3rd Semester Peds

Published

Hi.

I always thought I was ok with time mgmt...until I got to 2nd Semester. 2 Clinic instructors have told me that my time mgmt is lacking. I was doing great until they gave us 2 pts in 2nd sem. I just barely passed lecture with 77% after getting a B the 1st half, which was supposed to be harder. It's especially discouraging when I see younger kids straight out of High School that are better than me all around & I'm almost 40 with a teenage daughter! We've dealt with several medical issues with her during my time in school which has affected my schooling but I just think I should be doing so much better.

Anyway, I'm going into 3rd semester peds this Feb & am wondering if anyone can give me some tips on what to expect, what to do, what not to do, time mgmt suggestions. I've read some of the threads on time mgmt & they've helped alot, but I'd like info specific to peds. I have 6 wks off during our Christmas break & have already started reading, but any suggestions or personal stories about time mgmt would be soooo helpful.

Thanks so much for any help. This place is great...I really appreciate it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Well as for the lecture/exam component I'm sure you can figure out how that works, lol. As for clinicals you may be breathing a sigh of relief because at both my Peds rotations the census was very low so we were teaming up with other students because there weren't enough sick kids, which is a good thing I guess. :)

P.S. The nurses who were fabulous and nice were very protective of their little ones so really it was very low stress clinicals for me.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency.

When I was in school, our peds rotation was easy. We only had one pt each due to the requirements of the hospital. This was after a rotation where I had 3 adult pts on clinicals.

As for time mgt. I found that when in school, you are doing everything that the nurse does as well as the assistant (i.e. vitals, toileting, bathing, meds, procedures, etc.). It also takes a student twice as long to do something a more experienced nurse could do faster.

I guess I don't really understand what your instructors are saying. Were they specific with their concerns about your time management? If you posted what their issues are, I could give you more specific advice. In your second semester, you shouldn't be expected to be able to be as efficient as a nurse with experience. I am in my first year as an RN and with 6-7 pts a shift, I still have issues with time mgt and have to stay late to chart, etc. It's part of the job, and if I have a pt with major issues on my shift, then I will get behind, or if I have pts who are very needy, it will set me back on time. It comes with the territory. I try my best to at the very least get my meds passed on time, but some days, even that doesn't happen.

Can you tell us what your instructors specifically pointed out as problems? It would make it easier for us to give you advice.

Hang in there!

Amy

Up Vote Up Vote ×

The 1st 1/2 of the semester, I got side tracked with "needy" pts. Ex: Pt #1 80+ F with hepatic encephalopathy (A&O varied), decubes, incontinent, isolation precautions. Pt#2 60+ M with ESRD, on dialysis the morning of my shift.

I was supposed to give meds to my ESRD pt but I got busy with Pt #1 & didn't put my med note on the MAR fast enough & my RN gave them.

The 2nd 1/2 of the semester, I'm not really sure because she didn't really give me any comments until the end of the rotation & that was specific. I was late once (bad, I know...but not something I've ever done before). I thought this clinic was going much better & that she didn't have any major problems with me but at the end felt terrible & that she was disappointed with my performance. Here are some of her comments: 1- Be thorough on preps & patho's pt specific, report on pt vague. 2- Remember, always protect yourself/universal precautions (I forgot to use gloves when giving SC med) - missing paperwork (1 pg was missing from my H&A & I didn't realize it before turning it in). Work on your preps, be more thorough (had trouble reading the pt charts d/t bad handwriting). Pt specific pathos (I wrote them the way my previous instructor liked them & didn't know how she liked them yet), H&A need to be more thorough. 3- Late for clinical, need to be more focused with your pt care (I think this was when I started getting nervous with her during 1 of the med admins), work on time mgmt, this is a must. 4- need to work on time mgmt, H&A's better & preps -> pt specific pathos. check all meds for look alike/sound alike.

We had some interruptions between clinics, so many of these comments weren't received by me until sometimes 2 wks later & then after clinic. Also, each instructor has different ways they like their pathos, H&A's, expectations etc & they don't always make it clear in the beginning. I feel like I just start getting used to the hospital, the instructor & a routine & then we switch rotations.

I did finally get my "brain" sheet figured out by the end of this rotation & hopefully I can use it in peds.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in DOU.

I found OB/Peds to be horrifically slow and boring (except labor and delivery) after coming off a busy med-surg rotation.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion