With a new year comes new experiences! Whether you’re beginning clinical rotations this month or even next year, I hope this post will give you a few tangible things to implement during your first few weeks! I remember being TERRIFIED to start treating patients, but keeping these 5 tips in the back of my mind was so helpful!
1. Ask questions
There is no such thing as a “dumb” question. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know! I asked as many questions as possible during my clinical rotations so that I could learn and soak up as much information as possible. This will also show your CI that you are paying attention, and actually WANT to learn!
2. Say “yes”
Anytime your CI asks you if you want to do something, SAY YES. Practice is how you improve, and your CI will appreciate you taking initiative (especially early on). Volunteer to do things, even if it may be your first time! Get your hands dirty, because hands-on experience is the best experience!
3. Get enough sleep
The worst thing to be is tired in the clinic/hospital (and it is not a good look my friends)! For my first rotation I had to be at the clinic by 7am most days, AND I had a 30-minute commute. That meant waking up at 5:30 to have enough time to do everything I needed to do in the morning (get dressed, make breakfast, make coffee/tea, etc.). I was usually in bed most nights by 7:45/8pm, and asleep by 9:30pm. I am the type of person that needs AT LEAST 8-hours of sleep, so I made that a priority. I had an hour lunch break, so on my long (11-hour) days I even took a quick power nap (20 minutes) in my car.
4. Don’t take things personally
You are still a student, so sometimes patients don’t want you sitting in or treating them during their session. Sometimes patients aren’t comfortable with extra eyes and bodies, so don’t take it to heart if they don’t want you in the room. A good thing to do after the session is to have your CI fill you in on what went on so that you are still learning from the experience.
5. Get comfortable with failure and uncertainty
You won’t know everything, and you aren’t expected to! This is your time to make mistakes and learn from them. This also relates to the last tip, but don’t take it to heart if you say the wrong answer or don’t know something. The more experience you get during your rotation, the better clinician you will be in the future, trust me!
Good luck friends, you’re gonna kill it 🙂
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