Thursday and Friday night I stayed up late making flash cards and trying to get into my brain what I had been told to learn for clinicals this week. Each day came and went without the expected knowledge assessment; instead, we were caught off guard when asked to do an SBAR and a head-to-toe physical assessment on someone….. ok….. great to review on the spot right? We could have planned ahead if we would have looked farther on the clinical schedule, but I guess we didn’t.
So instead of being able to enjoy the experience and watch the nurse in action, on Saturday, here I am stressed out about what medication questions I’ll have at some point, trying to get all pertinent patient information memorized, and wondering am I thinking critically about their disease processes and issues? When really all of that worrying and memorizing in the moment was a huge waste of energy because the day would take a different turn. I did fail but I was ok with it because I was closer to passing than I thought I would be. I can pass it next week. I am still worried about all the unknown though, it’s hard not to be. It’s seriously curbing my “learning” experience to be constantly stressing over what I don’t know.
I walked into college 3 weeks ago as an LPN…. I truely feel like, in the clinical setting, from day 1 there has been little tolerance as to the chance of making that transition to RN gradually…. I have to be an RN NOW.
It doesn’t matter that we’re in physical assessment class right now, we should already be able to do a by the book clinical assessment. I just needed clarification on “ok you’re learning the RN level assessments but you are expected to execute the LPN level assessment at this time”…… I like our clinical instructor, I really do; and I appreciate him, and the fact that he IS being reasonable, but he’s stressing me out with this constant front wall he’s got going of “you should know everything about everything already.” I hear from previous students that he’s one of the best. My gracious. Are we going to survive this year?
Do you know what an awesome instructor looks like? I can tell you. I had one for my LPN year. It is literally not possible to have an instructor/teacher better than she was. Supportive, easy going, caring, reasonable, and of course knowledgeable, I sure wish she could be here now….
It would be so nice if the focus of clinical was more teach teach teach not test test test. I can’t believe it’s only been 2 weeks of med/surg clinicals. The next 3 weeks can’t go by fast enough as far as I’m concerned.
– I’m concerned
The RN journey 