Navigating Clinical Rotations with Confidence

1. Chapter 11 Clinical Rotations

2. Embrace New Skills • Implement new skills in a clinical setting • Practice on friends and family if possible • Practice in the lab before demonstrating in your clinical rotation

3. Anxieties and Concerns • Realize you are not alone • Manage your anxiety • Use relaxation techniques • Talk to your clinical mentor for reassurance • Take advantage of school resources • Prepare for schedule changes • Tap into your support network

4. Embrace Diversity • Clinical rotations: • Offer a great opportunity to meet and work with all kinds of people with differing backgrounds • Help prepare you for your future career in health care • The more you interact with others, • the more you will understand people with a different background • the more effective you will become in your job

5. Professional Code of Ethics • Addresses: • Professionalism • Confidentiality • Patient rights and safety • Cultural diversity • Personal conduct

6. Professionalism • Maintain professional conduct in clinical area • Be a team member • Stay within bounds of knowledge and skills • Provide safe care through understanding and following policies and procedures

7. Confidentiality • Private patient information includes: • Health records • Data on billing and payment • Insurance information • Prescriptions • Symptoms and diagnosis • Test results • Personal information related to health care

8. Confidentiality (cont’d) • Keep patient information private • If others discuss private patient info, plead ignorance or change the subject • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) • Failure to comply can result in civil penalties

9. Tips for Maintaining Patient Privacy • Protect passwords by logging off the computer when you’re done • Keep patient charts closed or put away when not in use • Ensure faxes and computer printouts are not left unattended • Dispose of unneeded patient information in special receptacles

10. Tips for Maintaining Patient Privacy (con’t) • Avoid discussing patients in casual conversation • Use a quiet voice when sharing necessary information with other on the health care team • Remove patient-identifying information before handing in written classwork

11. Patient Rights and Safety • Patients have a right to get involved • View patients as partners • Help them get involved in their treatment • Keep patients safe • Check for trip-and-fall hazards • Be responsible for equipment safety • Perform proper hand washing

12. Protect Yourself • Handle substances such as blood and human tissue as if they are infectious • Notify instructor if injury or contamination occurs • Use proper body mechanics to avoid common back injuries • Handle chemicals carefully

13. Stop the Spread of Infection • Basic precautions: • Wash your hands before and after patient care • Wear proper attire • User mouthpieces, resuscitation bags, or ventilation devices in place of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation • Become familiar with your facility’s infection control policies and procedures • Handle needles and sharps carefully and immediately discard them in designated disposal unit after use

14. Planning Ahead • Know the dress code • Know the equipment • Know your mentor • Know the facility

15. Know the Dress Code • Keep your uniform clean • Wear your ID badge near your collarbone • Choose professional shoes • Keep it simple • Not the place for jewelry, perfume or cologne, or unusual hairstyles

16. Know the Equipment • School will supply list of equipment • Have ready for first day: • Notebook • Pen or pencil • Personal ID • Vehicle license plate number • Consider PDA and cell phone

17. Know Your Mentor • Don’t make judgments based on other students’ opinions • Get to know your mentor before forming an opinion • Be polite and respectful • Address mentor with stated title preference • Ask about mentor’s background • If you feel you have been unable to develop a good relationship, schedule an appointment to discuss your concerns

18. Know the Facility • Attend clinical orientation • Work out logistics • Follow the facility’s policies and procedures • Take the experience seriously, behave well, act like a good guest