Clinical rotations are a rough time for any nursing student. This is the first time that you encounter patients, and you are expected to handle them like a professional. Your professor may be strict, and the environment is especially new to you. Getting through a clinical rotation is one of the most trying times in any nurse’s journey, but it is possible to make it through. Below are a few tips to help carry you through clinical rotations.
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Good work ethic
The time spent tending to patients and acquiring practical skills is never enough. Most nursing students realize this after clinical rotations when they find their skills are still inadequate. During your rotation, maximize every opportunity to acquire as much knowledge and experience as possible.
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Have an Open Mind
One thing that is a great impediment to learning is preconceived ideas about a rotation. Keeping an open mind will allow you to truly fulfill your potential in any rotation, and also it may enlighten you regarding a concept you previously did not know existed. Be fully present in the moment, mindfulness can help you achieve this.
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Be quick to lend a helping a hand
While you are in the hospital to learn, lending a hand is something that should come naturally. This demonstrates a willingness to serve and a good work ethic. It also means that in the future when you seek employment in that institution, you will be remembered as an industrious nurse. When your professor asked for a volunteer, always accept! It helps expose you to many different experiences.
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Teamwork and Cooperation
Clinical rotations can be impossible without the help of your fellow student nurses. Forming study groups and informing each other regarding changes in scheduling will go a long way in attaining success in the clinical rotations.
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Identify your Goals
In nursing as in any profession, there are goals to be achieved. At the end of your clinical rotation, there are certain skills you should have acquired. Identifying these will ensure that you achieve them. List these goals down, and frequently go over them to see how much you have accomplished. As you achieve more, you boost your confidence, which makes you capable of tackling harder challenges.
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Frequently Talk To You Instructors
Your instructors have a duty to guide and help you through the clinical rotation. Discussing with them what you have grasped and what you have not, will aid their efforts in getting the concepts across to you. Also remember to ask your instructor for feedback, so that you can see what areas you need improvement in.
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Always Come Prepared
Every nursing student should have a drug guide available on the go, to check up a patient’s medication. Also, have a guide to the procedures you are expected to carry out. This will aid you when you are faced with procedures that are new to you, or that you have not mastered yet.
Remember that clinical rotation are manageable, and all they require is a dedicated heart and willingness to learn.