How to excel in clinical rotations: A student’s guide
Clinical rotations are a key component of nursing school, giving you an opportunity to gain essential hands-on experience in clinical settings while developing your skills. During this time, you’ll build your confidence and learn valuable lessons while applying the theoretical knowledge you’ve learned to real world cases—all before you begin your actual nursing career.
Recognizing the value of nursing clinical rotations
Linda Rustici, BSN, RN, is a health writer and seasoned nurse with 20 years of experience. She explained that nurses can gain knowledge and experience through the exposure that clinical rotations offer to all different types of clinical scenarios.
“In real-life practice of assessment skills and critical thinking, students work under the guidance of another nurse and/or preceptor to gain invaluable experiences,” says Rustici. “Accumulating these clinical experiences early on can boost a nursing students’ confidence. Learning a lot of detailed information in a lecture or a simulation lab is great, but nothing can replicate [the experience of] being on a floor in a real-life scenario. The exposure not only helps pull foundational knowledge, clinical skills and time management all together, but it brings in what nursing students will see, hear and smell all at once.”
With clinical rotations being such an important part of your nursing education, it’s essential to make the most of these opportunities. There are several ways that you can excel in clinical rotations.
Be prepared
How you approach your rotations can affect the value that you receive from the experience. “One of the best ways a student can prepare for an upcoming clinical rotation is to recognize that you will get what you are willing to put into it,” said Rustici. “Clinicals are opportunities to practice.”
“Be willing to trust, be willing to put yourself out there and give yourself grace and encouragement, because it will make you a better nurse in the long run.”
Rustici encourages nurses to be willing to be vulnerable during their clinical rotations. For example, ask any questions that you have since somebody else likely has the same question. At the same time, be sure to lean on your cohort of nursing students for support and encouragement, since this can foster teamwork. “Be willing to trust, be willing to put yourself out there and give yourself grace and encouragement, because it will make you a better nurse in the long run,” she advised.
Get and stay organized
Before your clinical rotations begin, take time to get organized. Create a daily schedule that includes your school assignments, clinical hours and personal commitments, and use a digital calendar or planner to keep the schedule updated. Knowing that a large portion of your time is going to be dedicated to your clinical rotations, plan ahead to ensure you have plenty of time to work on large projects or study for tests.
Staying organized can help you better balance your commitments, so you can stay focused on your work and lower your stress.
Work at making a positive first impression
Familiarize yourself with the type of setting where you will be working. Take some time to review relevant clinical knowledge, so it’s fresh in your mind.
To make a positive first impression, be sure to make eye contact, ask questions, engage in situations and treat everyone respectfully and with understanding, recommended Rustici. Being on time or arriving a few minutes early can also demonstrate that you’re professional and prepared. “Presenting as organized and having a pen, a light, a stethoscope and a clean uniform truly does matter,” said Rustici.
You might even practice your communication skills before a rotation begins. Rustici explained that in nursing, it’s important to have strong foundational knowledge. It’s also great to achieve high grades in nursing school. “But it’s as important, if not more, to be able to speak clearly and calmly when talking to patients and their families,” she added.
Make time for self-care
Clinical rotations can make for long, busy hours, and when you’re balancing them with other personal commitments, it can be easy to push self-care to the side. But when your life is the busiest, chances are you need to make time for self-care the most. Burnout can and does happen to nurses in clinical rotations, and pushing yourself too hard this early on in your career can set you up for bad habits later on.
“Avoiding burnout begins as a nursing student because we practice who we will become daily,” said Rustici. “No awards are given out for the person who hasn’t sipped water, has sacrificed their well-being or who hasn’t used the bathroom for 12 hours.” She noted that this can be particularly challenging, since nursing students want to be helpful and have entered the profession because they have so much compassion, but it’s essential to remember that you can’t overextend yourself at your own cost. “It cannot be overemphasized how nursing students must learn to take care of themselves before they can care for others,” she said. “Nursing schools must integrate self-care for nursing students because it’s not a trend by a learned skill, but is necessary in this line of work.”
Avoiding burnout requires intention, awareness and practice. Rustici advises that you lean on other nursing students who are experiencing the same things. When you develop a support group of other students, you can talk through the highs of and lows of tests, clinicals and education experiences.
Additionally, find ways to relieve stress, such as going outside, doing something creative or listening to music. Even if you can only fit in brief self-care sessions of 15 minutes at a time, these little breaks can help you to better cope with the stress of clinical rotations and nursing school. When you make time for yourself, you’ll be better able to give your patients the quality care they deserve.
Don’t hesitate to ask for help
Rustici recommends that nurses make the most of clinical rotations by going into the experience with an open mind and having understanding and compassion for themselves and others. Patience is also important, since it takes time to learn new nursing skills.
“Make the most out of the experiences offered in clinical rotations and be realistic that this is a time to learn,” said Rustici. “There will be mistakes, and everyone is human. There will never be a better time to celebrate what you do know and own up to what you don’t.”
During these learning experiences, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses and use this time to work on improving your skills, particularly those in which you’re weak. Ask your preceptor or clinical instructor for help when you need it, and look for additional opportunities to practice the skills you need to improve. Doing so can demonstrate that you’re driven and willing to learn.
Similarly, be open to feedback. Receiving feedback can help you identify areas for improvement, and knowing where you’re excelling can also boost your confidence.
Keep an open mind
Keep in mind that your clinical rotations may even change your views of nursing, but even these changed views are opportunities for significant learning and growth. You’ll be exposed to situations that you’ve never before experienced. “Doing so can reveal subconscious bias, unexplored beliefs and uncomfortable feelings,” said Rustici. “Learning to stay curious and self-reflect can lead to so much self-discovery and growth.”
Documenting that growth can be meaningful, too. After each shift, write down a few notes about what you’ve learned, what you’ve accomplished and how you hope to improve. Keep these notes together in a journal, and soon you’ll be able to look back and see your progress. Reflecting on those accomplishments can help keep you motivated when you’ve had a particularly long or draining day.
Most of all, remember why you are doing this
Clinical rotations can be difficult, and you will absolutely face challenges. But the rotations are meant to push you, help you grow and give you the opportunity to develop the skills you’ll need in your career.
During this pivotal point of your education, it’s helpful to reflect on why you initially wanted to become a nurse. “Nursing students today can continue to improve not only their patients’ lives, but their own,” explained Rustici. “While the healthcare system is complex and challenging, nursing students have so many options, from where and how they want to work once they graduate, to what kind of nurse they want to be. With technology and AI advancing into medical care, the best piece of advice I could offer a nursing student is to remember that every patient in every bed deserves quality care and respect. It’s not our role as a nurse to judge a person, their circumstance or who they are. It’s our role to provide care and compassion.”
