Clinical experience is foundational to every nurse’s education and professional development. For pre-nursing students, hands-on exposure to healthcare settings can strengthen nursing school applications, help confirm career choice, and build necessary skills. For those already enrolled in nursing programs, clinical rotations serve as a bridge between classroom learning and real-world practice.
Understanding the role of clinical experience — from gaining initial exposure to completing required clinical hours — is key to succeeding in nursing school and beyond. Whether you’re exploring ways to build experience before applying to a program or preparing for your first clinical rotation, this guide will walk you through what to expect.
Let’s get started.
Clinical Experience & Nursing
Why Is Clinical Experience Important for Pre-Nursing Students?
Ways to Get Clinical Experience for Nursing School
What Are Nursing Clinicals?
Accruing Clinical Hours for Nursing School
What to Expect During Nursing Clinicals
7 Tips for Avoiding Common Mistakes
FAQs
Clinical Experience & Nursing
Clinical experience is an integral part of a nursing student’s journey, both before and during enrollment in a nursing program. Because of its hands-on nature, clinical experience prepares students to provide direct patient care and helps them develop the practical skills, capacity for critical thinking, and confidence that a career as a nurse demands.
For pre-nursing students, clinical experience often refers to practical healthcare work that’s used to strengthen a nursing school application. Many aspiring nursing students gain experience by working as certified nursing assistants (CNAs), medical scribes, or patient care technicians. Volunteering in hospitals, clinics, or long-term care facilities can also provide valuable exposure to healthcare settings.
For students already enrolled in a nursing program, clinical experience takes on a new meaning. As part of their degree work, nursing students must participate in clinical rotations, which provide an opportunity for them to use learnings from the classroom in real healthcare environments.
Why Is Clinical Experience Important for Pre-Nursing Students?
Gaining clinical experience before entering nursing school is a great way for prospective nursing students to gain insight into the healthcare field and prepare for their future careers. While not always an admission requirement, hands-on experience can benefit future nursing students in several ways.
It Helps Students Decide If Nursing Is the Right Career Choice
Nursing is a demanding profession that requires compassion, resilience, mental fortitude, and the ability to work under pressure. Clinical experience enables students to see firsthand what the job truly entails and get a better idea of whether nursing is a good career fit.
It Strengthens Nursing School Applications
Even if clinical experience isn’t a formal requirement for admission to a nursing program, it can make an application stand out. Admissions committees often look for candidates who demonstrate commitment to the field, and hands-on experience is a good way to show it.
It Provides Opportunities to Build a Professional Network
Entering the healthcare field is much easier when you’re well-connected. As part of gaining clinical experience, you’ll build relationships with practicing nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals who can offer guidance, mentorship, and even recommendations. These connections are invaluable when applying to nursing school and seeking job opportunities in the future.
It Allows Students to Explore Different Areas of Nursing
Nursing encompasses a wide range of specializations, from pediatrics to emergency care to oncology. Clinical experience gives students the opportunity to explore these avenues and identify areas of interest before committing to a specific nursing path.
It Builds Essential Skills
Clinical experience helps students build the skill sets that will serve them in nursing school and throughout their careers. Learning how to take vital signs, communicate with patients, and assist with basic care tasks early on gives prospective nursing students an advantage when they begin clinical rotations in nursing school. Even soft skills such as teamwork, adaptability, and time management are sharpened through real-world exposure, giving students a strong foundation to build on.
Ways to Get Clinical Experience for Nursing School
Wondering how to get clinical experience for nursing school? Fortunately, there are several ways to start accruing the hours you need.
Clinical Experience Opportunities
- Shadowing: This type of experience involves partnering with a practicing nurse to observe their daily responsibilities in real time — providing an opportunity to ask questions, witness patient interactions, and gain exposure to the realities of the career.
- Volunteering: Many healthcare facilities, including hospitals, nursing homes, and community clinics, offer volunteer opportunities that allow students to assist with non-medical tasks such as admissions and discharges, delivering meals to patients, and performing administrative tasks.
