3rd and 4th term FCCJ RN students

sugar plum fairy · Feb 25, 2008

hi, miss rochelle!

I just graduated in Dec 07, passed my boards on Valentine's Day and slated to begin working/training at Shands' New Nurse Fellowship Program. :)

In my experience, I had more free time during the 3rd and 4th terms than term 1! One guess whynot many 3rd-4th termers are not posting here is that maybe they started jobs as CNAs/Nursing Assistants/Nursing Interns during this time (and that is really common.)

Anyway, adult health 2 deals with respiratory, cardiac, renal, etc and has more pharmacology than adult health 1. I feel that that's the way it should be, because it makes more sense to study meds for specific diseases than just studying them generally in 1st term Pharm which simply requires you to memorize to pass exams! But that's just me :) You will also have 2 clinical days/week.

OB is just so-so. Sometimes it would get so boring (I think I just did not like my clinical site) that we would have nothing else to do. But i really loved holding that hour-old infant in my arms when I had my first C-section. That was cool.

Peds is so much fun! You'll have 12-hour shifts once a week. I really recommend Ms Macke because you'll really learn a lot. You cannot start an IV on a child, so don't worry about that (at least with Ms Macke we were told we cannot do it!).

I wish you luck and just ride the wave! Before you know it, the time will come when you have to worry about your pinning ceremony attire!!! Hang in there and I'm sure you will do great! :nuke:

miss rochelle · Feb 25, 2008

thank you so much for posting about your experiences! and congratulations on becoming a full-fleged RN!!! :nurse:

it's interesting that you say 3rd term is a bit slower... but i welcome that. and i hear you on the assistant job, i am thinking of applying for a prn position at bmc-beaches soon.

and thank goodness on not having to start an IV on a child :uhoh3: i just think of my daughter (almost 2) and how she'd react if she got one and, yeah... LOL :bugeyes:

i figured adult health 2 would deal with more cardio/pulmnary and renal stuff. do you still use the big ol med-surg book in this term?

anyway, again thank you for telling me about your experiences and the good wishes.

elby812 · Feb 26, 2008

Hello,

I'm just finishing peds right now, half way through 3rd term. Its not so bad, tests are actually pretty easy. I had Hepburn for lecture and Hunter for clinical and enjoyed them both. Learned a tremendous amount in clinicals, most of which will carry over into adult nursing (peds is definitely not for me).

I'm not sure yet about OB-that starts next week. I've heard that its pretty easy as well. It seems like once you get past second term, you're over the hump so to speak. We'll see how fourth term goes.

And yes you will need the massive adult health book for 4th term as well as in OB for the women's health unit.

Well I guess I'm done rambling. I'm tired and going to bed. This is our heck week, one test done & two more to go....

sugar plum fairy · Feb 26, 2008

miss rochelle, as elby has mentioned, you would still need the AH1 textbook for AH2. I swear, I did not really "read" that book unless my instructor pointed something out (mostly tables and diagrams). I used Saunders to review for the tests (because AH2 tests are formulated to be like the boards, I think it's great that way!). I had this plan that I will study Saunders content until before I take Kaplan and then study Kaplan content until I take my boards. My plan worked out just right, that I totally recommend that to other people :)

I hope you get that position at BMC-Beaches. Just be sure to make it work for you (be friends with your scheduler person!) especially when 4th term comes because you will be having 12-hour shifts for 7-8 days and 1 night shift for Role Transformation :)

Hi, elby!

You're in the same boat as my brother!

He just finished his 3rd Peds exam today and still have the HESI and finals :)

He has Macke, btw.

Good luck with OB!! You will do just fine, I swear :)

miss rochelle · Feb 26, 2008

Learned a tremendous amount in clinicals, most of which will carry over into adult nursing (peds is definitely not for me).

How were peds clinicals for you? did you work with a variety of age ranges? if you don't mind answering. i'm scared of dealing with... parents. lol.

good luck with your tests! i'm so glad adult health 1 is over (i made it out alive!)

miss rochelle · Feb 26, 2008

I used Saunders to review for the tests (because AH2 tests are formulated to be like the boards, I think it's great that way!). I had this plan that I will study Saunders content until before I take Kaplan and then study Kaplan content until I take my boards. My plan worked out just right, that I totally recommend that to other people :)
I hope you get that position at BMC-Beaches. Just be sure to make it work for you (be friends with your scheduler person!) especially when 4th term comes because you will be having 12-hour shifts for 7-8 days and 1 night shift for Role Transformation :)

i haven't gotten the saunder's review book, guess i will get that now! to my understanding, kaplan is a review type class, right? correct me if i am wrng! but anyway your plan does sound like a good idea. thanks for the tips :)

so as far as 4th term, is it one 12 hr shift per week or... ? i'm a little confused.

anyways, thanks all around for answering!

hawkfdc · Mar 7, 2008

Well since I'm here I'll respond...Elby and I were in the same clinical group at Wolfson. You can take care of kids that range anywhere from 4 months to 16 years old, and with all kinds of SERIOUS chronic illnesses, along with some psycho-social issues-pay attention in Psych (here's a list of what we did-congenital heart defect, end stage renal disease, anorexia, myelomeningocele, hydrocephalus, broken bones (complex compound fractures), Down's babies, and the ever popular cystic fibrosis). If you're headed to Psych now, start asking questions now about therapeutic communication skills. I never really had a problem with any parents, I don't think anyone did in our group. They're not as crazy as you would think they would be, most are calm and rational. Its a rare thing to be a student with a parent who is neurotic and out of control. Be prepared for the Assessment and Discharge study, it will take you about 20-30 hours to complete, don't wait until the last moment.

hawkfdc · Mar 7, 2008

and it seems like when students get into 3rd and 4th they disappear until they graduate, lol. guess there's no time, huh?

That would be because we're tired of being in school and rarely want to talk about it outside of school. Don't ask me why, maybe I'm just in a mood today.

miss rochelle · Mar 7, 2008

right.

thanks for your input.