What should I expect from 2nd semester of Nursing School?

ShockerGirl07 · Dec 27, 2006

What classes are you taking? not all programs are the same - i had Med surg II, secondary care, research, and mental health.

BoonersmomRN · Dec 27, 2006

Every school has a different 2nd semester it seems. So, it really all depends on what your 2nd semester will entail.

Mine was Med/Surg 1 ( respiratory, endocrine, immunity, fluids, electrolytes, etc) and Psych.

At my school Pharmacology is not a seperate class but congruent with whatever you are learning at the moment ( so in Psych we did all the Psych meds, M/S 1 we did all the anti-biotics, respiratory meds, immunity meds, etc).

It gets FASTER I can tell you that much. In clinicals you will probably also progress into many more skills + multiple clients. Also the tests tend to grow more and more into true NCLEX style.

Also at my school M/S is 99.9% pathophysiology. We spent..oh..maybe 1 minute discussing normal phsyiology. So it's all disease driven.

Good Luck!

Achoo!, LPN · Dec 27, 2006

Mine was med/surg and maternal child. We had 2 clinical rotations that included team leading. It was more intense but doable. And yes, alot of pathophysiology.

DisneyNurse18 · Dec 28, 2006

Im wondering about second semester. If we have more clients then do we still perform bed baths and linen and changes and that sort of thing? This semester at my school we had clinicals once a week from 6:30am to 12:30 pm, and as far as I know this semester has the same time for clinicals. I guess my questions is how do I have more patients and time to do all that other stuff when last semester I like was barely signing off before post conference? What changes are seen during semester II?

SoulShine75 · Dec 28, 2006

I just completed second semester. Every school is different but in our program we had Med-Surg I, which included: ortho, cardio I & II, respiratory, upper GI and endocrine. Our skills were: IV's (IVPB, IVP, insertion and calculations), NG tubes, trach care, central line dressing change, EKG interpretation, and I think that might be it.

It seemed like it wasn't nearly as hectic as it was 1st semester. We already knew the drill and were familiar with the basics of skill testing, but I found the material to be much harder and I had to study a lot more. Plus, we weren' in lecture as much. In 1st semester we had 4 hour marathon lectures, whereas in 2nd semester we only had 2 hours per lecture and got a day off. :w00t:

As always, it's all about time management. Good luck to you next semester!

SoulShine75 · Dec 28, 2006

Im wondering about second semester. If we have more clients then do we still perform bed baths and linen and changes and that sort of thing? This semester at my school we had clinicals once a week from 6:30am to 12:30 pm, and as far as I know this semester has the same time for clinicals. I guess my questions is how do I have more patients and time to do all that other stuff when last semester I like was barely signing off before post conference? What changes are seen during semester II?

In our second semester they wanted us to care for at least 2 pt's by the end of our rotation. I cared for 3 the last couple of days and I was so exhausted, mentally and physically, by the end of the day that I would be in bed by 8, but I always left feeling good and that I accomplished something. :lol2: I don't see how nurses take on 5 or more pt's, I guess they're just reeeeealy organized, much more than I felt I was anyway.

1st sem. we were at a ltc facility and weren't implementing our nsg skills as much as our CNA skills. The unit we were on in 2nd semester was a woman's unit so most of the pt's could bathe themselves, but yea if they need help or their linens changed you do it for them. Most of them were post-op pt's so assessments and med passes were our highest priority. We didn't do a lot of bed baths. Maybe you can check with someone at your school who's already been through it to get more info. Every school and clinical is different. Good luck!