Nursing students receive their real preparation for working in health care environments during the time they spend in nursing clinicals. Nursing clinicals give students the chance to work together with professional nurses in real situations so they get a feel for what is actually involved with nursing work.

Real Patient Experience

Nursing clinicals expose nursing students to true-life, stressful situations. Students must be mentally prepared to face the increased pressure they will feel, since they are usually worried about making mistakes that could harm patients. These concerns generally fade over time as the students gain experience in the clinical setting. The best way to approach clinicals is to use common sense.

Keeping an Open Mind

Students should not take on more than they understand, and they should always ask questions when they are unsure of procedures. It may help to remember that everyone in a hospital – from physicians to technicians – all began their careers as lowly students!

Be Prepared

When beginning nursing clinicals, students should focus on good preparation. If a particular patient has been assigned, for example, it’s important to research that patient’s diagnosis, history, lab results, and medications beforehand, so that when the instructor asks for conclusions or suggested treatment plans, the student will be able to provide knowledgeable answers. Some nursing instructors suggest that students carry small notebooks with them during clinicals in order to write down any factor that will impact patient care.

Core Nursing Skills

Nursing students in all RN programs are trained to use similar core skills. These include assessment, diagnosis, outcomes and planning, implementation, and evaluation. Assessment refers to the collection and analysis of patient data and may include psychological, cultural, spiritual, financial, and lifestyle factors. Diagnosis involves a nurse’s clinical judgment of patients’ needs and forms the basis of a health care plan.

Measurable Goals

Outcomes and planning are based on assessment and diagnosis, which means that nurses establish achievable and measurable goals – short-term and long-term – that can be noted to show patient progress. Implementation of a care plan involves documenting all phases in the patient’s medical record. Evaluation refers to the patient’s status and the effectiveness of the care plan, which must be determined on a continuous basis so that changes can be made as necessary.

Will You Be Adequately Prepared?

Nursing students sometimes express concerns about the adequacy of the time they spend learning clinical skills. In modern nursing schools, however, clinical simulation laboratories are often used to supplement on-the-floor training. In these labs, students can practice their skills on specially designed “robots’ that simulate real medical conditions.

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