How to Make Friends, Enjoy Your Clinical Sites, and Other Lessons From the Muppets

BE HUMBLE!!

At Johns Hopkins – School of Nursing, they teach us that we are leaders and will be leaders in the nursing field. Part of being a leader means learning how to follow sometimes and taking initiative without stepping on other people to prove your mastery of a skill.

When you go to clinical you will work with people who have worked for years in the health-care industry. Some have BSN degrees, LPN degrees, MSN degrees, PhD’s, and there are some who do not have degrees at all. Learn to work with everyone no matter their position and title. Patient care technicians, environmental technicians, transport staff, people who work in the cafeteria, along with doctors, and nurses, and managers all have important roles within the health-care system.

The following is a list of “no-no’s” for your clinical days that may assist in making clinical a wonderful experience:

1. Speaking down to anyone — You will be a representative of Hopkins. You are smart. You are wonderful. You have knowledge. You are a wonderful person who respects ALL individuals. Showing that you know it all will get you no where. Showing that you genuinely care will open many doors.

2. Refusing to do “tech work” — Your responsibility as a student is to the safety and well-being of your patient. You are not an RN yet. If you are asked to complete vitals and a bed bathe for your patient, do it. Nothing is beneath a student who wants to and enjoys learning.

3. Not respecting the space of staff members — You are a student, and again, a representative of Johns Hopkins. You are technically a visitor. If someone invites you to their home, how should you act when you arrive if you want to be invited back? What things would make you not invite someone back to your home? Think about it. Apply those principles and you will be A-Okay.

The following is a list of “yes-yes'” for your clinical days that may assist in making clinical a wonderful experience:

1. Respect the rights of patients and staff.

2. Listen carefully to your clinical instructor, other students, and willing staff members. You never know what you might learn.

3. Bring treats. Who doesn’t love to eat?

4. Show in actions and words how much you appreciate the use of staff members’ time, space, and knowledge.

5. STAY HUMBLE!! http://youtu.be/tn1Qolv4ntQ