at high risk if I catch this thing because I have moderate-severe asthma and am over 50.

DreameRN, BSN · Mar 20, 2020

Update.... We are now cancelled from clinical for the forsee able future. PPE concerns. We live in interesting times..

BIG-OG · Mar 21, 2020

You can be the most experienced nurse in the world but when you move into the role of a student your mind is filled with fear about everything ( being asked a question, being punked by some rude nurse or Dr, and trying to remember your new set of skill your in school for). You will forget the simplest thing you’ve being doing for the last 10 years. Which puts you at the most risk to make mistake, which can ultimately be dangerous for the student and patient your trying to take care of. Compassion and caring does not mean stupid and ignorant. Nurses need to wake up !! And stop being worker Bee’s. These hospitals are businesses and they don’t care if you catch something or get hurt and can’t support yourself and family. They will just replace you with another and keep it moving. These hospitals are not even providing the proper PPE. Stop !!! With this old way of thinking as a nurse. Get a seat at the table and stop letting people who wear suits control nursing! I’m a nurse and I wear a suit and sit in a boardroom and the way these financial people look at nurses and the comments they make! Keep up the compassion see what that get you !!

SRNA1221, BSN · Mar 21, 2020

17 hours ago, BIG-OG said:
You can be the most experienced nurse in the world but when you move into the role of a student your mind is filled with fear about everything ( being asked a question, being punked by some rude nurse or Dr, and trying to remember your new set of skill your in school for). You will forget the simplest thing you’ve being doing for the last 10 years. Which puts you at the most risk to make mistake, which can ultimately be dangerous for the student and patient your trying to take care of. Compassion and caring does not mean stupid and ignorant. Nurses need to wake up !! And stop being worker Bee’s. These hospitals are businesses and they don’t care if you catch something or get hurt and can’t support yourself and family. They will just replace you with another and keep it moving. These hospitals are not even providing the proper PPE. Stop ! With this old way of thinking as a nurse. Get a seat at the table and stop letting people who wear suits control nursing! I’m a nurse and I wear a suit and sit in a boardroom and the way these financial people look at nurses and the comments they make! Keep up the compassion see what that get you !!

The COA actually released a statement classifying SRNA's as essential personnel. My program has shifted to online class and given students the option to attend clinical. Most of my classmates (along with myself) have opted to take a 2 week quarantine period and return to clinical. Your statements about students "minds being filled with fear" putting us as risk of making a mistake has absolutely nothing to do with the COVID-19 pandemic. We get questioned on a variety of topics EVERY DAY in clinical, not just during pandemics. Preceptors are attempting to prepare us for the high stress, high pressure environment that we will encounter on a daily basis. I don't agree that a students decision to attend clinical is "stupid and ignorant" as you stated. My program has released guidelines involving strict prohibition of caring for patients with symptoms of/active COVID. We are left with the difficult decision to weigh our potential for exposure against a delay in obtaining a degree we've worked so hard for. Not to mention that a delay in graduation means a delay in our entrance into the work force to HELP with crises like COVID. I respect your opinion, but until you have walked in our shoes, your point is rather irrelevant.

BIG-OG · Mar 21, 2020

Your correct I haven’t walked in your shoes. But I have been around long enough to witness nurses careers and the ability to support themselves and there family get taken away because of something like this. You think graduation is all you have to worry about! WOW! ! I love your positivity. Ask the one student that catches this virus how they feel after the school has told them they can’t complete the semester or how about the hospital sending them a letter explaining how sorry they are but you can’t report to clinicals. People punking you at work is preparing you for a high stress job tells me you haven’t been in this field very long. I’m not saying stay out of clinicals and risk not graduating on time. I’m saying don’t risk your life on something you know nothing about and because the hospital and the government told you it’s OK it’s OK. Sooooo what if you did catch it in clinicals ? Then what ? Do you think the school or the hospital will stop what they are doing and come to your rescue. Graduation? How about your life!

SRNA1221, BSN · Mar 21, 2020

4 minutes ago, BIG-OG said:
Your correct I haven’t walked in your shoes. But I have been around long enough to witness nurses careers and the ability to support themselves and there family get taken away because of something like this. You think graduation is all you have to worry about! WOW!! ! I love your positivity. Ask the one student that catches this virus how they feel after the school has told them they can’t complete the semester or how about the hospital sending them a letter explaining how sorry they are but you can’t report to clinicals. People punking you at work is preparing you for a high stress job tells me you haven’t been in this field very long. I’m not saying stay out of clinicals and risk not graduating on time. I’m saying don’t risk your life on something you know nothing about and because the hospital and the government told you it’s OK it’s OK. Sooooo what if you did catch it in clinicals ? Then what ? Do you think the school or the hospital will stop what they are doing and come to your rescue. Graduation? How about your life!

I see a common trend of missing the point with your responses. I gave valid explanations for each point I discussed and you reply merely with your opinion. You don't know me nor can you assume I haven't been in this field very long based on my reply. Your reply tells me you know nothing about my field. Questioning is a normal part of everyday clinical in an anesthesia program. This is to ensure the competence of the student and reenforce areas the student may not fully understand. These learning opportunities in clinical are the reason you can SAFELY be put to sleep. The main point regarding graduation (which again, you missed) was that a delay in our entry to the field could further cripple the healthcare system. Everyone has opinions and I feel that I at the very least have expressed mine in an EDUCATED manner with experience in the field, not from an outsider view.

NAtoRN · Mar 22, 2020

Are any schools replacing clinicals with something else?

Phish16 · Mar 22, 2020

there is no reason for a student to show up to clinical, being non-essential staff and most likely not even being provided an N95 mask. Those in the hospital, especially those intubating as we do, are at a high risk of catching this virus and spreading it to the rest of the patients and community. Please don't be at clinical. My school gave us the option of showing up to clinical, while continuing our online classes. It's absurd to me that people are allowing any students in the hospitals.

DreameRN, BSN · Mar 22, 2020

Ours has said they will have something for us online to do, to replace some of clinical.

If there was not a shortage of PPE, then I think it would be reasonable to continue in clinical if the person wanted to. However, with the shortage of PPE, there is no reason to double the amount of everything and burn up supplies that much. Clinical can wait, as much as that pains me, and as much as I hate to delay my education, conserving supplies is more important and also exposing less people is also prudent. I'll stay home and review my notes, books, board material, and yes, likely netflix..