- Working in an Entry-Level, Patient-Facing Healthcare Role: Taking on a paid role in healthcare can provide direct patient care experience and a way to save for nursing school expenses. Some common entry-level jobs for pre-nursing students include:
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA): Provides basic patient care, such as assisting with daily activities and monitoring vital signs
- Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA): Supports physicians by taking medical histories and vital signs, preparing patients for procedures, and assisting during exams
- Patient Care Technician (PCT): Provides support with patient care tasks such as assisting with daily living activities and monitoring patient conditions
- Emergency Medical Technician (EMT): Responds to emergency situations, providing pre-hospital care
How to Secure Clinical Experience Opportunities
Securing clinical experience opportunities requires proactive effort. Here are some effective ways to find the right fit:
- Utilize your college or university’s career center or health career advising office
- Leverage your professional contacts, including professors, alumni, or other students who have completed clinical experiences — they may be able to point you toward opportunities you wouldn’t find elsewhere
- Reach out to medical facilities directly to inquire about available programs or positions
- Search online job boards, such as Indeed, Glassdoor, or hospital career pages
- Enroll in a pre-nursing certification program with an externship component
What Are Nursing Clinicals?
Nursing clinicals are a fundamental part of nursing program curricula, providing students with hands-on experience in real healthcare settings. These clinical rotations allow you to apply textbook principles and what you’ve learned in the skills lab to actual patient care.
How Nursing Clinicals Work
Clinical rotations are arranged by your school and take place under the supervision of a registered nurse (RN) clinical instructor. Throughout your clinicals, you’ll gain practical experience in various aspects of patient care, from administering medications to assisting with procedures and communicating with patients and healthcare teams.
The length of clinical rotations varies by program. Some nursing students complete their clinicals over several semesters, while others may be spread over multiple years. Regardless of the duration, clinicals are a required component of accredited nursing programs and must be completed as a condition of graduation.
Where Do Clinical Rotations Take Place?
Nursing clinicals are purposely designed to expose you to different healthcare environments and areas of nursing. Common clinical settings include:
- Long-Term Care Facilities: Provides exposure to geriatric and rehabilitative care
- Acute Care Hospitals: Work with patients in medical-surgical units, critical care, emergency departments, and more
- Pediatrics: Rotations in children’s hospitals or pediatric clinics, focusing on the unique needs of younger patients
- Labor and Delivery: Hands-on experience with childbirth, postpartum care, and neonatal nursing
- Mental Health Facilities: Experience in psychiatric nursing, crisis intervention, and behavioral health care
- Surgical Clinics and Operating Rooms: Exposure to preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative nursing care
Accruing Clinical Hours for Nursing School
As mentioned previously, you’ll need to complete clinical rotations in order to satisfy graduation requirements. The number of hours you’ll need to fulfill this requirement varies based on the type of nursing degree you’re pursuing:
- Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN): Typically requires at least 400 clinical hours
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN): Between 400 and 700 hours are generally required
- Master of Science in Nursing (MSN): Can range from 600 to 1,300 clinical hours, depending on the program and specialization
These requirements ensure that you receive adequate hands-on training before entering the workforce. Some programs may exceed these minimums to provide their students with more extensive clinical exposure.
What to Expect During Nursing Clinicals
While every clinical rotation is unique, there are common elements that you can expect to encounter across assignments.
The First Day
Your first day on a clinical assignment usually consists of an orientation to the healthcare facility and expectation setting for the rotation. More than likely, you’ll spend the day:
- Meeting your clinical instructor and other staff members
- Taking a tour of the facility and reviewing unit policies and safety protocols
- Observing nurses and other healthcare professionals
The Structure
Clinical rotations follow a structured schedule, and are generally consistent in overall duration. For each rotation you complete, you’ll be assigned to a specific healthcare setting in which you’ll follow a progressive structure — meaning you’ll start with basic patient care tasks and gradually take on more responsibilities as you build competence and confidence.
Each shift that you work within a rotation may vary in length, but will often mirror real nursing shifts, ranging from 4 to 12 hours.
Tasks Performed
The specific tasks you’ll be asked to complete depend on your level of education and experience, but common responsibilities include:
- Taking vital signs
- Assisting with activities of daily living
- Administering medications (under supervision)
- Providing wound care and dressing changes
- Documenting patient information in medical records
- Observing and assisting with medical procedures
- Communicating with patients and healthcare teams
The Role of the Clinical Instructor
No matter where your rotation takes place, you’ll be supervised by an RN clinical instructor who serves as both a mentor and evaluator. Your instructor is there to:
- Provide guidance and ensure that you adhere to proper nursing procedures
- Offer feedback on your performance
- Assess your understanding of patient care concepts
- Lead team meetings and skills demonstrations
- Facilitate clinical case reviews
How You’re Graded
Nursing clinical performance is assessed based on attendance, preparedness, participation, and homework (which largely consists of generating care plans), with most nursing programs using a pass/fail grading system.
