Preceptorship

For my last semester of nursing school, we do what is called a Preceptorship (or a capstone). I have to do 135 hours of clinical work with the same nurse on the same floor of a hospital. Our instructor picks these for us, and we really don't have any say. These are different from my clinicals I have been doing the last 3 semesters because with those, we did one a week throughout the 14 week semester, and every time we went, we were with a different nurse and went to a different floor (ICU, ER, labor and delivery, post-partum, OR) every time. This will give me a lot of great experience because I will get to do 3 twelve hour shifts a week, like I am working full time, so I will get to know and care for the patients that are ill instead of coming back once a week to a different floor and having it be different patients everytime. I will be going to the huge IMC facility in Murray Utah. This is a giant hospital and has many floors. I get to be on the Shock Trauma/Respiratory ICU unit and am SO EXCITED! This is where people will come from the ER and will be on mechanical ventilation (where the machine breathes for you) and people will have chest tubes and need a lot of nursing care. There are a lot of different traumas that are seen on this unit and I am going to get so much experience.

Not too much longer to go... I graduate in April with my Associate of Science in Nursing with my Registered Nursing license!! I plan to complete my Bachelor's Degree in Nursing, which is only another two semesters.