If you get the chance do your peds clinicals in a high acuity PICU, NICU, or Peds ED. There is a big difference between taking care of kids who are mildly sick and can't be at home versus those who are actually critically ill and you make a substantial difference for. In my opinion if people want to do peds to just play with the kids, they should have done child life.
Accepted to RN bridge!
- Thread starter FiremanMike
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If you get the chance do your peds clinicals in a high acuity PICU, NICU, or Peds ED. There is a big difference between taking care of kids who are mildly sick and can't be at home versus those who are actually critically ill and you make a substantial difference for. In my opinion if people want to do peds to just play with the kids, they should have done child life.
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Definitely THIS!!
FiremanMike
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Sadly, it's covid time..
I only get three clinical shifts, weeks 5-7, and we have little control over where we're going.. :/
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As did I when I was doing clinicals. At least our destination was a peds center and they do have a PICU and NICU and a Peds ED. Placement for our rotation there wasn't up to us. We were told where to go and when to be there...
FiremanMike
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Still plugging away.. Spring ‘21 semester did not go well.. I’m ready to say it out loud, I failed the first Peds exam so bad that I was told I should withdrawal to avoid the F.. It was a HUGE blow to my ego, and while I still maintain there was a disparity between the curriculum and the exam, but I own my part which is that the shortcuts that got me through med surg did not work for Peds..
So I dropped peds and second block (maternity) so I could focus on just pharm 3 for the semester, took psych this summer and approached it completely different.. I worked my *** off, didn’t get even a minute behind, and did I mention I worked my *** off? Still couldn’t pull the A, but passed handily and ready to finish this off..
So I dropped peds and second block (maternity) so I could focus on just pharm 3 for the semester, took psych this summer and approached it completely different.. I worked my *** off, didn’t get even a minute behind, and did I mention I worked my *** off? Still couldn’t pull the A, but passed handily and ready to finish this off..
Capital
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So many nurses I went to school with also had to repeat/redo a class, it happens. I love your attitude though, that is priceless! That kind of self-reflection and honesty is what I love working with, it means I can trust you. Kick *** this fall 
FiremanMike
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Just finished up my Peds block, the one I failed back in the spring. Ended up failing the first exam by 2 questions which put the pressure on bad for the final. Spent the entire block stressed but especially the last 4 weeks.
Left the final exam positive I failed. I even told the instructor on the way out that I didn’t think I pulled it off. I needed a 59/75 to pass, ended up a with a 66/75 and passed to move on to the final semester.
A huge sigh of relief for sure, and the day after the grades came out, I realized how stressed I had been. I felt like a new person.
I’m told last semester is kind of a “bring it all together” and NCLEX prep, definitely lower key than everything before it.
I’m nearly there!
Left the final exam positive I failed. I even told the instructor on the way out that I didn’t think I pulled it off. I needed a 59/75 to pass, ended up a with a 66/75 and passed to move on to the final semester.
A huge sigh of relief for sure, and the day after the grades came out, I realized how stressed I had been. I felt like a new person.
I’m told last semester is kind of a “bring it all together” and NCLEX prep, definitely lower key than everything before it.
I’m nearly there!
MackTheKnife
BSN, RN-BC, EMT-P, TCRN, CEN
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Congratulations!
Capital
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Congratulations!! Enjoy the break and then finish strong 
MackTheKnife
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Re-read this post and the shortcuts popped out at me. Not sure which one(s) you're using, but be careful as they can give some success which can lead to a false sense of confidence. My cohort used them with some degree of success, but taking notes and highlighting text was the winner for me.
As a medic, I had to change my thinking from "what do I need to do?" to "what is my assessment?" You know, ADPIE. I failed my first med-surg exam (55!) because I was thinking like a medic. I quickly figured it out and did fine.
Proud of your perseverance and drive. Keep it going, brother! BTW, what school?
FiremanMike
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The shortcuts I used were that I didn't read the chapters or listen to the recorded lectures, I just blasted the end of chapter questions and elsevier EAQs, I also half-*** did my homework assignments.
This "worked" for med-surg, but was a dramatic failure for peds.
I tend to keep my identity somewhat private, but it is a community college program in the midwest. A well respected program in the area, but as I'm finding as a student, it's not without it's issues.
As for thinking like a medic vs RN, I think I've finally found the words to describe the difference. Medics learn about a small amount of disease processes, how they can kill you, and how to prevent them from killing you for the 30 minute transport. RNs learn about many more conditions, how they can kill you, but then how people live with them for days/weeks/the rest of their lives. What medications they might be taking, what medications those medications might interact with.. How one condition interacts with another.. How a condition changes XX about your body, and how to assess to catch early signs/symptoms of those conditions, and finally what education techniques you can give your patient to try to prevent conditions from becoming worse..
I know there are RN students who are capable of breezing through school and somehow making it without understanding that level of depth, but it's just not how my brain works. I can't answer a test question unless I understand the full depth and can put it together in my head.
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Based on that, how much additional training do you think community paramedics need compared to conventional medics?
FiremanMike
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That's a complicated question and based entirely on the design of the program. Could range anywhere from just identifing risk factors and linking people up with community resources which really needs nothing on up to a program with medical director oversight where the CP is going out and trying to un-**** their patient and the 40 different medicines they're on from 3 different providers, then I'd say an RN..
Our CP is closer to the latter, and I tell him regularly I think he'd benefit from RN school, but he doesn't have the energy..
MackTheKnife
BSN, RN-BC, EMT-P, TCRN, CEN
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Again, what nursing school?
FiremanMike
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Again, I like to keep somewhat anonymous on Internet forums. Naming my college pretty much outs me as my resume is pretty unique in my area.
It’s a community college in the Midwest
MackTheKnife
BSN, RN-BC, EMT-P, TCRN, CEN
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Are you on the FBI's Top Ten Wanted List?
akflightmedic
Forum Deputy Chief
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Leave Hutchinson CC alone! He wants to be anonymous....
FiremanMike
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I just don’t want anyone to ever complain to my city about something I did or said online..
HardKnocks
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FiremanMike
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I'll let you know after I lose this weight and get back in shape after nursing school.
I'm going to invent a new diagnosis - Nursing School induced Metabolic Syndrome..
The nursing diagnoses would be "Imbalanced nutrition, Impaired Social Isolation, Imbalanced alcohol consumption, and Anxiety aeb a complete inability to communicate with other people in the week leading up to exams"