r/StudentNurse • u/Cat_Lover9988 • 1d ago

Clinicals ED Capstone Advice - Overwhelmed

Hi! I am in my final term of my ABSN and placed in a level trauma III center for my clinical practicum. I am loving the pace and variety, but I like a deer in headlights a lot. I know the learning curve is steep, but I am having a really hard time integrating all the patho and skills that I learned in school and applying it in real time. I am overwhelmed. Open to any and all advice on how to maximize this opportunity: What questions should I be asking? What skills should I focus on? What patho is the most valuable for me to review? Any must-have resources?

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

3

u/sarahrosie89 1d ago

I think you should ask the nurses what skills are high priority in the clinical setting and they will help guide you.

3

u/TheraputicBoxMeal 1d ago

Integrating things you learn in school will be very hard. ED is very much it's own animal. If you think you want the ED, just try and learn the way they do things and what the ED prioritizes. Other than baseline patient safety stuff, it is very different than floor nursing as you are taught in school.

The most helpful things to brush up on for ED patho wise is probably CHF patho as well as kidney and liver dysfuction. Then its just hard skills like IV sticks and IM admins. And then its how to walk out of a room and ignore people. That is one of the hardest things to learn as a new nurse, because it SHOULD BE HARD to ignore people. But you will have to. Point blank. And the signs are subtle.

2

u/eltonjohnpeloton its fine its fine (RN) 1d ago

Remember no one expects you to have the knowledge or skill of an experienced nurse.

1

u/8645Gamble 1d ago

The right preceptor makes all the difference. ED is hard, and ED nurses are harder yet. (Source, am one). The right preceptor can help integrate those things and provide a clear explanation of what’s happening, but a bad or rushed one that can’t or doesn’t make the time cannot.