Guide to Clinical Placements for Accelerated Nursing Students

Key Takeaways

Clinical placements provide hands-on training and real-world experience in nursing.
Hospitals are top sites for placements due to diverse patient care experiences.
Be flexible and proactive in applying for diverse placement opportunities.
Prepare documents and meet requirements like background checks and immunizations before starting placements.

Clinical placements are an extremely important part of nursing school. After all, it’s one thing to learn materials in a classroom or on a computer – and that education is important – but it’s another thing to start to apply what you have learned in a real-world setting. The clinical work offers the hands-on training that is needed to create great nurses, and for many students, is the most exciting part of the whole program.

Of course, you’ll want to secure great clinical placements to make the most out of this experience, and that can be easier said than done. Some practical advice will be laid out below with regard to clinical placement opportunities for nursing students, what to expect when you get started, and more.

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What Are Clinical Placements in Nursing School?

During nursing school, one of the key pieces of experience that students pick up is the opportunity to work in a clinical setting. Students use placements to gain the opportunity to work alongside experienced healthcare providers in a setting that is very similar to what they will be experiencing once they graduate and get a job. The students don’t work for the clinic at this time – they are simply placed there to perform duties while being supervised with the goal of helping them understand how their knowledge is going to be used to provide care to patients.

Securing clinical placements in accelerated nursing can be a bit tricky just because of the condensed nature of the schedule and the realities of trying to fit everything in. There is nothing about an accelerated program that makes it harder to get a placement – it’s just that there isn’t much time available for students to complete a placement while also keeping up with coursework and trying to study enough to prepare for exams. It’s a lot to handle and only organized, dedicated students are going to get through the process.

Some of the Potential Clinical Placement Sites

The best clinical sites for accelerated nursing programs are those that are going to expose the students to as many different types of real-world experiences as possible. This is going to be intimidating to start with, to be sure, but students will come to appreciate the value that comes from working under experienced professionals who can correct their mistakes and help them to grow.

Perhaps the top clinical placement programs for nursing students are found at hospitals. In a hospital, the student is going to be exposed to a little bit of everything, just by the nature of the facility. There is critical care being offered in a hospital, along with acute care, various specialties, and more. A clinical placement in a hospital is a powerful experience that will help the student develop in a meaningful way, even if they don’t want to work in the hospital setting after graduation.

Of course, there are more potential placements available than just those in a hospital. Other possible locations for a placement include outpatient clinics that focus on primary care and specialized care facilities that treat patients in a specific category, like pediatrics or geriatrics.

How to Secure a Clinical Placement as a Nursing Student

To get a clinical placement, you are going to need to start by filling out an application that includes all of the required documents and your preferences. If you are looking for accelerated nursing clinical placement tips that will pay off in your program, this next one may be the most important – but open and flexible to a range of placements. A willingness to take a range of different placements is going to make it much easier for the program to successfully place you somewhere to get valuable experience right away.

During the placement process, a number of factors are going to be weighed, including the preferences you listed, the geographic location of each facility, and more. While there is nothing you can do about which facilities have openings for nursing student placements, you can be flexible (within reason) so you don’t exclude yourself from what would have otherwise been a good opportunity.

If you need to, talk to an advisor at the school to resolve any questions that you have about clinical placements. They are used to getting questions about this part of the program, as it is highly anticipated by many and nerve-wracking for some. Be open and honest about any questions or concerns that you have, and you’ll likely get plenty of advice about how to successfully apply for and receive a placement.

Getting Ready for This Experience

Successfully receiving a placement is a good feeling, but that’s really just the start of the journey. At this point, all of the clinical placement strategies for accelerated nursing students will fade into the background, and you’ll be faced with the reality of going out into the world and providing care to patients. Of everything you experience in nursing school, this might be the one thing you remember longer than the rest.

There will likely be a set of requirements that you need to take care of before you can start your placement. For instance, some documentation will need to be handled for the legal side of things, and you may have to go through a background check and produce your immunization records. Also, make yourself aware of the dress code for the facility where you have been placed, and be sure to have suitable clothes in your wardrobe to match with expectations.

If you have access to anyone else in your life who has been through this experience before, it might be helpful to talk with them about what to expect. You are going to be working directly with licensed nurses and doctors, along with other experienced professionals, and the whole thing can feel intimidating at first. Reach out to nurses you know to ask them how clinicals went and what they would do differently if they went through it again.

Dealing with Some Challenges and Making the Most of It

The top clinical placement programs for nursing students are going to be used to having students from various schools in their facilities to gain experience, but it’s unlikely that anyone is going to hold your hand. This is a professional environment, after all, and these people are doing their jobs. There are going to be challenges and likely some uncomfortable moments along the way – despite that, it’s important to make the most of it and gain the experience you need.

When accessing clinical sites for accelerated nursing programs, you might feel out of place and like you don’t belong. That’s perfectly normal at first. Seek out support from your advisors in your nursing program and they may be able to put you at ease a bit more. Also, remember that the time demands of this part of your program are serious, so be careful about how you schedule your days and leave enough time for studying to keep coursework on track.

Closing Thoughts

It just wouldn’t be possible to develop nurses who are qualified and capable of caring for patients without clinical placements. These practical training sites for accelerated nursing are where so many skills are developed and where nursing students see how what they have learned in class is going to actually help patients get the care they need. Good luck with the placement program and we hope this page has been a helpful resource in your journey.

Finding Clinical Placement Sites for Accelerated Nursing Students