Preparing for Clinical Rotations



Preparing for Clinical Rotations



Objectives


Upon the completion of the chapter activities and content review topics, the student should be able to:


1. Identify lab and clinical policies, procedures, and safety guidelines.


2. Identify the incident reporting process.


3. Identify all requirements for clinical placement.


4. Identify the role of the respiratory care student in the lab and clinical setting.



Key Terms








The idea of taking care of a “real” patient is an exciting idea to some students but completely terrifying to others. Your time in the controlled setting of the lab must be optimized as to prepare you for your first patient encounters as a respiratory care student. The clinical experience is, first and foremost, your chance to hone your skills and learn as much as you possibly can. But it is also the longest job interview you will ever have. Respect should be given to all staff you encounter, from nurses, to medical students, to the cleaning staff. Bad impressions could come back to haunt you.


During your time as a student at a clinical site, it is the staff’s job to evaluate you as a student. But they are also looking at you as a potential employee. Attitude, professionalism, appearance, punctuality, and preparedness are all qualities the clinical site faculty will be assessing in you when you are a student at their facility. You should be eager to learn and respectfully communicate your needs as a student. Although it is true that your clinical rotations are your opportunity to see firsthand how disease affects patients, you should always be aware that the diseases you find interesting may be horrifying for the patient. On the one hand, try not to act overexcited when learning or seeing a procedure. On the other hand, standing in the corner of a patient’s room surfing the net on your cell phone is not acceptable. You must maintain a level of professionalism at all times.


This chapter will cover the basic steps you should take as a student to make the most out of your laboratory instruction and how to most effectively apply these practices directly into your clinical rotations. Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.



image Tip Some clinical affiliates require the student to have a site-specific background check or a Level One Fingerprint Clearance Card, which requires a higher eligibility standard to receive than a regular Clearance Card.*


*Law specific to the state of Arizona, but most facilities require background checks.



» Skill Check List


1-1 Incident Reporting


Incident reporting is a very important part of the health care system. An incident is any event not consistent with the routine operation of a health care unit or routine care of a patient. As a student, you must be aware of the steps an educational institution or a clinical site requires you to follow regarding an incident in which harm was caused, a near-miss incident, or an incident that caused no harm. Although not a part of the patient’s permanent medical record, incident reports are used by risk management and other similar departments as a source of data. They may be used to identify the source of errors and how to prevent future incidents. Examples of incident report entries can be found in Table 1-1. The following is the step-by-step process for incident reporting.




Related posts:

  1. Patient Safety, Communication, and Medical Records
  2. Humidity and Bland Aerosol Therapy
  3. Pulmonary Rehabilitation
  4. Polysomnography Technology

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Jun 12, 2016 | Posted by in RESPIRATORY | Comments Off on Preparing for Clinical Rotations

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