Tips for Success!

Here are some tips for success for students, from students!

1. Speak up and contribute!

You will find out that your perspectives and opinions matter, and your mentors are happy to hear what you have to say. Make it a point to pay attention to meetings and conversations and make suggestions. You might not feel comfortable doing that at the beginning, so make it your goal to step out of your comfort zone and contribute. This will grow your leadership abilities and make a good impression on your mentor.

2. Take notes!

Take notes on meetings that you attend. That will help you pay attention to what’s going on and give you ideas of what types of projects you can do or other ways to help out and grow your leadership skills. This will also ensure that you are prepared for the next meeting on the topic.

3. Ask for help!

You are not alone. There are professionals such as nurses, clinical nurse educators, nurse practitioners and others who can help with completing a project by pointing you to correct resources and suggesting some approaches to you. So don’t be afraid to ask for help.

4. Have your notes from Nursing 425 readily available!

We understand that it is not always possible to remember everything you have learned, so having your notes readily available can help you quickly look up terms and various leadership processes and frameworks.

5. Explore your clinical site!

Don’t feel like you are only limited to working on your project and alongside your mentor. Ask your mentor if there are other experiences at the site that would be beneficial to you. These could be shadowing days (run this by your section professor first), talking with other clinicians in different roles or attending presentations/workshops.

6. Plan your schedule early!

At the start of the placement, communicate with your mentor how you will schedule your 192 hours. Talk about remote vs in-person time, whether you have a consistent schedule or varying, and when your goal end date is.

7. Determine how you will communicate!

Especially if your placement is mostly remote, determine what method of communication will work best for you and your mentor. Email? Weekly zoom check-ins? Phone/text?

8. Ask for and Use feedback!

You can check in with your mentor to ask for formal and informal feedback, or another form of feedback is through self-reflection. This will help you identify areas for improvement and determine what is going well! Touching base with your mentor may also facilitate communication and a positive working relationship with your mentor.

9. Make sure to organize your day and be accountable!

Especially when doing remote placements it is important to decide what you want to accomplish for that day. At the end of the day, self evaluate if you have accomplished your goals. Your fieldwork activity log can be a good check-in point for this!