Best/ Worst Advice

Ruby Vee, BSN · Aug 6, 2016

The worst advice I ever got was from my mother, who had wanted to be an LPN in her day but wasn't able to pass the tests. She said "Be an RN. They just sit around and drink coffee all day while someone else does all the work." She was wrong. Very wrong. And even after watching the ICU nurses the 11 days my father was in the ICU after his heart attack, she never got it.

On studying: Do it. You'll need to. Even after you graduate and get your first job, there will be studying. When you get your next job, there will be more studying. If you stay in the new job for 10 years, there will still be studying on new drugs, new technology, new evidence based practices. The best advice I can give you is to figure out how you learn best, what study techniques work best for you. Do it now, if you haven't already (I didn't figure it out until almost flunking out my first semester) and it will serve you well for the rest of your life.

On clinicals: Unless you're a supremely confident extrovert, you're going to feel scared, awkward and stupid at your clinicals. Every nurse who has ever had a license went through clinicals, and most of us felt scared, stupid, and useless. Most of actually WERE useless and many of us stupid, all of us ignorant. It's just something you have to go through. You will not be a help to the nurse, regardless of what they tell you. You're going to make their job more difficult and suck up time they could be using to comfort a patient, eat their lunch or restock the code cart. Please do not EVER think your presence makes their day easier, their workload lighter. Now that you know that, you're likely to have a better clinical experience because you know that anxiety is normal and the nurse who is inattentive to your needs is focused on the patients, as she should be. It's not about you; it's about the patient.

Clinicals are a valuable experience and you can learn a lot. Know before you get there what you'll be focusing on learning this week and be prepared to tell the nurse in ten words or less. Watch closely and stay out of the way. If offered a learning experience, jump on it gratefully and say thank you afterward. You're a guest, so don't hog the chairs, the computers or the donuts that the surgeons brought the nurses.

On time management: Pay attention to what you're doing NOW. Most of us don't multitask as well as we think we do, so for now, pay attention to what's in front of you and learn that really well.

Best wishes for school and your new career.

guest8616 · Aug 6, 2016

Hi Ruby,

thanks so much for the thorough and honest response to my post. I appreciate the honesty, without being negative about the experience. I'm excited to start!

Best,

Shweta

joseyjo · Aug 7, 2016

Best: Discover your learning style. Not everyone learns the same way, and the sooner you can figure out your best way to study the last time you'll waste on ineffective studying.

Worst: "Don't worry about working as a CNA while you're in school, it doesn't really make a difference in the long run. It's more important to have good grades." It turns out that my straight A's don't look any better than A's and B's, while healthcare experience not only looks good on a resume, it is priceless as a new nurse.

guest8616 · Aug 7, 2016

Thanks for the great advice. I'm currently working on making my study environment without any kind of distractions. I'm even going to put up a big whiteboard to make doodles/ concept maps on.

Also, it's good to know about the work experience piece too. I'm definitely going to test out of the skills for LVN after the second semester to get some clinical work experience before I graduate.

Evening_Primrose, ADN, RN · Aug 7, 2016

I'm starting an ADN program in 3 weeks so I'll be reading every word posted in this thread. Thanks to everyone who participates.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 7, 2016

Best advice: don't give up. Don't pay attention to instructors who imply you're not bright enough to hack the material. I proved two instructors wrong and have even surpassed them in educational attainment over the years.

Worst advice: be yourself. Being yourself is a mistake if you have the tendency toward introversion or radical honesty. I am an introvert with a quiet, reserved personality. Not everyone appreciates my personality type, especially in a field such as nursing that places a premium value on sociability.

To put your instructors at ease, fake it until you make it (especially during clinical rotations) and act as if you are a sociable, bubbly person who enjoys their presence. Unfortunately, quiet people are viewed with extreme suspicion by some professors and clinical instructors.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Aug 7, 2016

Best advice: don't give up. Don't pay attention to instructors who imply you're not bright enough to hack the material. I proved two instructors wrong and have even surpassed them in educational attainment over the years.
Worst advice: be yourself. Being yourself is a mistake if you have the tendency toward introversion or radical honesty. I am an introvert with a quiet, reserved personality. Not everyone appreciates my personality type, especially in a field such as nursing that places a premium value on sociability.
To put your instructors at ease, fake it until you make it (especially during clinical rotations) and act as if you are a sociable, bubbly person who enjoys their presence. Unfortunately, quiet people are viewed with extreme suspicion by some professors and clinical instructors.

I cannot agree strongly enough with the advice against "being yourself." On a date, yes, be yourself. You don't want to wind up with an SO with whom you cannot be your authentic self. On the other hand, to do well in school, in clinical a and in your future job, you're going to have to behave as if you were an extrovert. People tend not to like quiet people. Being liked is essential to being part of a team -- and your study group, clinical group and eventual work colleagues will be a team. Teamwork matters.

As I learned years ago (the hard way), it is better to be liked than to be right. People who are liked will be forgiven some mighty big (and serious) errors. People who are not liked will be hung on one small one.

And here's another piece of advice: You will err. Everyone makes mistakes; absolutely everyone. Know that and accept it from the get go. It's a matter of when, not if. If you're convinced that you will never make a mistake (and there are people who are convinced of that), you run the risk of not recognizing a mistake when you've made it. Unrecognized mistakes can have serious, if not lethal consequences, although patients are pretty resilient if the mistake is recognized immediately and action is taken to mitigate the consequences. Recognize a mistake, admit it and immediately set about to mitigate the consequences. Be the first person to tell you instructor or your boss. Figure out how the mistake happened and be ready with a plan for ensuring that you don't make the same mistake again. Then forgive yourself because everyone makes mistakes.

Apples&Oranges · Aug 7, 2016

Best: Get a job as a CNA or (preferably) as a PCT as soon as possible. You will feel more comfortable at clinical, and be much more desirable as a new nurse. You will also have a more realistic idea of what nurses actually do, though you will NOT have a real understanding of being a nurse until you ARE one, for at least 6 months.

Worst: Work as much as you can during school. Um, NO! You need to be focused on school right now. Work enough to buy groceries and gas, and to learn your way around a hospital.

barcode120x, RN, NP · Aug 8, 2016

Best advice, from my dad, was to get a job in the hospital to get my foot in the door. At that time I was working part time as a tutor at my college and was satisfied with my current college life. I had already applied for the program, was just waiting. I didn't want to go out job hunting, but I did. Fast forward about 3 years later. Had been working at that hospital up until I passed my NCLEX, secured my RN position on the tele floor I wanted within 3 months after getting my license.

Best advice from nursing friends from other semesters were clinical instructor recommendations.

Worst advice? Didn't really come across any bad advice aside from stuff like certain quizzes would be hard or easy, but in the end it was the complete opposite.

marie813 · Aug 9, 2016

Best: Get a job as a CNA or (preferably) as a PCT as soon as possible. You will feel more comfortable at clinical, and be much more desirable as a new nurse. You will also have a more realistic idea of what nurses actually do, though you will NOT have a real understanding of being a nurse until you ARE one, for at least 6 months.
Worst: Work as much as you can during school. Um, NO! You need to be focused on school right now. Work enough to buy groceries and gas, and to learn your way around a hospital.

I'm a new nursing student starting in 3 weeks as well, so please forgive my ignorance. What is the difference between a CNA and PCT?

guest8616 · Aug 9, 2016

Hi there!

PCT = patient care technician

CNA = certified nurse assistant

Here's more info on the differences between the two:

What Is the Difference Between a Patient Care Technician and a CNA? | Chron.com

~ Shweta