Nine Ways to Care for Yourself During Clinicals

Starting clinicals can be a stressful, scary, exciting, and rewarding time in nursing school. Some student nurses have no healthcare experience prior to starting clinicals, so it can seem extra intimidating. Some have had healthcare experience, but can still find it hard to step into a new role as a nursing student and future nurse. Regardless of where you’re coming from, it’s important to take care of yourself during this time and take full advantage of the learning opportunities.

So, here are a few tips to make this transition a little smoother:

Eat breakfast. No matter where you are in your rotation, a good breakfast is a must. It can help prevent the drop in blood sugar (thus preventing passing-out in the OR), prevent headaches, and give you the energy you need to do so much physical and mental work.

Drink water. Drink lots of water before starting and continue to drink water throughout your shifts. Many students get headaches during clinicals and oftentimes it is due to working a 12-hour shift without properly hydrating.

Wear comfortable clothes. Most likely you must wear your school scrubs, but if you know you are always cold, think about putting a layer underneath them or bringing a jacket, if allowed. If you are always hot, wear thinner socks, don’t layer, and wear a short-sleeved top. Wear comfortable shoes. Shoes can make or break your experience. Don’t wear brand-new shoes. Although they must meet hospital standards, make sure they are worn-in, comfortable, and will last you through the day.

Take breaks. Breaks can help you process the information you have been learning throughout the day, and give you time to just take a breath. Bathroom breaks are mandatory (especially due to all of the water you will be drinking!), If you’re having an especially hard time on a given day, a break can give you the time you need to vent, cry, or do a quick meditation to get you through it.

Bring comfort items. If you are prone to headaches, bring medications that help alleviate them. If you have asthma, bring your inhaler. If you have an essential oil or natural stress-reliever, bring it. Bring coffee or tea in the morning, if you drink them. Bring snacks and a big lunch.

Ask for help. If you have never done something before or don’t feel comfortable doing something, ask for help. You should never feel as though you are unsupported or left alone. Ask your clinical instructor, classmate, nurse, or CNA for help if you need it. This is a time to take advantage of your resources, because soon you will be independent. Ask questions and see how other people do things. Admit to your patients that you are a student and are new at this. They will be more forgiving and sometimes they can give you great tips on how to do things.

Jump at every opportunity. Again, take advantage of this time as a student. Tell the nurses you will be working with that you want to see as much as you can and do as much as you can during your stay. If you communicate your eagerness to learn, oftentimes nurses will help you to see interesting procedures, be a part of codes, start all of the IVs, and drag you into everything they can. Use this opportunity to practice giving report to the oncoming nurse. You will never forget some of the experiences you get to be a part of during this time.

Be prepared. This does not mean that you should sit at the nurses’ station reading your textbooks during your clinical time. This means prepare the night before, asking previous students about what to expect, and being well-educated on the skills expected of you during your time. You want to hit the ground running.

Reflect. A reflection may be a part of your clinical assignment. If not, try writing down some of the things you experienced and learned during your day; this can be a time to help process everything and solidify your understanding. Not only will you learn clinical skills, but you will learn how to speak with patients and how to handle emotional and stressful situations. It can also help you start learning how to not take work “home with you.” Writing a reflection is a way to acknowledge what you went through, write it down, and learn to leave it there. Talking with your classmates and clinical instructors also helps you with this.

Clinicals are a time to transition from learning how to be a nurse, to practicing being a nurse. For some, this can be a smooth and easy transition; for others, it takes quite a bit more effort. But just remind yourself you can do it! Stick it out, take advantage of this time, and you will come out on the other side a new and competent nurse. Good luck!

General or Specialty RN Jobs After Nursing School?

In nursing school we are exposed to the many different specialty fields afforded to RNs. We learn about critical care nursing, obstetrics, cardiology, pediatrics/neonatal nursing, and psychiatric nursing, to name a few. Some of us have a passion for one specialty over the other and can’t imagine doing anything else with our nursing career. However, I’m sure that all of us with an intent for specialty nursing have heard from either instructors or experienced nurses that we must have at least a year of general nursing first.

The thought is that working as a general nurse on a medical/surgical floor, for instance, will teach us how to become a nurse. For some new graduate RNs, working on a medical/surgical floor is desired and even sought out. For others, however, working as an RN on a floor that is not their ideal job sounds difficult and disheartening.

If we start off in the specialty we want, will we not also become nurses? Will working in the field we want from the beginning help to decrease new graduate RN burnout?