7 Tips for Avoiding Common Mistakes
Making mistakes is a natural part of the learning process, even in nursing. However, given the nature of the work involved, mistakes can have serious consequences. That’s why it’s important to avoid them wherever possible. Here are some common mistakes that nursing students make and how you can prevent them.
1. Medication & Dosage Errors
Administering the wrong medication or incorrect dosage is one of the most serious mistakes a nursing student (or any medical professional) can make.
How to avoid it:
- Always follow the 5 rights of medication administration: right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, right time.
- Double-check dosages, calculations, and patient allergies before administering medications.
- If you’re unsure, ask your clinical instructor or nurse before proceeding.
2. Not Getting Enough Facetime With the Instructor
Some students hesitate to approach their clinical instructors for fear of asking “stupid” questions. However, avoiding interactions can lead to missed learning opportunities.
How to avoid it:
- Be proactive — ask your instructor for feedback and advice.
- Stay engaged during rounds and discussions.
- Seek clarification when something — instructions or a concept — is unclear. Your instructor is there to help you learn!
3. Not Getting Enough Rest
Fatigue can negatively impact focus, memory, and performance during clinicals.
How to avoid it:
- Prioritize good sleep hygiene, aiming for at least 7–9 hours of rest before clinical shifts.
- Avoid excessive caffeine intake late in the day to prevent sleep disruption.
- Plan ahead to balance study time, work, and self-care.
4. Errors in Documenting & Charting
Inaccurate or incomplete chart entries can result in miscommunication and sub-par patient care.
How to avoid it:
- Document everything immediately after performing a task — don’t trust your memory to recall every detail.
- Use clear, concise language and avoid abbreviations that aren’t standard.
- Double-check records before submitting them; look for accuracy and completeness.
5. Overestimating Patients’ Mobility
Assuming a patient can stand or walk unaided can result in avoidable falls and injuries.
How to avoid it:
- Always assess a patient’s mobility level before assisting them.
- Use mobility aids as needed.
- If you’re unsure whether or not you can support a patient’s weight, ask for help.
6. Not Following Proper Sanitation Protocols
Lapses in hand hygiene and infection control practices can put both patients and healthcare staff at risk.
How to avoid it:
- Follow facility sanitation policies, infection control, and sterile processes closely.
- Wash your hands thoroughly before and after patient contact.
- Wear gloves, masks, and PPE as appropriate for the situation.
7. Failing to Report Mistakes
Mistakes are inevitable — but failing to speak up when you make one can lead to serious consequences for your patient’s health and your reputation.
How to avoid it:
- If an error occurs, report it to your instructor or supervisor immediately.
- Stay transparent and be honest about what happened.
- View mistakes as learning opportunities rather than failures.
FAQs
What is clinical experience in nursing?
There are 2 types of clinical experience in nursing. The first refers to experience gained by pre-nursing students in order to enhance their nursing school applications. This type of clinical experience is typically gained through shadowing, volunteering, or working in an entry-level healthcare role. The second type is gained during clinical rotations, which are nursing shifts that students enrolled in a nursing program work under the supervision of a clinical instructor. Nursing “clinicals” are a part of the curriculum and completion is required for graduation.
Do I need clinical experience to get into nursing programs?
Clinical experience hours aren’t typically required for admission to a nursing program. However, for schools that don’t require it, having clinical experience on your resume can make your application stand out to admissions committees.
How many clinical hours do I need for nursing school?
The number of hours you’ll complete as part of your clinical rotations will depend on the type of degree you’re working toward. Exact hour amounts will vary depending on the program, but you can typically expect the following:
- Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN): At least 400 clinical hours
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN): Between 400 and 700 hours
- Master of Science in Nursing (MSN): Ranges from 600 to 1,300 clinical hours
How long are clinical shifts for nursing students?
The shifts you work as part of your clinical rotations are scheduled to mimic the working hours of practicing nurses, and can be anywhere from 4 to 12 hours in length.
Gaining clinical experience is foundational to a career in nursing. Whether you’re just starting your journey or preparing for nursing school, the right training can set you up for success. At Advanced eClinical, our pre-nursing certification programs provide the hands-on experience and depth of knowledge you need to excel in clinical settings and make your nursing school application stand out.
Ready to take the first step? Browse our course offerings and enroll today.
