Summing it Up

In January, I began my final semester full of anticipation, excitement, and some nerves on what would be my experience of my capstone clinical. I had after all, only taken care of up to two patients during my previous rotations. I had a lot of questions at the start. Would I really grow that much in the 135 hours of my final semester to take me to a place of readiness to start a nursing career? Would I work well with my preceptor?

I will honestly say that going to clinical got me nervous sometimes, especially the first few shifts. I am very thankful for being assigned such a good preceptor, who eased me into the clinical experience. I took one, then two, then three patents, then finally taking the all of her assigned patients. During the shift, I got well practiced in time management, and I can see that it has developed to become one of my strengths. Part of efficient time management is organization. During my capstone, my organization has improved. I organize my notes into categories, including previous shift report, vital signs, assessments, medications and their scheduled times, and other interventions needed to be done.

I’ve learned a lot. My critical thinking skills have improved. I have learned to think through upcoming interventions, why they need them, and what supplies are needed to perform the task. For example, removing a foley catheter. Getting all the supplies, including empty syringes, multiple towels, and urinals. Removing them helps prevent infections and falls, and signals improvements on the patients’ health. I’ve also learned about treating priorities. After receiving shift report, certain patients are more urgent than others and should be seen first. One of the most difficult things I improved on was giving shift report to the oncoming nurse. It required organization, critical thinking, and speaking skills. I struggled with this for a while. Although I don’t give perfect eloquent reports, I have improved on including all the major important information relevant to the patient.

After this capstone clinical, although I don’t feel like a veteran nurse, I can say confidently that I have grown from since I first started this semester and have become more comfortable in becoming a nurse.  I look forward to what the future of nursing has for me.