Saturday, March 14, 2020

3/14 Advice (1st semester) Paramedic to RN

It's been a month since my last post. I'm at the tail end of spring break. We have been doing clinicals. I can tell you that my view of nurses was waaaaaaay off. At first, we were paired 2 students to a pt, but next week, we will be 1 to 1. Clinicals are not difficult, depending on your patient. I've only had 1 difficult one. Nursing skill can tremendously help a paramedic in the field. The holistic approach to view a patient can paint a clear picture viewing a patient. The therapeutic stuff is fluff to me though. lol. We have covered psych, acid base balance, inflammation, fluid & electrolyte & more......

Some key takeaways:

STAY FOCUSED! It's easy to get relaxed and start slacking. I'm staying red hot, even during spring break. I study consistently. 

START NCLEX PREP QUESTIONS RIGHT AWAY! I use registered nurse rn videos, NRSNG, and an nclex prep book. The whole purpose is passing nclex. UNDERSTAND the rationale behind the question, don't try to remember the question like national registry. Nursing test are unlike any test that you have ever done. I'm an A student, but barely a B in nursing.

LEARN ALL YOU CAN DURING CLINICALS! This is basically a snap shot of your day to day work (depends on the department). Learn the flow i.e. turnover report, assessment, med pass, round charting etc. Oh! LEARN THE EMR i.e Epic or whatever they are using.  

YOUR PARAMEDIC BRAIN WILL NOT HELP YOU! Nursing is different, it is not the "paramedic" way of thinking. Your approach, assessment, diagnosis, interventions, patient education, and skills are different. If you approach thinking like a medic...you will not pass exams. 

BE ON TIME (for class and clinicals). 

DON'T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF! Especially if you don't get the grade you want. I even have to remind myself. 

Hopefully, this may help someone and give a little more clarity on what to expect.

No comments:

Post a Comment