Emily C
As a nursing student, clinical is one of the best opportunities you have to gain insight on new nursing techniques, tips and tricks, and to practice your skills and communication. Clinical can also be a time that is stressful as you learn to manage your patients and prioritize your care all while thinking of the database and care plan that are waiting for you once the shift is over. Below I have listed some pieces of advice that can help you to relax and make the most of your time at clinical.
Be prepared
Packing your lunch, laying out your scrubs and nametags, and triple checking your bag for your stethoscope the night before are all helpful in getting you ready for your clinical day. It can be challenging to remember everything at 5am and even harder to find it if it is missing. This will set you up for success.
2. Jump in
Your job as a student is to learn! When given the opportunity to see something or do something in clinical, even if it is not your assigned patient, always say yes! This is a great way to increase your exposure and to experience some cool stuff.
3. Ask questions
Never be afraid to ask questions! You will not know everything and nobody is expecting you to. Asking questions helps to show your instructor and other nurses how much you are engaging and trying to connect your knowledge with what you see in practice.
4. Help others
Nurses are known for their teamwork and clinical is a great way to demonstrate your strength in this. Offer to assist other nursing students and nurses on your floor with the care of their patients. It will give you more experience caring for different types of people and will be greatly appreciated by the staff. It can also help to ease some fear of interacting with patients as you have a buddy with you. It is guaranteed that you will need help with your patient at some point in your career, so pay it forward now.
5. Take notes
As the clinical day progresses, try to take notes along the way for your reference later. This can even include contact information of nurses on the unit to expand your network and opportunities for employment. Documenting information about your patient will also help you to transfer that to your database later, and hopefully make it less time consuming.
Lastly, remember that as you go through nursing school, you are learning alongside everyone else, so don't expect to be perfect. When you graduate you most likely won't remember the number of hours you spent studying or how many pages your database was, but you will remember your time in clinical, so jump in, try your best, and enjoy it!
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