450 URI nursing students are working in a variety of healthcare settings during clinical rotations
Hospitals, nursing homes, community health clinics and more are getting a boost in personnel while helping prepare the next generation of healthcare workers, as 450 University of Rhode Island College of Nursing students head into the community on clinical rotations at more than two dozen facilities around the state.
Through clinical placements, students gain experience in numerous care settings, including medical-surgical, pediatrics, maternity, psychiatric/mental health and community health. As senior level students approach graduation, they are placed in clinical immersion to work side-by-side with a nurse in preparation for the transition to professional practice.
“The clinical experiences in the undergraduate nursing curriculum serve to increase students’ knowledge, skill and professional growth,” said Clinical Programs Coordinator Donna Donilon. “Through clinical placements, students are able to apply knowledge learned in didactic classes to patient care in the healthcare environment. These experiences are instrumental in fostering nurses committed to excellence in professional practice, and contributing to a strong future nursing workforce.”
Students begin their clinical rotations in their sophomore year, giving them more than two years of clinical experience before even graduating. For most, this is their first experience with patient care and working in a hospital environment, an exciting and nerve-wracking prospect.
“I haven’t worked with patients before, so I’m a little nervous, but I can’t wait to get the experience,” said Madeline Stahly, who is working with patients at Newport Hospital. “I really want to get a feel for things, and what it’s really like to work in a hospital.”
Stahley was joined by several of her classmates recently as they were fit-tested for N-95 masks, an annual requirement for nurses. Each mask is custom-fit to the health care worker’s face, ensuring 95 percent of particles in the air are blocked. The fit test took a bit more commitment than most from sophomore Grant Clifton, who had to shave his full beard to ensure a proper seal before heading to South County Hospital, where he’s “excited to get more knowledge and experience in how to care for patients.”
Classmate Sierah Lavigne has begun her rotation at Westerly Hospital, where she’s looking forward to work alongside experienced nurses who she said can help her apply what she knows in a real-world setting. “It’ll be great to have nurse supervisors, so we can ask questions and really understand what we need to do,” Lavigne said. “It’s really going to help maintain all the knowledge we’ve gotten in class and transfer it to actual practice.”
The students are immersed in their clinical rotations in a variety of health care settings, including:
- Rhode Island Hospital
- Hasbro Children’s Hospital
- Newport Hospital
- Miriam Hospital
- Bradley Hospital
- Kent Hospital
- Women and Infants Hospital
- Butler Hospital
- Westerly Hospital
- South County Hospital
- Landmark Medical Center
- Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Johnston
- St. Elizabeth Community ( Nursing Home, Assisted Living and Home Care)
- Fatima Hospital
- Roger Williams Hospital
- Eleanor Slater Hospital
- Department of Corrections
- The Providence Center
- Meeting Street
- Multiple public school systems, from Westerly to East Providence