Top 10 Clinical Placement tips for Nursing Students 

Stethoscope Giveaway ► bit.ly/3e1y2Q9
Nurse Jenny Shop ► bit.ly/2Au2hje
Amazon Shop ► amzn.to/3dZiRFv
Detailed Blog Post Here
🔵bit.ly/34M04ur
★☆★ LET'S BE FRIENDS ★☆★
Facebook: / rnurse.jenny
Instagram: / rnurse.jenny
Twitter: / rnursejenny
Blog: bjornhall.com/blogs/nurse-jenny
Shop: bjornhall.com/
Email: jenny@bjornhall.com
★☆★★☆★★☆★★☆★★☆★★☆★★☆★★☆★
ABOUT: Top 10 Clinical Placement tips for Nursing Students
How to get the most out of your Clinical Placements
Being on clinical placement is hard, trust me I know. But this time in your Nursing education is vital because this is where you will learn the most! So let me go through some of the key things YOU can do to get the absolute most out of your clinical placement.
1.Do some research
It’s always a good idea to find out what kind of placement you’re going on and do some homework. Familiarise yourself with the main aspects of the role and common procedures just to get yourself prepared for what’s coming.
2. Be on time
Being punctual strengthens and reveals your integrity and it shows that you are dependable. You’re gonna have to be on time for many many shifts in your career, so you may as well set your standards now. Showing up late for clinical placement is not a good look or message you want to send to your supervisor or the Nurses you’re going to be working with.
3. Be prepared
Be prepared and take it seriously. I suggest you get yourself a stethoscope so that you’re not scrambling to find one or have to borrow your Nurse stethoscope every time you need to do vitals. Bring a pen! It’s surprising how many students show up with NO pen! Get a FOB to watch either digital or analog, as long as it counts seconds cause you’re gonna need it when counting heartbeats per minute and respirations. Remember that you are there because you WANT to be there and you gotta act like you actually do.
4. Write it down drug names and what they’re for
The sooner you start learning about different drug classes the better. Get yourself a little notepad that can fit into your pocket. Write down all the drugs you see, hear or read about. Look them up when there’s a quiet moment, or look them up at home.
5. Ask questions!
Ask as many questions that you can! It’s not annoying, in fact, it shows the Nurse you are working with that you are interested in and willing to learn!
6. Show initiative
Being proactive and showing initiative will serve you well on your clinical placement. Show your Nurse that you are thinking ahead and that you’ve got good time management. Keep on top of the things that need to be done and if you don’t know what they are, ask your Nurse! Hey, what can I do right now? You’re not always going to be paired with a Nurse who loves to teach so sometimes you have to take control of your own learning and seek it out.
7. Dress appropriately
If the dress code states, black closed in shoes or no jewelry, make sure you follow it. It’s a pain I know, but it comes with the job. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to wear whatever we want because of the work that we do. Suck it up!
8. Put your hand up for opportunities to learn
If your Nurse asks you “do you want to do this” ALWAYS, ALWAYS say YES. Even if it terrifies you. This is your opportune moment to learn! And someone is willing to teach you. NEVER say Not an opportunity to learn because you’re scared or because you’ve never done it before. The more exposure you get the more confident you will be in your Nursing practice.
9. Be aware that Nurses work in different ways
You’re gonna learn fairly quickly that there are 100 different ways of giving a sub-cut injection. Every Nurse is gonna tell you something different and you may end up frustrated because you’re getting all these mixed messages. My advice is that you first of all stick to what they’ve taught you in Nurse labs. This is the most up to date way of doing things so you can’t go wrong with sticking to that. You will take bits and pieces from all different Nurse who taught you things and find out what works best for you.
10. NEVER say “I don’t know” to a patient and leave it at that
If you are working with a Nurse and you have to say 5 patients together that you are looking after. If a patient asks you a question that you don’t know the answer to you can say “look I’m not sure, but I will find out for you” Never ever leave them with “I don’t know” and that’s it. Then go to the Nurse you are working with, tell them what the patient asked, and go from there.
Follow these tips and you will get a lot more out of your clinical placements which will be more enjoyable not only for you but also for the people around you.