Category 1: Clinical Expectations
What time are students expected to arrive for clinical readiness?
Answer: What is 6:30 AM?
Rationale: Clinical readiness begins before the official start time. Arriving at 6:30 AM allows time for attendance, preparation, supplies check, and transition into a professional clinical mindset before patient care begins.
This should be put away during clinical unless approved for learning.
Answer: What is a cell phone?
Rationale: Personal phone use during clinical is unprofessional and distracting. Phones should only be used when explicitly permitted for educational purposes to maintain focus, professionalism, and patient privacy.
Before giving a medication, students must first verify this using two identifiers.
Answer: What is the correct patient?
Rationale: Correct patient identification is the first step in safe medication administration. Using two identifiers helps prevent wrong-patient medication errors and protects patient safety.
This is worn to prevent spread of infection and protect the nurse and patient.
Answer: What is PPE?
Rationale: Personal protective equipment helps prevent transmission of infection and protects both patients and healthcare workers from exposure to contaminants.
If you are unsure how to do a skill, you should do this first.
Answer: What is stop and ask?
Rationale: Students must recognize limitations and seek guidance before performing unfamiliar tasks. Asking first prevents unsafe care and protects patients.
This is what students should have ready upon arrival to clinical.
Answer: What are full uniform, badge, supplies, and completed preparation?
Rationale: Students must arrive fully prepared to safely participate in clinical. This includes proper attire, required materials, and completion of assigned preparation to support safe and efficient patient care.
This is how students should respond to correction in clinical.
Answer: What is professionally?
Rationale: Clinical is a learning environment. Students are expected to accept correction professionally, remain teachable, and use feedback to improve practice and ensure patient safety.
Students should never give a medication if they do not understand this.
Answer: What are the medication, purpose, or safety considerations?
Rationale: Students must understand what they are administering, why it is ordered, and what risks it may pose. Administering a medication without understanding it is unsafe and increases the risk of patient harm.
Before obtaining vital signs, students should first do this.
Answer: What is identify the patient correctly?
Rationale: Proper patient identification ensures that the assessment belongs to the correct patient and prevents documentation and treatment errors.
If a staff member asks you to do something you are not trained to do, you should do this.
Answer: What is decline and notify the instructor?
Rationale: Students must remain within scope and competency. Politely declining and escalating to the instructor protects both patient safety and student accountability.
If you are late, unprepared, or unsafe, this may happen.
Answer: What is dismissal from clinical?
Rationale: Clinical is a patient care environment, and students who are late, unprepared, or unsafe may jeopardize patient safety and unit workflow. Dismissal reinforces accountability and protects patients.
This law protects patient privacy and confidentiality.
Answer: What is HIPAA?
Rationale: HIPAA protects patient health information and confidentiality. Students must follow HIPAA standards at all times to maintain trust, legal compliance, and professional responsibility.
This should be checked before medication administration to prevent reactions.
Answer: What are allergies?
Rationale: Allergy verification is a critical safety step before administering any medication. Failure to verify allergies can result in preventable adverse reactions and serious patient harm.
This is the safest action if a patient becomes weak during ambulation.
Answer: What is assist them safely, prevent a fall, and call for help?
Rationale: If a patient becomes weak during ambulation, the priority is immediate safety. Preventing a fall and getting assistance reduces risk of injury and supports safe intervention.
A patient asks for help to the bathroom, but they are weak and unsteady. What should you do first?
Answer: What is get assistance before ambulating the patient?
Rationale: Weak or unstable patients are at high risk for falls. Getting help first supports safe transfer and protects the patient from injury.
This must be completed before coming to clinical to be prepared for patient care.
Answer: What is clinical preparation / assigned prep work?
Rationale: Clinical preparation helps students understand their patient, diagnosis, medications, and plan of care before arriving. Safe care begins with preparation, not after arrival.
This is how students should communicate with staff, patients, and instructors.
Answer: What is respectfully and professionally?
Rationale: Professional communication supports teamwork, patient trust, and safe care. Respectful interactions are essential in all clinical environments.
If something seems wrong or unsafe with a medication, the student should do this first.
Answer: What is hold the medication and ask the instructor?
Rationale: If a medication appears unsafe, unclear, or inconsistent with the patient’s condition, students should stop and seek clarification before proceeding. Pausing prevents avoidable medication errors.
This should always be locked before transferring a patient.
Answer: What is a wheelchair or bed?
Rationale: Locking the wheelchair or bed before transfer prevents movement during repositioning and reduces the risk of falls or injury.
You notice another student about to give the wrong medication. What should you do?
Answer: What is stop them immediately and notify the instructor?
Rationale: Preventing harm is everyone’s responsibility in clinical. Immediate intervention protects the patient and allows the instructor to address the situation safely.
This is the student’s main responsibility before performing any skill in clinical.
Answer: What is knowing the skill, being checked off, and asking for help if unsure?
Rationale: Students should never perform a skill without prior instruction, competency validation, and supervision as needed. Patient safety depends on recognizing limitations and seeking support before acting.
This quality means being open to feedback, correction, and learning in clinical.
Answer: What is being teachable?
Rationale: Teachable students are safer students. Clinical growth depends on humility, openness to feedback, and willingness to improve with guidance.
These are the core safety checks used to prevent medication errors.
Hint: There are eight.
Answer: What are the rights of medication administration?
Rationale: The rights of medication administration guide safe medication practice by ensuring the correct patient receives the correct medication, dose, route, and timing with proper documentation and evaluation.
This is the priority during any patient transfer.
Answer: What is patient safety and fall prevention?
Rationale: Safe transfers focus on protecting the patient from injury. Preventing falls and ensuring stability are always the highest priorities during movement.
A patient says, “I feel dizzy,” right after receiving medication. What should you do first?
Answer: What is assess the patient and notify the instructor immediately?
Rationale: Dizziness after medication may indicate an adverse reaction, hypotension, or other acute change. Immediate assessment and prompt escalation are necessary to protect patient safety.