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Clinical for the student is an all-day affair. The days or nights spent at the hospital at times can feel like they last forever. The first semester of nursing school, each one of the clinical classmates, including myself, had broken down crying, whether an overwhelming event at clinical or the overwhelming atmosphere of the nursing school and life. There are a few pieces of advice regarding clinical that I can give, one of which in the words of Scar from The Lion King, “Be prepared.”
#1 A Clipboard
The tool of any trade with paperwork. The clipboard used to keep your papers altogether and as a writing surface. Two types of clipboards I utilized either in clinical or later at work. I currently use both on my day to day shifts at the hospital. The first clipboard, one that had a storage compartment. The compartment is excellent to keep paper together, straight and clean. I would put copies of my weekly assessment sheets, and the medication sheets in the storage area. During clinical by only having one or two patients anytime at the computer gave me a head start to the hours of care plans, medications, and assessment each week. Another clipboard explicitly made for health care has lab values and other information printed on the outside, useful tools by itself. This particular clipboard folds in half; this size is perfect to fit in the pocket of the scrubs. A great option to always have your papers on you at all times.
#2 A pen and or highlighter
The most used utensil is the pen. You need it to write notes, document, and take record of any information about a patient. The best pens are the ones with multiple colors, red, blue, black, and green. Before nursing school, I had not used or seen these pens since I was a young child. I loved to use them and color with them. In nursing school and working on a hospital floor, I have come up with my own note-taking method color coding specific information. The use of highlighter has also made it into my note-taking. After jotting down the letters and the assessment, I would review the information and highlight items that were not within-normal-limits. The highlighter practice aided in writing my patient care plan, disease processes, and currently my documenting. Any color of highlighter works to distinguish the critical information from the rest.
#3 A snack
The hours at the hospital during school came along with a lunch break. A breakfast beforehand helps significantly to make it through until lunch. A meal higher in protein will improve your appetite under control longer. The hours spent at the hospital included an early morning, six to eight hours of patient care, my stress levels, and my taste did not always want to agree. I found in the first semester that my blood sugar would drop because there were days when I had just stopped eating. I got to experience hypoglycemia, as a non-diabetic this scared me. I started to drink the pre-made protein shakes. I always had one in my bag. Sometimes that was all I had to eat. In times of stress and intense study durations high protein, turkey sandwich, hard boiled eggs, tuna fish sandwich, nuts, although I am not a fan of nuts they still provide the needed nutrition. Just a reminder, as someone who lost weight one semester and put it on the next, if you stress eat potato chips and other junk food you will gain the weight.
#4 Stethoscope
The stethoscope is a given. The first item I knew this purchase was necessary. The stethoscope used every single clinical, and every patient as a nurse. I have listened to the heart, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract. There are many different stethoscopes at different price points, lightweight, classic, or cardiac. If you are on a budget the lightweight range $25 to $50, the classic $65 to $100, and the cardiac $125 and up, these price points will help in purchasing the right one for you. The cardiac is an excellent choice for someone who wants to become a cardiac nurse or someone with bad hearing.
#5 A small notebook
A small notebook is a great idea not only for nursing school but also working on the floor. Whether a student or working with patients you will come across a word, a disease process, a procedure, or medication, that you haven’t heard before, write it in the notebook. When you get home and have time, you are able to do more research on the topic. No matter how trivial the subject might be to you at the time, you will come across it again. A small notebook that fits in your pocket is the most ideal.
The classic moleskin is a traditional notebook. The Rocketbook, on the other hand, is an erasable notebook. Using the Pilot FriXion pens, and a free app you are able to take a picture of the page and upload the page as a pdf sheet to an email or another folder. When you are ready to erase, wet a cloth and wipe it clean. The Rocketbook is amazing. I also have the larger version as well.
These are just a few crucial items that you should have in your bag when going to clinical. Also, I highly recommend having a clinical bag to keep all your things together and always ready. Believe me, you don’t want to get to the hospital parking lot at five o’clock in the morning only to realize that half of your needed items are in your backpack at home or on your kitchen counter.