Nursing Preceptorship

So as you guys know, this is my very last semester here at PLU and boy, I am way too excited.

I've written many blog posts about my experience as a Nursing student along with tips and tricks to survive Nursing School and I hope you guys find those posts helpful. Here goes another one.

What is the last semester in Nursing like?

Well, it is definitely not easy nor relaxing. I have classes on Mondays and I am sort of required to have the rest of the week open so I can do preceptorship.

In order to keep my Provost's Scholarship, I needed two more credits (School of Nursing only offers 10 credits for your last semester), so I signed up for an art class. Good news is the Art class is on Mondays also but the bad news is that it's at 6pm so I usually have to spend the entire day at school (like 12 hours).

How are Classes this Semester?

To be honest, classes this semester are not as crazy as I expected. Like I mentioned in my previous posts, classes such as Patho and Med/Surg are overwhelming. Everything is sort of connected to something else since the human body is interconnected. One thing happens to one system can actually cause something else. And I was used to that so I thought that this semester would be about the same.

However, classes for this semester focus more on Policy, Politics, and Employment issues. In other words, classes this semester provide me a realistic image of the workplace. Therefore, there isn't anything that I need to memorize for but rather tons of group projects and meetings.

What is Preceptorship?

In nursing, we can't just learn everything in class. Clinical is very important but we only spend about 4 - 5 weeks for each clinical. Therefore, preceptorship is where you get to do extensive clinical hours on the field of nursing that we like.

Since there are limited spots for preceptorship, each of us had to fill out a request form last semester. First, we listed three things we want to do for preceptorship, for example, med/surg, oncology, emergency department. And then we choose three hospitals that we want to work at. Then our professors would work with the unit managers and the staff at the hospitals for our placements.

Luckily, I got exactly what I wanted. I love the heart and I love the Intensive Care Unit so I got Cardiovascular ICU.

Tell me more about Preceptorship

For preceptorship, I work whenever my preceptor works therefore, my schedule changes every week. It is tough to change my schedule around because I still have a job at PLU and I still have homework. Also, I do nightshifts so whenever I work, I have to sleep the whole day before to prepare and the day later to recover.

However, preceptorship is very fun. I get to provide direct care under an RN supervision. I get to learn about things I had never seen in school. And everything just starts to make sense and I feel a little more comfortable now.

So what's next?

Well, it's almost the end of March so Spring Break is next on the list.

Then, Order cap and gown. Have my birthday one week before graduation. Then Nursing Pinning ceremony. Then the Commencement.

But it's not the end yet. After graduation, I will have to study for the NCLEX. For those who are not familiar with the NCLEX, it's an exam that everyone has to take in order to become a registered nurse. Then after that, hopefully I will get a residency position somewhere.

If you guys have any questions about the nursing program or would like to know more tips and tricks, please feel free to comment down below.

Thank you