Christina Rafano tells nursing students to rest after clinical shifts, not study. Six to twelve hours of clinical work drains you physically, mentally, and emotionally. Pushing through without recovery leads to burnout that takes even longer to heal from.
When you're done with a long clinical day, you're going to be exhausted. It's physically, mentally and emotionally draining to be on the floor for six to 12 hours as a nursing student, especially when you're learning so much and you feel like you're drinking from a fire hose. So when you get home, don't study or do anything productive. Just plan on resting and let your brain recover so that you can get back into the swing of things the next day. If you are constantly pushing yourself too hard in nursing school without giving yourself space to recover, you will end up burning out, which will ultimately take even more time to recover from. So plan ahead and give yourself time to rest and recover after clinicals.
