Hello new nursing students!
This one’s for you! I got you!
One of the things that completely freaked me out was doing my first head to toe assessment on a real patient. Now, most of my classmates already work in the health field as LPNs or NAs so this was no biggie for them; but for me, the closest I have ever been in that situation is 1) me being the actual patient and 2) when I worked the front desk at an OB/GYN office for a little while.
So for me, this was a really big scary task. Although I felt prepared (I’m almost finished with my What To Bring On You First Clinical Shift – so I will link it here when it’s posted), there was one area in which I felt I could have been better prepared: I didn’t have the right assessment tool sheet that worked for me. I found all different types and examples on the web, from super simple to extremely detailed, but this specific one (which I rewrote and adapted to my needs) is what really helped me during my first semester of clinicals. This is what I would suggest starting with and then adapting it to fit your style. It’s pretty basic, but it includes a generalized overview of the systems.
I do have a more extensive one I now use and will upload that in the future ๐
Happy Nursing!
xx mamajbirdy
Pingback: What To Bring On Your First Night of Nursing Clinicals – mamajbirdy
Pingback: my first year of nursing school | tips, feelings, and other thoughts – mamajbirdy