According to an article in the International Journal of Nursing Studies (Rudman and Gustavsson, 2011), nearly 1 out of every 2 new graduate nurses has experienced burnout and has considered leaving the nursing profession altogether. Is this related to an increased perceived pressure in doing a job they don’t want to do?

Many new graduate programs assist new RNs in finding and staying at specialty jobs they are interested in. A new graduate RN interested in working in a neonatal ICU right out of nursing school may get this opportunity through a new graduate program. This new nurse may then be more likely to continue in the nursing profession because they are satisfied at their job and not dissatisfied working on a floor they are not passionate about.
Many nurses also report that it is harder to transfer into a specialty unit after they have already been a nurse for a while than it is to start on that unit as a new graduate.

Have you had to work on a floor you had no interest in? Do you feel it made you a better nurse? Or did you get a job in the specialty you wanted right away? Are you a nursing student that is desperate to work in a specific area right away? Please share your experiences.

Nursing Instructors: Teaching and Inspiring the Next Generation

Nursing instructors have a unique calling to impart what they have learned in the field to student nurses. They take clinical experience and knowledge and pass it on to the next generation. The good ones know how to include anecdotal stories from their days on the floor, or explain concepts in inspiring language and tone. One of my favorite instructors was able to teach in a way that helped me visualize being a nurse; she shared stories of being an ICU nurse which helped to solidify the major points of her class and shared helpful tips on how to remember things in a fun way.

I’m sure we have all had (or will have) an instructor who is on the other end of the inspirational spectrum,, one who might leave us feeling a little shorted. I remember having one instructor in particular whom I felt was simply in academia because she hated being a clinical nurse so much more. She seemed to portray an air of discontent with even teaching, and I had a hard time fathoming how she acted toward her patients. Eventually we bonded, however, and I learned that although she may not have had a good “bedside” manner, she was brilliant in regards to knowing and teaching difficult concepts.
While some of my nursing instructors have been more inspiring than others, I have found that every one of them has something unique to share that has contributed to my development as a nurse.

Most nursing schools require instructors to have a master’s degree in nursing (MSN) with a preference for those with a doctorate degree. The art of teaching can be challenging, so a PhD in nursing can help with evidence-based teaching concepts and research. Most nursing instructors teach classes or help with clinical experiences based on their prior employment. For example, it would be difficult to do a rotation in L&D with a clinical instructor that only worked in the ICU. Fortunately, most instructors prefer and are placed at clinical sites and teaching classes in the area where they have the most experience. This ensures a positive and enriching experience for the students.

Just like becoming a nurse, teaching is a challenging yet rewarding profession. For those of you who enjoy teaching, a career as a nursing instructor may be in the future for you. Take opportunities to teach, mentor, or be a preceptor in the future to help learn essential skills or to discover if it is something you enjoy.

What experiences have you had with instructors? What factors make some better at teaching and inspiring than others? If you are interested in teaching, what aspect of the job is most interesting to you?

Before you burn out in nursing...

In this busy, sometimes stressful field of nursing, many of us will reach a point in our lives as students (or
nurses) where we burn out. If you are student nurse, oftentimes you have the difficult task of balancing
studying, exams, group assignments, presentations, work, family life, social life, and many other
things all at once. As a new graduate nurse, you may feel overwhelmed-- perhaps feeling unprepared,
overworked, and stretched by this amazing job where you are learning something new every day.
Experienced nurses may feel burned-out when they go to the same physically and mentally taxing job
every day, and perhaps feel undervalued and unrecognized for their hard work.

As nurses, in any stage of our careers, the very difficult job of being compassionate day in and day out
can sometimes take its toll on our bodies and spirits.

So what can be done to prevent this?

A great way for student nurses and new graduates to prevent burning out is to work with a mentor who
is perhaps further along in his or her school program, or has been on the unit at the hospital for a couple
of years. This mentor can play an amazing role in boosting your morale, providing tips gained from
personal experience, and offering advice from someone who has been through it already. Mentorship
programs are vital for hospitals to help retain their new graduate nurses, who often have a 1-2 year
burnout phase where many new nurses quit their first job or leave the profession altogether.

It is important for nurses at all stages of their careers to seek support from their colleagues. Our
classmates and coworkers in the nursing field are often the only ones who truly know how it feels to be
drained as a nurse--oftentimes physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Getting outside of school or work
to talk about honest issues is a great way to feel supported and understood.

