Published Sep 30, 2009
foreverLaur
1,319 Posts
Semester 1: Med/Surg
Semester 2: Med/Surg II
Semester 3: OB, Psych, Peds
Semester 4: Advanced Med/Surg
There are no rotations in any other specialty areas. I'm interested in trauma nursing and this program offers no rotations in ED, ICU, etc. Should I select another program, or is this pretty typical?
Kitty Hawk, ADN, RN
541 Posts
I went to a diploma/ADN program it was 2 years as follows
semester 1: fundamentals
semester 2: 102 intro med/surg
semester 3: 103 med/surg (I guess what oth programs call med/surg II
semester 4: acute or chronic
next year
semester 1: acute or chronic
semester 2: maternity/child/fam or community
semester 3: maternity/child/fam or community
semester 4: management
in our acute is where we got ER, burn unit as well as psych rotation was rolled in there.
in the "or" situations you take one of them then flip for the next semester incase that wasn't clear!
Good luck!
TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP
1,290 Posts
Semester 3 and 4? Aren't those called quarters?
Is your "advanced Med/Surg" an ICU/Critical Care clinical? I know that my cohort won't be taking the Med/Surg ATI test until after we do Critical Care. Then again, I'm in a Master's Entry program that's accredited as a BSN program, so you might be dealing with a horse of a different color.
HopefulRN2010
95 Posts
I'm in an ADN program and we have the same titles for our courses. But there are different rotations rolled up into each quarter. The first 2 quarters were med surg 1 and med surg 2. But the next quarter we did Psych and Community Health. Which included hospice, home health, out patient psych, etc... Our ER and ICU is rolled up with our Advanced Med Surg quarter. Hope this helps!
celclt
274 Posts
yep- fundamentals for sem 1 then the same except our psych was w/ med surg 1 - I am precepting on MICU stepdown@ level 1 Trauma center w no vent,drip experience and I will just let them teach me what they want me to know- I have a firm foundation of pathophys,hemodynamics and fundamental nursing skills from ADN- I feel prepared
BabyLady, BSN, RN
2,300 Posts
Semester I: Fundamentals
Semester II: Advanced Fundamentals/OB
Semester III: Psych/Med Surg
Semester IV: Med Surg/Home Health
rn/writer, RN
9 Articles; 4,168 Posts
You are not likely to find an ER or critical care rotation in nursing school. Not saying it never happens, only that it would be exceedingly rare.
You might be exposed to an ER or critical care unit for a day or two (within another rotation) to observe and perhaps do some basic tasks, but I doubt you'd find an entire clinical in such an intense setting. Why? Because until students obtain a certain level of learning and proficiency, putting them into such a highly-charged and demanding environment wouldn't serve them--or their patients--well.
Your best bet, OP, is to get your nursing degree and find an ER or critical care unit that hires new grads and offers a nice long orientation.
You could also get your EMT license and work for a volunteer fire department or an ambulance service if you want to get some trauma experience with a minimal training investment. Many ERs consider EMS experience a big plus when hiring.
I currently work on a meg/surg floor that is surgical primary, medical secondary, and trauma overflow at a Level I Trauma Center. I pick up a 12hr shift a week in the ED or Trauma floor, so I do have some exposure. I also observe pretty much every trauma that comes in to get a feel for how it works.
You are very fortunate. You're getting far more exposure in your job setting than you are likely to see in nursing school. This should look great on your resume and job applications when the time comes. Are you a tech now?
rn-jane
417 Posts
I went to an adn program and we did not have an er rotation but during medsurg had a or rotation(sorta). We had to view 12 surgeries on our free time(3 had to be open hearts)
We did have a critical rotation(our very last one)
We also had peds, maternity, geriatric, and a neuro rotation in addition to a med surg/tele rotation.
CharlieT
240 Posts
At my school the curriculum looks like this.
semester 1- fundamentals + pharmacology
semester 2- med-surg 1
semester 3- med-surg 2 + nursing elective
semester 4- ob/peds
semester 5- psyc + advanced nursing concepts
Gen. ed. classes are sprinkled in if you need them but most students in my program have most of the gen ed classes in by the time they start fundamentals class
Yes, I have been a tech since June and will have about 1 year experience when I start nursing school.