Nursing school requires mandatory clinical rotations to develop strong bedside manners. Nurses serve as the communication hub within the multidisciplinary team, spending the most time with patients at the bedside.
For Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Advocate Degree of Nursing (ADN), students are often divided into groups to rotate through different specialties until the last semester, when they break away for one-on-one preceptorship with their assigned mentors. However, things are slightly different when pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN).
Students are often strongly encouraged to find their preceptors for clinical rotations. If they cannot do so, the school will find a placement, but it is not always guaranteed and might cause delays in their rotations. This often poses a challenge for many students but is significantly harder for minorities, as many of us do not have many connections from the medical field in general.
This was the situation for me. I came to the U.S. as a teenager without my parents. I have aunts and uncles who have lived here, but they do not work in the medical field, nor do I know anyone. I started from ground zero.
Before I started NP school, I was too intimidated to make connections or ask around the physicians/providers I worked with for possible rotations. I needed help finding a preceptor. To make it even more challenging, when I found someone who worked in a large teaching hospital, I was told that I could not do my rotations there because their nursing school was also looking for placement for their students, even when my potential preceptor offered to take me and another student from the school.
At last, I could shadow a group of hospitalists at a small local hospital through a friend of a friend. Then, I found another cardiology group locally and rotated with multiple members there. My rotation experience was quite limited.
With that in mind, after a few years into my job, I started taking on NP students as a preceptor to create a pathway and help out students like me. With my immigration and minority background, I believe that I can form a connection with the students with support and understanding of their struggles. I want them to succeed.
My most recent student was from the Philippines. She moved to the U.S. a few years ago and settled in Florida after traveling to other countries. She had been doing clinical rotations with hospitals locally. Then, for her very last semester, she wanted to gain experience in a larger healthcare system, so she asked the school to place her in my hospital and assign her to me.
During the clinical rotation, she was engaging, eager to learn, and always asked great questions. Ultimately, she was extremely thankful that I had taken her as a student. I was thrilled not only because I had a great student but also because I was able to help someone like me succeed.
For any nurse and nurse practitioners reading this article, I strongly encourage you to take on a mentorship/preceptorship role to make a difference in a student’s school experience and career and to help them succeed.