Tell Me About Your Final Semester of Nursing School

Published

I have less than two weeks left of my fourth quarter and it's been a rough patch, not just for me, but for so many others in my class.

Anyway, our last quarter is Med/Surg III - Critical Care. I'm excited about it. But I'm also very excited because it's our last quarter of nursing school.

My classmates and I are really hoping our final quarter is much more inspirational than this quarter. What can you tell me about it--anything related to the course content or simply because it is the final quarter/semester.

Thanks.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC.

I'm in my final semester and so far it has been fine. I have senioritis but am doing okay on my exams ( thanks to God).

This semester consisted of medsurg advanced concepts, psych and community health.

Time is flies by fast. Can't wait to be done next week.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I have one exam left on Monday and I am done.

In my program the final semester is very intense. We do critical care also and, of course, transition. The exams are tough. The requirements are heavy and border on insanity in terms of how much has to be done in 15 weeks. The instructors push harder and are less warm and fuzzy.

Time flew. Classmates grew snarkier with one another. Everyone is ready to be done. It is tense and emotional. And as it starts getting closer, after the halfway mark, it starts to get a little bit giddy as the grades come in and the end draws near and the reality of being absolutely finished hits. I am giddy and thrilled, tearful and scared, happy and relieved. Last semester is definitely not any kind of a "break". It has been the hardest semester yet, partly because the end is near, partly because by the end my program pushes you to be ready to launch.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Surgical.

I have 15 days left till pinning day. This last semester has been advanced Med-Surg and I just had my last test. I have been doing well all through school, although today's test was HORRIBLE! I think the final semester is very intense in every nursing program, but I really felt that ours hasn't been that bad. We had 5 weeks of preceptor-led clinicals and 5 weeks instructor-led. I think the closer you get to the end, the more challenging it gets because they expect that much more out of you. Hang in there, you'll be done before you know it.

To the December grads, CONGRATS! THE END IS NEAR!!! :-)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC.
I have 15 days left till pinning day. This last semester has been advanced Med-Surg and I just had my last test. I have been doing well all through school, although today's test was HORRIBLE! I think the final semester is very intense in every nursing program, but I really felt that ours hasn't been that bad. We had 5 weeks of preceptor-led clinicals and 5 weeks instructor-led. I think the closer you get to the end, the more challenging it gets because they expect that much more out of you. Hang in there, you'll be done before you know it.

To the December grads, CONGRATS! THE END IS NEAR!!! :-)

Yes, the end is near. :p:)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Oh good! I think that's what I need: more pressure and challenge because this semester has been everything but that.

Looking forward...

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I have one exam left on Monday and I am done.

In my program the final semester is very intense. We do critical care also and, of course, transition. The exams are tough. The requirements are heavy and border on insanity in terms of how much has to be done in 15 weeks. The instructors push harder and are less warm and fuzzy.

Time flew. Classmates grew snarkier with one another. Everyone is ready to be done. It is tense and emotional. And as it starts getting closer, after the halfway mark, it starts to get a little bit giddy as the grades come in and the end draws near and the reality of being absolutely finished hits. I am giddy and thrilled, tearful and scared, happy and relieved. Last semester is definitely not any kind of a "break". It has been the hardest semester yet, partly because the end is near, partly because by the end my program pushes you to be ready to launch.

I second this! Our first 6 weeks are advanced, advanced Med-Surg, our last 6 weeks are leadership/transitions. Clinical has been more challenging, we are pushed to take a full load of patients and we are pushed to do everything on those patients (just like a "real" RN).

Classmates are growing much more impatient with each other, myself included, BUT, I also love the times when we can remember and laugh about fundamentals and how scared we were to give our first meds or how scared we were for our first check-offs in labs. It's really fun to look back and see just how far we've come. I can tell you that I will NOT miss clinicals (just finished my last one today) but I will miss the classes, some of the students and some of the instructors. I am a little scared to take NCLEX and venture out on my own as a REAL NURSE. Most of the time, it just feels surreal. I'm also excited and can't wait to finally start earning a paycheck again!

