I just started my 2nd semster of a 4 semster program. I am soooooo tired already and it is only the 2nd week!!

I only go to school/clinicals on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday is my long day. I get home at 5pm on Tuesadys. Anyway, I studied nonstop from 10.30 am Thursday. [Typing up drug cards] To 11pm that night. I got up at 630 Friday and got the kids off to school, then it was back to the drug cards. I worked on them the entire time the kids were in school. I finally finished them at 8:30 Friday night.

Saturday, I was up by 9.30 and started typing up my lecture notes. I also typed the important stuff from my book. I stopped for the night at 8.30pm. Sunday and Monday were the same thing. I had a test Tuesday and thought that I had studied for it. However, I only got 50 out of 55 right. That is an A-!!

I came home after school yesterday, and had to cut my drug info up, so I could put it on 5x8 index cards. I got it done just in time to leave for clinical [OB]. I get there and find out that they aren't due until today. Then, she told us to do a report on Hepatitis B that was due today. I forgot about it until after I was in bed last night.

I got up and did the report. I also had a major care plan that was due today. I get to clinical today only to find out that the Hep-B isn't due until NEXT week!!

Then today I was in the NBN and we only had 2 babies. The one I got was Chinese and soooo cute, but the mother is formula feeding and she took care of her most of the time I was there. I got a chance to try and feed the baby but I could NOT get her to wake up!!. I tried everything. I changed her diaper; I undressed her; I bounced her; I even unwrapped her. NOTHING worked.

So I sat in the NBN and twiddled my thumbs! I am soooooo tired right now but need to start on my next content section 'words to know'.

Sorry this is so long, but I needed to vent!!

Please stay focused, strong and positive. I feel just as exhausted as you are and I am not even in nursing school yet (start Aug. 2004) hang in there, you're half way through.

OK, you are a perfectionist and want to do everything right. DON'T retype your lecture notes and stuff out of the book! I know it seems like a good idea(tried it once), but you are killing yourself!

Nursing is absolutely NOT a perfect science, but we all continue to strive for perfection...

I really feel for you, have been reliving some of those memories today.

Please take care of yourself, and if I may step into the role of MD here I prescribe that you go to the humor section of this site and read some really funny stuff, then hug your kids and go to bed.

Please don't type your lecture notes; this is time consuming. Even if it seems impossible, leave some time for yourself during the day. Nursing school is stressful; you just need to take one day at a time- nobody is perfect. Hang in there; it's well worth it. Good luck!

Christine

hi,

i think it IS important to look at the glass as half full. by May you'll be HALF done with your program. if you go summer term, you'll be done with your program by next christmas. only a year from now. not bad! you should be proud of yourself, you've completed 1/4 of your journey!

way to go!

:roll

My advice..............highlight all over your book (well, only the important stuff) and don't type it. That is why you payed $xxx for it! Try to keep your notes neat in lecture so you dont have to retype them, or use a laptop in lecture to type your notes right there. ( I do this occaisonally, but my laptop is too heavy and too expensive to lug around all day). Make sure you get enough sleep. If you try to stay up all night to do work, you are just going to be run down the next day and not able to work to your potential. I never get as much done if I am run down. Find time to take care of yourself and exercise. You'd be amazed how much more energy you have if you just walk 30 min. a day. And there is such a thing as "overstudying" and I am guilty of it. Sometimes you know the material hours before you stop studying. Have faith in your brain that it remembers. I will always before a test, study for no more than 2 hours the night before and go to bed at a decent hour, get up in the morning and review, and I never study 30 min. before a test. It boggles my mind and makes me second guess myself when i am taking the test. Hope this helps some! Hang in there.

An A minus! Horrors!

Oh how I don't miss those days. I would rewrite my lecture notes by hand as way of getting them into my memory as our tests came primarily from the notes. So I understand the drive to type of the notes. It was a good study tool. But the other people to offer some good advise.

It's tough. Hang in there!

How about this time-saving technique: BUY a set of drug cards and save yourself a TON of time typing them!!! I bought a set for about $30. NSNA has some that they recommend, they were cheaper and better. But any drug card is MUCH better than having to type out your own!

Get some rest girl!

I may be one of the few here, but I used to type up my lecture notes as a way to study for exams. I don't know if it would hav emattered, but I got all A's all 4 semesters. Those A's did not make me a better nurse though. That came with experience! So, whether you get an A or B, you pass the NCLEX--they will surely call you nurse:)

editing here: I obviously used spellcheck on my papers!(Unlike the above blunders!):imbar

i would rewrite my lecture notes by hand as way of getting them into my memory as our tests came primarily from the notes.

i did this too...it did help me to remember the material for tests..:)

my advice..............highlight all over your book (well, only the important stuff) and don't type it. that is why you payed $xxx for it!

amen!! i did this too...

take some time for yourself before you lose your mind...

watch a movie, take a bubble bath..read something beside a nursing book for an hour...

you will make it.....

I buddied up with a fellow student she would write her notes I bought a little tape recorder and taped the lectures. Then she and I would get together and compare what she had and what I had taped then we would devide up the sections and she would type half and I would type half. This worked well for us and we would get together on IM of in person and discuss the notes and concepts. We rarely cracked a book unless there was something we needed more details or clarification on then we would read only that part. In most cases if it was not covered in lecture it is usually not on the test with the occassional exception. We both graduated at the top of our class. The main idea is to understand the concepts memorization does not work in most cases. You will do fine and remember you have to take time away from anything school related or you will burn out and get discouraged quick. You will do great. We are behind you. Angel

You are wasting time and energy doing all that typing and organizing. A plethora of notecards means you intend to do a lot of memorization, which may be ok in the beginning but believe me, you will need to learn to analyze, not memorize. What helped me best was joining a study group. Keep it small (2-5 people). Make rules (no talking about families, work, fashion). Assign details to each member to bring to group (schematic drawing of heart, acronyms to help learn, study questions). FOCUS when you are studying and FORGET it the rest of the time. Your brain needs a break or you will get burned out fast. Nursing school is hard, but don't create obstacles. GOOD LUCK>

...reduce your time constructively. I could add to the suggestions but it would basically be repeating what they all say. But if you can, try to find some time for YOU; going for a walk, or a bike ride, or visiting a friend. Doesnt have to be for long. But it will help you concentrate better on your studies. Also, make sure you have a five minute break from your studies every hour; or else you become fatigued.

Look after yourself