3 Tips to Better Manage Clinical Placement as a Student Nurse (1)

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3 Tips to Better Manage Clinical Placement As a
Student Nurse
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Table of contents

• Introduction
• Become a master of time management
• Be constantly curious and never afraid to ask
  questions
• Understand that it will be a lifelong learning
  journey
• How Clinical Placement Feedback Can Drive
  Outcomes
• What Does Research Say About Nursing Students and
  Stress
• Everyone copes with stress in their own ways

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Introduction

• Making the most out of clinical placement is
  extremely important for student nurses. It is the
  first step toward being a part of the cycle of
  care provision, where they get the chance to
  experience medicine from ground zero. Placements
  are typically designed not only to give the
  student the chance to apply the theoretical
  knowledge gained so far, but also to better
  understand what it takes to run a ward and how to
  succeed at the non-medical side of nursing as
  well. It is truly a unique opportunity to hone
  and develop skills and make an important decision
  for the future.
• Nonetheless, clinical placements comes with its
  own unique challenges and there are a number of
  things every nursing student should know and
  apply to ensure they make the most out of it. The
  work can be exhausting and even distressing some
  times, but there are few occupations that are as
  crucial and rewarding as being a nurse.

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• To begin with, every student must put in place a
  placement management plan of their own. This will
  entail everything from schedules and rotations to
  managing patients and their case. As many
  students have revealed, its not at all easy to
  stay on top of things. Imagine that many of these
  future nurses have never interacted with a real
  life patient with a real life problem. Having
  another human being ask you Am I dying? or
  witnessing a patient pass away or being in pain
  can threaten emotional and psychological health
  if one is not fully prepared. On top of things,
  having to fill out, submit and update what seems
  like endless amounts of documentation on a
  regular basis can leave many overwhelmed and
  unable to do their job.
• There are a couple of tricks and tips that every
  nursing student can benefit from, namely

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Become a master of time management

• Nursing courses paired with practice and outside
  of work responsibilities already sounds like a
  recipe for disaster. Former students and
  specialists emphasize on the importance of
  managing time effectively and planning ahead.
  Keeping a journal and a constantly updated agenda
  can make a huge difference, while leveraging the
  potential of technology can smooth things even
  further. Apps such as Rotation Manager have been
  developed exactly with this objective in mind
  to make nurse students lives easier.

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Be constantly curious and never afraid to ask
questions

• Stress and frustration can often build up as a
  result of insecurity and fear of asking for
  clarifications and explanations. Its important
  to keep in mind that in such settings, the
  student is accountable for their own learning.
  Exploiting the knowledge and experience of
  mentors and long-standing staff and having a
  natural curiosity for procedures and processes
  will not only make the placement more enjoyable,
  but it will ensure a robust learning experience.

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Understand that it will be a lifelong learning
journey

• Nursing school and clinical placement are just
  the tip of the learning iceberg. There isnt
  really a point throughout where learning will
  cease. As times are changing and there is
  constantly something to discover and master, it
  is important to not establish a finishing line.
  Health care is going through immense and exciting
  developments and fostering a growth mindset,
  always thirsty for more knowledge is the way
  forward.

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How Clinical Placement Feedback Can Drive Outcomes

• Clinical placement could be majorly improved if
  feedback from nursing students was captured
  better. Who else is better positioned to identify
  gaps, provide solutions and praise what works
  well than those with fresh eyes, big ideas and
  willingness to go that extra mile to fix
  something? Performance, regardless of context,
  can only be boosted when areas of improvement and
  similarly, areas of strength are identified and
  appropriate actions are taken.
• Nursing students hold a powerful voice in this,
  which often remains unheard. Picture a medical
  ward where standard procedures have been put in
  place many years ago and since then, like
  clockwork, anyone who came in just followed them,
  without questioning or searching to revamp them.
  We are witnessing unprecedented advancements in
  ways of doing things, it is hard to believe many
  educational environments do not facilitate the
  provision of feedback from students.

