RT Student Survival Guide: How to CRUSH your Clinical Rotations and not just survive, but THRIVE!

RT Jaime
Feb 13, 2021
5 min read

RT Student Survival Guide:

How to CRUSH your

Clinical Rotations

and not just

Survive, but

THRIVE!

So you are about to start your clinical rotations in Respiratory School. AHHHH!!!! Don’t freak out! I remember what it was like in my didactic years thinking I was hot s*** because I could memorize and take exams well. However, the minute I was put in front of a patient I freaked out!!! It wasn’t just me though; many of my classmates who were the brains of the class flipped out and freaked out in front of a real living breathing patient. It is normal, because you care and want to do a good job. It is better to be cautious and care, than to be confident and careless. What we want is to get to the point where we are confident AND care! So to help you get there, here are some of my tips for you during your Respiratory Therapy Clinicals!

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The Interview

I always took for granted that I figured I was at a job interview during my clinical rotations. Our Director of Clinical Education always told us that our clinical rotations were one big job interview. While you are rotating at a hospital, they are looking at you with hawk eyes to see if you will fit into their team. Some of my tips for RT students during clinicals include:

Introduce Yourself: If your preceptor forgets to introduce you to other staff members, take it upon yourself to introduce yourself. You are your own person, make it known that you are a student, but still introduce yourself. This includes nurses, doctors, RT’s, and especially RT’s in leadership positions.

Build Rapport: Building Rapport is important, not just as a student, but also as an RT. You have to chat, get to know people, and see where they are coming from. Building rapport basically means you are trying to build relationships, because you want to be remembered when you apply in 6 months. Building rapport helps you leave a good impression that hopefully lasts. This also includes nurses, doctors, RT’s, and RT’s in leadership roles.

Remember people’s names: If you remember RT’s names and Nurses names, they will more than likely remember you. Call them by name and this will set you apart from other students.

Strong Work Ethic: Don’t complain about ANYTHING, even if your preceptor or other employed RT’s are complaining about something. Remember, they already have a job, you don’t. Do not sit down unless your preceptor is sitting down or relieves you to take a break.

Volunteer to do things when no one else does: This is a tricky one. I tried hard to not be that annoying student who was overbearing and wanted to volunteer for every clinical opportunity. I did for some, however, I took the backseat for others because I wanted my classmates to have opportunities to grow as well. If my classmates did not volunteer after 10 seconds, then I volunteered. That is my opinion, but everyone has a different take and different personality. This is just advice. Use it as you wish. Be willing to get in there with patients when other students don’t want to. This shows that you have an interest in your career choice and that you want to learn more!

Be on time: This sounds basic, but it is so important! A student who is late, will be an employee who is late as well.

Show Improvement: Just try to do better everyday, they will see that. Show improvement.

Following Instructions: Always follow instructions from your preceptor or other RT leadership. This leads into the next topic.

Speak less, listen more

The chances of you learning something dramatically increases when you do not use your mouth, but use your ears. If you speak, you are stating something you already know, but if you listen you are learning something you did not know before. However, this does not apply to questions. Since questions clarify something you want to be sure you learn correctly. Remember you want to appear confident, however you do not want to appear overconfident or arrogant. People do not like people who are arrogant, especially students, who do not have the experience to back up their knowledge. Textbooks and hands-on clinical experience are different learning endeavors. Just some friendly advice.

Ask Questions!

I cannot stress this one enough. Especially in healthcare, if you are not sure of something, please, please, please ask questions. These are people’s lives that we are entrusted with. Mistakes will happen whether you are a student or not, however, since you are learning you are more likely to make mistakes. So if you are not 100% sure or comfortable with something, please ask, even if you think it is a dumb question. Chances are one of your classmates may be thinking the same thing.

Network

Sometimes you may have a long rotation or you may have a short rotation. Either way, you need to connect with people and get their contact information so you can contact them when you apply for the job. If you have made a good impression and built good rapport, then there should be no issue with asking for your preceptors email. I suggest staying away from getting their phone numbers or their social media accounts. Remember, you are entering a professional world now. By asking for their email, you are showing them that you are a person who is trying to keep things professional and they will see that. Most likely they will give you their hospital email and that is A-okay!

Short story:

I once got an email from a nurse who used to work in Dallas and was best friends with the Directory of Respiratory Care at one of the children’s hospitals in Dallas! I got her email information, applied there, got an interview, but turned down the job, because I chose to take a different job in Houston, TX.

NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK!

Problems with your Preceptor

This one is a challenging one to talk about. I will just say it bluntly. Not every preceptor wants to teach a student. Some preceptors feel they have a busy assignment and do not have time to teach someone while they are working. Especially on a busy shift, having a student can be a challenge. Remember that if your preceptor seems stressed do not take it personally, because they may just be having a very busy shift and they may be more concerned with their patient care at the time. Keep in mind, the hospital has a contract with your school and does not need to renew it either. As long as you are on your best behavior you have nothing to worry about.

On the other hand, if you feel your preceptor is impeding your learning or treating you unfairly or rude to you constantly, then you need to tell your director of clinical education right away. You need to tell your director of clinical education everything that makes you uneasy about your preceptor, so if there is a misunderstanding that comes up later on, they will have some information and not be blind-sided by it. Trust me, I made this very mistake! Keep an open line of communication with your director of clinical education at your school, this will help you so much down the line!

FYI: Nursing has similar issues.

Well that wraps up this post, I hope you got something out of it! Also, Don’t forget to subscribe to my Newsletter so you can stay up to date with all my blog posts, eBooks, and educational videos.