Clinical education is a term of full-time training. During her clinicals a student nurse will work with patients directly. A nursing instructor supervises the students during this time. Students learn nursing policies and procedures as they go about their day. In the beginning, a student nurse will merely observe nurses at work. As the term progresses the student will work with patients of her own. Students rotate from one area to the next. During her term of clinical education, a student may spend time in a maternity ward, psychiatric area, emergency room and operating room.
A nurse may receive her training at a school of nursing, community college or four-year academic institution. LPNs, or licensed practical nurses, spend between nine and 18 months studying nursing and earn a certificate in nursing. Part of their term is devoted to studying foundational classes in subjects such as human psychology and the principles of maintaining a sterile field. Another part is spent completing their clinicals. RNs, or registered nurses, spent between two and four years studying and earn a college degree. RNs study subjects in greater depth than LPNs. When they have completed their basic educational requirements RNs then spend time completing a term of clinical education.
Clinicals may take place in a nursing home or a hospital. Students may or may not be given the choice of where they would like to attend. A school may have a reciprocal arrangement with a local hospital that serves as a teaching hospital. School officials may also allow students to make their own arrangements in choosing a location to complete their clinical studies.
Students learn many skills during their term of clinical education. Such skills include inserting intravenous lines, taking a patient's history, working with other members of a healthcare team, such as doctors and orderlies, and learning to use a microscope. Student nurses are observed closely during this period to see how they interact with patients, as well as how well they master new material. Nursing students are given homework and exams. A student will also be asked to write papers and respond to questions related to nursing policies and procedures by a nursing instructor.
Completion of a term of clinical education can help nurses make important decisions about the direction of their career. A nurse may discover she likes working with maternity or dialysis patients but prefers not to work in an emergency room. The nurse may also make valuable contacts during this time at the hospital or nursing home that will allow her to gain employment once she graduates from school.