Who's in charge???

elkpark · Jan 15, 2006

I have taught nursing and have been involved in making arrangements for student clinical sites and preceptorships. It is a mutual negotiation between the school and the hospital/facility -- first of all, a hospital or other facility has to be approved by the state BON for use as a clinical site, which is a process that takes some time (in my state, at least; BON people have to come do a site visit, and they have to fit that in amongst all the other things they have to do ...). Once that hurdle is cleared, the contact/lead person from the school sits down with representatives from the hospital (nursing administration or education dept. people) and you ask for what you want and the hospital tells you what they are willing to offer you. Hospitals (and other facilities) vary greatly in how flexible they're willing to be, and there are lots of variables to consider, including what other schools (if any) are also using the facility as a clinical site and what areas/units will provide the best educational experiences for the students. In my experience, the facilities have not gotten involved at all in deciding which individual student goes where when; we have just worked out "slots" and it was entirely up to the school which students went where.

Just as an aside, as an instructor, I would consider it a bad idea for a student to be doing clinicals on the same unit s/he works as a tech. It would be much too easy for you to slide back into the role you're familiar with (just human nature :) ), and it would also be difficult for other staff on the unit to relate to you being in a new/different role (ditto). Much smarter and "healthier" (for everyone involved) to place you in a new, "fresh" setting.

Plus, the wider variety of experiences and settings you get in school, the better! Best wishes.

meownsmile, BSN, RN · Jan 15, 2006

I agree, it isnt a good idea for people in school to do their clinical/leadership time on the unit they have worked in. I had a senior student who did just that, wanted her externship on our floor, did her leadership semester there, and was planning on coming back to work when she graduated.

She did fine, but i did see her falling back into her role prior to nursing school and i had to pull her back into what she was supposed to be there to do. She got caught up in the associations she had with the staff there prior to her schooling and had to be assisted back into the RN role she was trying to move to.

Also, i might add, doing clinical in a unit other than what you have been working as staff gives you more of an idea of how other units and staff function together. It expands your thinking about how each job ties into another from a different perspective. And how different managerial direction effect the way a unit is run and how that staff work together.

hbncns35 · Jan 15, 2006

Thank you for putting this in a better perspective for me. I can see how doing clinical on my own unit may disrupt what I am trying to learn in the RN role. I will probably do orientation on this floor anyway and it will be good to get different teachers who deal with different aspects of care.

Thank you both...............................HB