If you are considering enrolling in a Practical Nursing (PN) program, you have likely heard about nursing clinicals. This phrase refers to the program’s hands-on learning component. Nursing clinicals are required by the state, but they’re also an important opportunity to gain real-world skills while building confidence in a working healthcare environment. Prism Career Institute provides a comprehensive PN training program near you in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here, we discuss what clinicals are, their requirements, and how they can benefit your career.
What Are Nursing Clinicals?
To comprehend the importance of clinicals, you first have to understand what they are. The nursing program curriculum features several types of learning. Traditional classroom lectures are a good way to cover fundamental nursing theory, including anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, sanitation practices, and ethics. While invaluable, however, the classroom can’t provide everything you need to succeed. Nursing is a hands-on job that requires real-world experience if students are to excel.
Clinicals are the practical portion of your nursing education. Similar to internships, clinicals place you at a healthcare facility to perform the same duties you will handle in your future career. Your placement will change occasionally, rotating between settings such as:
- Pediatric clinics
- Long-term nursing care
- Assisted living communities
- Mental health facilities
- Community clinics
This rotation lets you gain experience and familiarity with a wide range of settings and job types. Most rotations last for several days a week. Your shift may be four to six hours, or you might have an eight or even 12-hour shift, depending on the location and your schedule.
Are Clinicals Mandatory for All Practical Nursing Programs?
Clinicals are not only an important part of your nursing training, but they are also mandatory. Every state has its own length requirements for practical nursing programs, including both the overall program length and the minimum number of clinical hours needed to graduate. The following are requirements in the states Prism Career Institute serves:
- Pennsylvania: Practical nursing programs in PA must be at least 1500 hours long with at least 40% of those hours spent in clinicals.
- New Jersey: NJ does not have a minimum length, but approved programs are usually over 1500 hours long, with a significant portion being clinicals.
These minimum lengths are required for a program to be approved by the state. Among accredited programs, different schools may require even more hours to ensure that all students are properly prepared for their future practical nursing careers.
What Skills Do You Develop During Nursing Clinicals?
Practical nursing clinicals are a valuable opportunity to turn fundamental theory into real-world skills. Under the guidance and supervision of working healthcare professionals, you will practice and perform the full range of duties expected of a practical nurse. Some tasks that might be asked of you include:
- Collecting medical histories
- Taking vital signs
- Monitoring catheters
- Changing wound dressings
- Administering medications and vaccinations
- Delivering test results
- Providing personal and bedside care
Because clinicals take place in working healthcare facilities, you’ll also witness how these facilities run day-to-day. Real-world healthcare work is more intense, chaotic, and rewarding than a lecture can adequately express. By experiencing this firsthand, you’ll gain greater confidence that you will carry forward into your studies, licensing exam, and future job.
Are Nursing Clinicals Paid?
The time you spend in nursing clinicals is unpaid. This does not mean that you don’t benefit, however. Nursing clinicals are an opportunity to see how theory applies to real-world situations. Besides gaining skills and experience, you’ll also learn more about yourself while advancing your career. By participating in your nursing clinical, you’ll be able to:
- Gain a stronger sense of your role in a healthcare team
- Enhance your critical thinking and on-the-job problem-solving
- Develop a deeper understanding of complex patient needs
- Network and build connections with future employers
- Discover what types of nursing you enjoy most
- Build resume-ready skills to help you secure your first placement
- Transition more easily from your program to the workplace
As with other aspects of career training, of course, what you gain is proportionate to the effort you put in. To get the maximum benefit, you should approach your clinicals with enthusiasm, a positive attitude, and a willingness to give it your all.
Get the Hands-On Clinical Experience You Need at Prism Career Institute
Theory is important, but hands-on clinical experience is where you truly become a nurse. Prism Career Institute partners with local healthcare facilities throughout Philadelphia, PA, to provide our Practical Nursing students with the real-world training they need to build confidence and master essential nursing skills. To learn more about clinical requirements or to enroll in our career training program, contact us today.