This is so unbelievable! 3rd semester is officially complete!! I am now 75% done with school?! 2018 has literally flown by, insane to think about how much we have learned & done within the last 12 months.
3rd semester was thankfully pretty smooth, I was able to find my rhythm quickly in my classes and get the job done. Third semester required the most time out of class reading in the text book, and also featured my record breaking lengthy 75+ page study guides for adult health and tons of pharmacology flashcards! The semester was tough but when you focus, study, and obsess over the material daily you will be amazed at how much you can possibly learn?! Looking back I’m always so surprised by what I learned & how I even remembered most of it all. This semester’s clinical rotations were also very interesting- Adult, Gerontology & Mental Health. I really thoroughly enjoyed my clinical group & unit, so thankful!
A typical week looked something like this… *I also had an online class this year, if the course schedule looks sparse…
MONDAY
- A major STUDYING & HW DAY
- I’m pretty sure I was always hardcore studying for a test/quiz on Mondays!
TUESDAY
- On campus for classes, 8am-3pm
- 8am: Pharmacology
- 10:30am-3pm: Adult Health
WEDNESDAY
- On campus for classes, 8am-3pm
- 8am- Gerontology
- 12:30pm- Professional Nursing
THURSDAY
- A big HW & Studying day
- A time for periodically scheduled on campus simulations, lab work
FRIDAY
- 5:30am wake up call!
- Followed by a 12hr Adult health clinical group
- For the last 12 weeks, my group successfully carpooled & had lots of fun together the entire semester, so appreciative! Anyone who can make 6am car rides enjoyable are awesome 🙂
WEEKENDS
- A time for studying, recovering, resting & preparing for the week ahead
- No major clinicals or school assignments were scheduled on weekends for me this semester & I enjoyed a consecutive 2 day break 🙂
^^These are the faces of some tired girls after finals, our last day on campus before CHRISTMAS BREAK!! 3/4 of the way there! 🙂
Third Semester Tips
- Make a complete “To-Do List” at the very beginning of the semester that includes each & every course + the due date in a combined list, sequential order, this way you can picture the entire semester as a whole & can easily check off an entire month of tasks!
- Allow yourself time to read the text book, you cannot absorb all of the content when you’re in a rush
- I found that when you can casually talk about the material, then you really understand it. Leigh & I would meet up each week a few days before the test, just to discuss the material & pick up on things the other might miss…. So helpful!
- Stay focused, calm & cool, at this point I accepted I would consistently have a lot of work to be done & there was no time to panic or create any additional stress
- Pay attention in clinical, general adult health is the root of nursing, so to have the opportunity to immerse yourself in medication administration and patient communication is huge! You can learn so much during this time, it is very eye opening!