Authors

  1. Davis, Rebecca G. EdD, RN, CNE, CNEcl

Article Content

Many prelicensure nursing students experience limitations to hospital-based clinical experiences because of low unit census or other restrictions on the number of clients available for clinical assignments. This reduces opportunities for learners to prioritize the care of multiple clients and debrief on this experience during clinical postconference. A collaborative activity focused on clinical prioritization was created for days with a lower census of available clients. Instead of individual assignments, all available clients (typically 10-12) were assigned to the 8-student clinical group. Students were responsible for assessing all clients, reviewing laboratory results and trends, performing all psychomotor nursing interventions, and administering medications to specific clients selected by the faculty member. The faculty member provided written details of the students' responsibilities for the clinical day to unit nursing staff, and the assignment was discussed with the unit manager. Students were instructed to prepare for 2 postconference discussions. First, the group was asked to focus on priorities: who would they recommend be assessed first and why, which clients' conditions were deteriorating versus improving, and who were they most concerned about. Second, each student was asked to reflect on their individual learning experiences: what their greatest challenge was that day, what was one connection they could make to classroom learning, and what their best experience was. Learners evaluated the assignment positively because of opportunities to work with multiple clients, prioritize care, and collaborate with peers.