How hard is the 3rd semester of nursing school?

Nurse Kyles, BSN, RN · May 11, 2011

Well, I just took my last two finals today & I'm happy to say I passed third semester. At my school, I heard a lot of hype about third semester too. I didn't think it was all that bad. I'm not sure if every third semester has the same classes. We had advanced skills class(iv push meds, ng insertion, ekg,central line dressing,cap change etc), Med-surg 2, mental health class & intermediate clinical (4 weeks psych & 4 weeks med-surg). This semester has really been putting it all together. We really worked on understanding the health alterations & how labs are effected especially.

Tips:

If you have a smart phone get davis drug guide & labgear(if you haven't already). I use these apps on my iphone all the time, and they are a real time saver. So nice for long clinical "preps" & preparing quickly at clinical.

Make sure you have a good "brain" sheet for clinical. In other clinicals, we would always have two patients. Now we are increasing the patient load to 3, and It is more challenging keeping everything together with more patients. Being ultra organized & having a system will help you transition to more & more patients. I use a lot of color coding & find it works well for me.

Keep on task & keep a calendar with due dates. It is easy to space out quizzes, discussion boards or assignment due dates with numerous classes, clinicals and other obligations.

Good luck to you! I hope you have a wonderful summer!

AgentBeast, MSN, RN · May 11, 2011

3rd semester for me is OB, Peds, and Psych. I dread the OB rotation, but most guys probably feel that way, or at least should feel that way. :yeah:

KimmyAGPCNP · May 11, 2011

Thanks for the info guys! i appreciate it!!

passredskins1 · May 11, 2011

3rd semester wasnt too bad for me....as long as u have been studying all along ..you will be fine. Keep doing what you are doing, and if u have been borderline.....step up. if u have the summer off, relax but if you can make sure u start reading ahead...making notes of the next subjects ...that help me alot when school resumed...best of luck.....and keep practising nclex questions..

fromtheseaRN, BSN, RN · May 11, 2011

i'm almost done, and it's been fine. my only hiccups had to do with my personal stuff that was going on. the material was not difficult, but i did double the amount of time i studied compared to the first two semesters (went from 1-2 hours a day to 2-4). i had OB, advanced med surg, and pediatrics. OB and peds were super easy.

JBMmom, MSN, NP · May 11, 2011

It must depend on your program, OB and peds were second semester for us. We hear that "everyone" fails third semester- cardiac, shock, etc. I'm glad I've got the summer to prepare, I foresee a lot of reading in my summer weeks! Good luck to you.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · May 11, 2011

Third semester will be over for me by Friday !!!

It was PEDS and Med surg III. One more semester to go... hopefully

1southernstudent · May 12, 2011

Our third semester was maternal/child which has been the easiest and my favorite so far.

Rob72, ASN, RN · May 12, 2011

It depends entirely on your capability and the skill of the instructor. Mine was OB/peds and psych. OB instructor, to all evidence, was trying to give a Masters' level midwifery didactic.:icon_roll Absolute crap. I left knowing possibly 1 jot (the literal Olde English term meaning the dot of an "i") than when I entered. Fortunately, I had practical (EMT) experience, and followed my HESI exit reading.

Barring something such as that, and assuming you're already doing the work with 85% or better, it isn't hard.

Sothisisit · May 17, 2011

I just finished my third semester. I thought it was the easiest of the first three. We did OB, Ped's, and liver, kidney, and pancreas. We also did some nursing role. I do have two children so I think that made applying some of the stuff I already know helpful. You'll do great. I'm scared of my last semester which starts in the fall.