This past fall semester I had the opportunity to participate in a DEU clinical. Plain and short, I learned more during this clinical than what I have during my past two and a half years of nursing school. Each of us eight students were paired up with a preceptor. My preceptor, Bev, has not only become a role model to me, but a great friend as well.
What is a DEU Clinical anyways?
A Dedicated Education Unit (DEU) is a unique clinical teaching model and is an innovative way of providing clinical education to nursing students. This is the first year that the University of Cincinnati is using a DEU for clinical. In fact, DEU programs are still a pilot program and there are only a few DEU programs in the country (University of Massachusetts in Boston, University of Buffalo School of Nursing in New York, University of Nebraska in Omaha, and now the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati). Normally, nursing students go to a hospital as a group of approximately 8-10 students with one faculty members advising and overseeing those 8-10 students on a particular day Monday-Friday. In the DEU model, a hospital hosts a nursing school in the hopes to give nursing students the best clinical experience available by pairing up a nursing student one-on-one with a RN. There are many benefits to this for both the students, the hospital, and the RNs. Students are able to intimately work on a specific nursing unit. They have nearly constant access to their staff nurse instructor to pose questions and receive helpful feedback on their nursing knowledge and skill development. In addition, staff nurses get new perspectives on how to improve patient care while hospitals get specially-trained nursing students who have a high potential of working for them in two years. In addition to this one-on-one ratio difference, nursing students also get the opportunity to work the shift that their preceptor works. Instead of simply doing clinical on a weekday, nursing students in a DEU are able to test out their nursing skills during night shift and on the weekends.
What was this experience like?
This project entailed heading to The University of Cincinnati Medical Center (UCMC) 9 hours a week during the time that my preceptor is working (including day shift, night shift, weekdays, and weekends so that I could get a full picture of what nursing is like 24/7). To me, this experience was priceless. Not only did I have an RN constantly beside me to answer any questions that arose, but she was also always there to oversee that I was correctly documenting and doing my nursing skills correctly. For example, at the beginning of the semester she had to be there with me to simply restart and prime IVs. However, at the end I was doing heparin drips and TPN on my own.
On top of being able to be on the floor, I was also able to see a chest tube insertion and had the opportunity to see a diabetic's foot be amputated. Even though I'd be shy to admit it to anybody, I'm pretty proud of myself for obtaining a position in this prestigious clinical since only 8 of UC’s 180 junior nursing were selected to be in this clinical.
On top of being able to be on the floor, I was also able to see a chest tube insertion and had the opportunity to see a diabetic's foot be amputated. Even though I'd be shy to admit it to anybody, I'm pretty proud of myself for obtaining a position in this prestigious clinical since only 8 of UC’s 180 junior nursing were selected to be in this clinical.
What was the most significant part?
I was paired up with Beverly Lathan, an RN who has 38 years of nursing experience. We were on 9CCP, which is the Critical Care Pavilion for post-surgical patients at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. This event was significant to me because throughout the course of the past fifteen weeks, Beverly has not only become a great preceptor to me but also a great friend. She has come to be one of the most trustworthy people that I know. She exemplifies what it means to be a compassionate nurse and has been a great role model. Even though I probably asked her nearly a hundred questions during every shift, she never once complained or seemed to become frustrated with my questions. I feel as if through Beverly, I have learned more during this past clinical than what I have learned during my past two years of nursing school.
Even though I have learned many things from this experience and have become familiar with multiple medications and procedures, I believe that the most important thing that I am taking away from this experience is the ability to prioritize. In a regular clinical, a student nurse only has to take care of one person. However, this clinical has allowed me to take care of 4-5 patients every day. At the beginning of the semester, I was very unsure about my prioritization skills. Bev had to correct me multiple times during every shift. For example, at the beginning of the semester I was about to give one patient medications before assessing a patient's JP drain that was dispensing bright red blood. Bev has been very helpful throughout this journey and has explained to me why one situation has priority over another situation. At the end of the semester, I was definitely more confident in my prioritization skills. In fact, for last 2-3 clinicals I attempted to prioritize the day on my own while looking to Bev for guidance if I was right or not. Since learning to prioritize is such a big concept to learn in regards to nursing, I believe that this has given me a huge advantage over the nursing students in regular clinicals.
I would highly recommend more nursing students to become involved with the DEU program. According to our clinical instructor Robin Wagner, they will be offering another DEU program to the seniors. Although the experience of being on this floor was great, being able to be one-on-one and forming a relationship with Beverly throughout these past fifteen weeks was the real reward. I was able to confide in her and ask her all types of questions that probably seemed like common sense to her. Beverly has taught me not only how to prioritize and has helped me to grow not only as a nursing student, but into a more compassionate person as well. Now that I have had this experience, I hope that I will be able to prioritize my shifts better, make better clinical decisions, and complete a more detailed assessment.
Even though I have learned many things from this experience and have become familiar with multiple medications and procedures, I believe that the most important thing that I am taking away from this experience is the ability to prioritize. In a regular clinical, a student nurse only has to take care of one person. However, this clinical has allowed me to take care of 4-5 patients every day. At the beginning of the semester, I was very unsure about my prioritization skills. Bev had to correct me multiple times during every shift. For example, at the beginning of the semester I was about to give one patient medications before assessing a patient's JP drain that was dispensing bright red blood. Bev has been very helpful throughout this journey and has explained to me why one situation has priority over another situation. At the end of the semester, I was definitely more confident in my prioritization skills. In fact, for last 2-3 clinicals I attempted to prioritize the day on my own while looking to Bev for guidance if I was right or not. Since learning to prioritize is such a big concept to learn in regards to nursing, I believe that this has given me a huge advantage over the nursing students in regular clinicals.
I would highly recommend more nursing students to become involved with the DEU program. According to our clinical instructor Robin Wagner, they will be offering another DEU program to the seniors. Although the experience of being on this floor was great, being able to be one-on-one and forming a relationship with Beverly throughout these past fifteen weeks was the real reward. I was able to confide in her and ask her all types of questions that probably seemed like common sense to her. Beverly has taught me not only how to prioritize and has helped me to grow not only as a nursing student, but into a more compassionate person as well. Now that I have had this experience, I hope that I will be able to prioritize my shifts better, make better clinical decisions, and complete a more detailed assessment.
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