For aspiring nurses and medical caregiving practitioners, clinical rotations are one of the most crucial parts of their experience for learning advanced techniques. Clinical rotations also bring out the strengths and weaknesses in students and help them better in choosing their specialities. Most students need to invest a minimum of 500 hours directly in caring for a patient in a clinical setting. Nurses activate their licenses using clinical experiences for expanding their skill set and knowledge in providing efficient patient care.
If you are a medical aspirant, you might be interested in knowing where the importance of such rigorous hours of clinical rotations lie. In this article, we will explore what the importance of clinical rotations are in the life of a medical student in the Caribbean school of medicine.
- Be Ready: When students start new rotations, one of the most important things to learn is what kind of unit you are going to work in, and what will be the general condition of the patients who will be present. For example, a maternity ward will need very different care from a cardiology unit. It is important to be prepared from your end. Write an email to your preceptor at least two weeks before your clinical rotation starts, to confirm the location, hours, etc. Staying prepared will help you start off the right foot.
– - It is important that you study and evaluate the theoretical as well as clinical knowledge that you need before the start of your rotation. At this point, you must complete any tasks demanded of you – like reviewing the medical history of a patient and the related care for treatment. Monitor patient charts and study the reference materials to research patient issues. This step will ensure you stay at the top while providing quality care.
– - You also need to stay prepared for any medical tasks as they come. In preparing for this, talking to tenured students and seniors as well as other faculty members or attending physicians, will help a great deal. You can learn valuable lessons from the experience of other members in the profession, which you can use real-time in improving your work.
– - Be professional: Remember the names of your peers, dress appropriately, respect and humility towards everyone are qualities that ensure success. A great deal of professionalism is expected of medical professionals as it takes upon itself a major responsibility of caregiving.
– - Do not share patient information, avoid personal phone calls or texts, refrain from social media etc. At the same time, you will need to work with people of different skills, different departments, therefore demanding you to be excellent at communication. You must use this opportunity to also expand your network and knowledge.
Use these tips to make the most of your clinical rotations and understand its value in shaping a future in medicine for you. Join a program today.