how does it work?

shock-me-sane · Aug 10, 2006

first quarter, we had 3 clinical groups together in the classroom for 5 weeks. we went over basic skills and such. after that we broke into our individual groups and actually went to the hospital (all different hospitals).

what do you mean, having someone taking you to and from classes? do you not have transportation? you will have to find someone with the same day/time/instructor and hope they will be willing and able to give you a lift.

but you should call the nursing office to clarify your questions.

xomandalized · Aug 10, 2006

clinicals aren't on campus.

it's the responsibility of the student to get transportation from the campus at 7am to the hospital we'll be working at.

Reno1978, BSN, RN · Aug 10, 2006

Here, the instructors are only allowed to supervise 8 students each by the board of nursing, I believe. So there's six groups of eight students for clinicals. If your clinicals are at the same facility and time as your friend, you two could probably carpool.

xomandalized · Aug 10, 2006

i figured we could carpool

but the problem is that how are we supposed to know who is at what facility?

all the girls will be scrambling around finding someone and i fear i will be left to fend for myself

BeccaznRN, RN · Aug 10, 2006

i figured we could carpool
but the problem is that how are we supposed to know who is at what facility?
all the girls will be scrambling around finding someone and i fear i will be left to fend for myself

I doubt that you will be going to the hospital right away - it's more likely that you will be at the school's nursing lab in the very beginning. Our first semester we spent the first 7 weeks of clinical time in the lab learning skills and testing out with instructors. You will be able to find out who is in your clinical group during that time and arrange for carpooling.

elkpark · Aug 10, 2006

Because state BONS and the school accrediting agencies set specific limits on how many students can be in a clinical group with an instructor (so that students can be appropriately/safely supervised), it's typical to have a large lecture class but several different sections or groups for clinical, which may meet on different days and at different facilities. For example, in the program in which I teach, all 50 students are in the same didactic (lecture) class, but, for clinical, the students are divided up into six groups of eight or nine students each, with different instructors and different schedules (because the facilities we use for clinical can't handle having large numbers of students there all at the same time).

Yes, you are responsible for your own transportation to clinical experiences -- was that not made clear to you before you started the program? How are you managing to get back and forth to classes on campus? If you are depending on getting rides and carpooling with other students, that could be a problem later on because any absences from clinical are a BIG DEAL in nursing programs and can lead to people getting dropped from the program. It would be a real shame for you to have to miss any clinical days just because your "ride" had to be absent. It will be important for you to have a back-up plan ready in case that happens. Not having transportation will not be an acceptable excuse for missing a clinical day ...

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Aug 10, 2006

so how does that work?
clinicals are offsite and i need someone to take me to and from classes
i don't know how it's going to work

I don't know how you can manage without reliable transportation. As the other posters have written, this is not optional. If you don't have it, you may be dismissed from the program. Especially since outside of normal clinical hours you may need to visit your patients. Good luck.

Reno1978, BSN, RN · Aug 10, 2006

i figured we could carpool
but the problem is that how are we supposed to know who is at what facility?
all the girls will be scrambling around finding someone and i fear i will be left to fend for myself

Well, if you know the instructors name, I'm sure you can call your school and ask which hospital you all will be at once you start your hospital experience.

Like others have posted,the beginning weeks will most likely be on campus.

xomandalized · Aug 20, 2006

Yes, it was made clear to me when I went up to visit the campus and met with my advisor. But before that, I didn't know about clinicals. I don't have my first clinical until August 30th.