Medical school students need clinical experiences to become physicians in the U.S. as a requirement of the National Resident Matching Program. So, if nurses don’t have to apply to the NRMP, is a nursing clinical experience really needed?

Clinical experiences in nursing are necessary because they provide a real-world educational experience and can contribute to the two-year experience that nurses need to practice in the U.S.  Such experiences may help an individual to see what area of medicine they want to work in as it provides a glimpse of what daily life might look like Clinical experiences can also help nurses to learn new skills and put ones they already have into practice. Continue reading below for a more in-depth look at the benefits of clinical experience in nursing.

Learn New Skills

Participating in clinical experience in nursing can help nurses to gain essential skills. These include taking a patient’s vital sins and assessing the state of their health. Both these can help a nurse to inform the patients doctor on how to approach the case.

Nurses can also learn basic care-taking skills. Depending on the clinical experience these may include bathing, medicating, and feeding a patient. A supervising physician will be with nursing clinical experience participants to provide guidance and mentorship.

Experience Diverse Specialties

Completing a nursing clinical experience in a specific medical specialty can add breadth to a nurse’s experience and medical knowledge. AMOpportunities now offers nursing rotations in various specialties and locations around the United States. These specialties include internal medicine, cardiology, gastroenterology, psychiatry, obstetrics & gynecology, orthopedic surgery, anesthesiology, dermatology, and surgery. Trying out these specialties can help inform nurses what area of medicine they want to pursue down the road.

Practice Professional Communication 

In addition to elevating skills and providing a platform for career path exploration, a nursing clinical experience can provide individuals with practice with professional communication. Nurses will have a chance to practice their English and enhance their medical terminology. Building a tight relationship with the supervising physician of the clinical experience may lead to a letter of recommendation. This professional connection could also lead to a great reference in the future.


To learn more or apply to our clinical experiences in nursing, click here.

To find out more information on the process of obtaining a rotation with AMO check out our post ‘How to Secure a Rotation with AMO.’