Recognize that it is common for many people to reach that point where they feel like they “can’t do it
anymore” either in school or at work. It is important to differentiate whether these feelings mean that
a change needs to be made, or that you are just going through a rough spell and will soon get better.
Seek counseling from those around you who may be able to determine whether this as just a phase or
not.

The most important thing to prevent burnout, in my opinion, is to be good to yourself. Taking a few
minutes out of your day to rest, meditate, or help heal yourself will save you time in the long run and
help prevent you from feeling despair. (You may want to try some of NurseZone’s health and wellness
tips to keep your stress levels under control.)

Have you ever felt truly burned-out at school or work? What things helped you get out of it?

What I’m Thankful for This Holiday Season

With the holidays around I have become sentimental in realizing how lucky we are as nursing students
and nurses to be in this profession. As difficult as it can be at times, there is a lot to be thankful for!

I am thankful for…

… Our patients and all they bring to us;

…The amazing opportunities the nursing profession brings;

…The nurses who have taken care of my family and friends;

…How advanced and well-esteemed the profession is today;

…Knowing that nurses are appreciated, even if we don’t hear it often;

…The strength to carry on when we have hard days;

…Our brothers and sisters in nursing and the understanding that only they have;

…A job where every day is different from the last;

…All of the wisdom and creativity old and new nurses bring to the field;

…The support of family and friends in the pursuit of the nursing dream;

…The encouragement that professors and experienced nurses provided along the way;

…All of the amazing nurses who have come before us;

…The joy of seeing a patient smile;

…Some of the humorous things we see in a shift;

…Being able to share the holiday with someone’s family, even though we don’t have every holiday off
to spend with our own families.

What are you thankful for this season? How has nursing helped you appreciate the things around you?

Getting a Fast Start at Nursing as a Second Career

With today’s economy, the field of nursing is becoming more and more enticing to potential job seekers.  Men and women are finding that the profession can provide stability and job satisfaction while providing an income that can support a family.  Some people come to nursing after having a previous career, either due to job loss or personal preference. 

I have talked with many nursing students who hold bachelor’s degrees in other fields and have now chosen to turn their education to the field of nursing.  Accelerated nursing programs are perfect for these students, as they provide a much quicker route to becoming a registered nurse (RN).

Many accelerated nursing programs allow students to receive a bachelor’s of science in nursing (BSN) degree and become an RN in around one year.  Courses include prerequisites as well as nursing classes and clinicals.  Generally these programs are rigorous forms of study and do not allow time for outside jobs.  However, this is a much quicker route than the four-year programs for students that already hold a degree, and many financial aid options are still available.

Oftentimes, employers look for applicants that hold previous degrees and even have varied professional history outside of nursing.  The experiences from previous jobs  can add further depth to the already multidimensional scope of nursing. 

If you have thought that you are either too old for nursing, or that no one would hire you due to lack of nursing experience, please reconsider.  An accelerated degree program is an excellent option for seasoned individuals wanting to make a change.

For more information, please see the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s Fact Sheet on Accelerated Baccalaureate and Master’s Degrees in Nursing.

Birth Experience in Nursing School

A debate that has been going on for years within nursing schools is whether or not nursing students should attend real births during their obstetric rotation.  Some argue in favor of the birth experience, while others argue that obstetric skills can be learned in the classroom and the physical birth is not necessary.

Of course logistics play a factor in setting up experiences for nursing students.  Time, facilities, and babies willing to be born during scheduled clinical hours all play a role.  Some male nursing students have encountered women declining to allow them into the room and some students have had few or no births during their rotation. This is all part of the unexpectedness of the field of labor and delivery.

Those in favor of simulators argue that birth can be taught by practicing with a mannequin, while others argue that there is no way to bring the human experience without being beside a laboring woman.

I would argue that the art of being with women during labor and birth is akin to learning how to be with patients as they die.  It is a part of the compassion and stillness that is ingrained in the profession of nursing.  Aside from these quiet skills, attending a birth is a life event  that all future nurses should experience.  It has been a tradition within nursing schools throughout history and should continue in practice today. 

Some argue that since nursing students are not expected to be proficient in the field of labor and delivery, that this is an unnecessary clinical experience.  Labor and delivery is considered a specialty field and therefore considered something that student nurses need not master in order to graduate. 

Do you think that experiencing a birth is an important part of nursing education?  Do you think the obstetric clinical is worth having, or should it be replaced with a different clinical setting?  What are your thoughts?