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• Induction, morale, resources and mentor
  assignment, are all aspects that nursing students
  and only them experience first-hand. Considering
  clinical placements are responsible for as much
  as 50 of their entire education before going
  into practice, their perceptions and experiences
  are highly valuable in ensuring the future of
  medical establishments and provision of care can
  grow and stay on top of developments and changes.
  Its also how hospitals and clinics attract and
  retain top talent. Generations who are now
  entering the workforce have different ways of
  working, higher expectations from the workplace
  culture and a mindset shaped to find errors and,
  hopefully in many cases, come up with solutions
  to fix them.
• While many establishments have provision of
  feedback on their agenda, few actually take a
  well thought out approach to enable them to
  collect and analyze it. Even fewer facilitate the
  process for students. Feedback generally comes in
  the form of a thank you letter, gifts, dinners or
  at the very best, a poorly designed questionnaire
  where aspects get rated but no chance of
  explaining is given.

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• Studies have demonstrated that when students have
  the opportunity to provide qualitative feedback
  management and staff can gather valuable insights
  and actionable advice that can significantly
  improve performance and boost morale. And the
  explanation behind this is simple being fully
  immersed in an environment, particularly for many
  years, its difficult to stay impartial and
  objective.
• The situation can be looked at through a
  different set of lens as well. Nursing students
  have confessed they do not receive regular
  performance feedback from their mentors and
  supervisors. Which is yet another untapped
  opportunity which can lead to better outcomes.
  Feedback can improve student confidence,
  motivation and self-esteem and overall clinical
  performance which are key both short and long
  term.

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• To address these issues, its important for every
  ward everywhere to nurture a culture that
  welcomes feedback and utilizes it to grow
  individuals, teams and medical care provision.
  Encouraging everyone to have a voice and making
  sure that voice matters can truly make a
  difference.

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What Does Research Say About Nursing Students and
Stress

• Being stressed is the new normal in our modern
  lives. It is believed that at least 70 of all
  Americans exhibit the overwhelming symptoms
  associated with it on a daily basis, and its no
  different for nursing students. Even more so, for
  nursing students in clinical placements the
  levels of stress experienced are thought to be
  higher than for students in any other practice.
• According to findings from several international
  studies, all nursing students have moderate to
  severe stress in the clinical setting phase of
  their training and in some places around the
  world, the levels can go as high as 99.

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• The most common causes of stress in nursing
  students in clinical placements as reported most
  frequently in studies, include
• Fear of unexpected happenings and making a
  mistake
• Operating medical equipment
• Working with difficult and unhelpful staff
• Lack of sufficient theoretical and practical
  knowledge and experience
• Communications gaps with peers and patients
• While in small amounts, stress can have its
  benefits, in most cases it poses a high risk to
  health, overall wellbeing and future performance.
  Its not uncommon for students to withdraw from
  the program because they are not equipped to deal
  with these stressors.

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Everyone copes with stress in their own ways

• All of us have different coping mechanisms when
  it comes to dealing with stress. Some go for a
  run, others engage in social activities or a
  hobby others meditate or choose to travel.
  Nursing students, as studies tell us, employ a
  variety of coping mechanisms from venting to
  friends, physical exercising, crying, ignoring
  the feelings and the pressure associated with it
  and among the most maladaptive ones, using
  alcohol and drugs.

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• Clinical placement is a critical part for every
  future nurses career. To actively and
  successfully overcome clinical setting related
  stress, it is recommended that students leverage
  various strategies to enhance professional
  competency, acknowledge and correct mistakes,
  confront tense situations, and reflect on issues.
  It is also the facultys responsibility to take
  action and ensure the learning environment allows
  for stress to be dealt with efficiently. From
  making sure nursing students are empowered to
  express concerns and more importantly, perform
  tasks without fear of being judged, providing
  patient safety and risk management training, and
  teaching reflection as a way to better understand
  specific situations and develop self-awareness.
• As a student in any field, getting closer to
  actually leaving the academic part and diving
  into the unknowns of a job is a daunting thought.
  For nursing students, the pressure to perform is
  even higher. What they do or dont do can have
  significant implications and affect lives. It is
  no wonder many decide to leave the profession or
  under the burden of stress and anxiety, develop
  co-occurring conditions that damage their health
  irreversibly. There is more that needs to be done
  in this area to ensure the future of patient care
  and staff wellbeing is not jeopardized.
• See more at https//rotationmanager.com/