All I can say is try to look forward to the challenge, expect to be exhausted and just keep pushing forward. There were many times this last semester that I thought I wasn't going to make it. But I took it one day at a time and a week from Friday I will be DONE with everything. I am almost there! Good luck to you!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hmm. Our second and last med-surg kind of course is critical care. How'd you get three of them to get to that point? That starts in January though, and we'll finish in May. I can only say "bring it on." Whether I pass the NCLEX or not I just want to be done with this crap. I like my current career. I can keep doing this. I'm just sick of these stupid classes. I've had community health and issues and trends this semester, and they have both been so wrought with B.S., time-consuming, trivial assignments that I just slop words on a page now and turn it in. I have a degree. I went to grad. school. I can write papers. These are simple college classes. People don't have time for all that petty crap, and if I had known it was required up front I wouldn't have taken it. As of today, I've finished my last project for the semester. Good. I couldn't care less what my grade is either. Can you tell I'm not happy with school anymore?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER, progressive care.

My senioritis really got to me and I have a bad memory of my last semester because of Nursing Research, which was the worst class EVER, btw! :banghead: Not to mention VERY stressful with the very strict grading policy in that class...we had to pass our final. If you failed the final, you automatically failed the course, even if you have a 100% on everything else. There were a lot of pointless "fluff" assignments and of course they didn't count for crap unless you passed that final. That final was ridiculously hard and I remember leaving crying, thinking I failed...I had to wait a week for my grade to find out my fate (whether or not I was graduating that semester)...I passed, obviously, but it was so stressful! Even more so than the NCLEX, I think... :lol2:

I also took a Leadership class and we had our precepting clinical placement in an area of our interest. I was placed on a cardiovascular surgery/vascular ICU. Loved it and learned a lot. The Leadership class itself was inspirational but I didn't learn very much lol...

Oh, and then there was Peds. Didn't like that class very much. The only thing that interested me was all of the congenital heart defects. If I ever consider doing peds in my nursing career (other than NICU) I would want to work on a unit that deals with those problems.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Hmm. Our second and last med-surg kind of course is critical care. How'd you get three of them to get to that point? That starts in January though, and we'll finish in May. I can only say "bring it on." Whether I pass the NCLEX or not I just want to be done with this crap. I like my current career. I can keep doing this. I'm just sick of these stupid classes. I've had community health and issues and trends this semester, and they have both been so wrought with B.S., time-consuming, trivial assignments that I just slop words on a page now and turn it in. I have a degree. I went to grad. school. I can write papers. These are simple college classes. People don't have time for all that petty crap, and if I had known it was required up front I wouldn't have taken it. As of today, I've finished my last project for the semester. Good. I couldn't care less what my grade is either. Can you tell I'm not happy with school anymore?

Our classes are broken into 6 weeks increments. Our first Med-Surg was a basic overview of the systems/diagnostic tests/etc. Our last two Med-Surg classes broke everything into systems. We went through half the systems in Advanced Med-Surg I and the other half in Advanced Med-Surg II.

And, you sound like I did my third semester, just over it. Wait until time ticks slowly by your last semester. It sometimes makes you want to crawl out of your skin (at least it did me).

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Surgical.
My senioritis really got to me and I have a bad memory of my last semester because of Nursing Research, which was the worst class EVER, btw! :banghead: Not to mention VERY stressful with the very strict grading policy in that class...we had to pass our final. If you failed the final, you automatically failed the course, even if you have a 100% on everything else. There were a lot of pointless "fluff" assignments and of course they didn't count for crap unless you passed that final. That final was ridiculously hard and I remember leaving crying, thinking I failed...I had to wait a week for my grade to find out my fate (whether or not I was graduating that semester)...I passed, obviously, but it was so stressful! Even more so than the NCLEX, I think... :lol2:

I also took a Leadership class and we had our precepting clinical placement in an area of our interest. I was placed on a cardiovascular surgery/vascular ICU. Loved it and learned a lot. The Leadership class itself was inspirational but I didn't learn very much lol...

Oh, and then there was Peds. Didn't like that class very much. The only thing that interested me was all of the congenital heart defects. If I ever consider doing peds in my nursing career (other than NICU) I would want to work on a unit that deals with those problems.

I felt the same way about Peds. Hated the class, except the congenital heart defects! I took it in the summer so it was rushed and horrible, but I love the heart defects. We had a peds cardiology come and give a lecture, and it was pretty cool!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Next semester will be my last. Advanced Med Surg. I've already been warned by my friend that is a semester ahead of me, that this one will be the most intense. Most of the students in their final semester now that have been A/B students thru nursing school are now fighting to hang on to a C. I know its gonna be rough ride but I can't wait. I'm so over school right now. May can't get here soon enough. Already thinking NCLEX & whether its worth shelling out $$ to do HURST or KAPLAN review or just study on my own. Either way, I'm ready for this journey to end and get to work!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion