Nursing Fundamentals

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi everybody,

today we had our orientation for the upcoming term. Obviously the first course will be Nursing Fundamentals and I got seriously intimidated by the faculty members and graduate students. They were telling us how tough the program is and that many, many hours of studying are required to pass the course. They said approx. 40-50hours per week!! So, on top of that it doesn't include the lecture, lab, or clinical time that we have to invest into it. Also, I have to take my A&P II at the same time to get that out of the way. I heard it is much easier if you have that kind of background for all the nursing classes. So, I was wondering if anyone has tips on how to study for nursing fundamentals and how you organized your time for that? Any advice wis appreciated :)

Specializes in L&D.
My tip is to not put much stock into what other people say regarding the rigor of any class or program. Through several degree programs I've found many purportedly brutal classes to be rather easy while I have labored at ones which others have said were quite simple.

Consistent and diligent study should be all that's necessary to get you through nursing school and any given class therein.

I have had the same experience with courses and rumors about difficulty/easiness.

I too am just starting Nursing school, Jan 7th is my first day. I'm excited to start this new chapter in my life, but also scared out of my mind! Thank you to all that have commented with helpful hints, this has helped to clam my nerves a little.

Where are you starting at? Good luck!

Thank you! I'm going to Valencia College in Orlando, Fl; they have a fantastic nursing program, I just hope I'm to their standers and do well.

Same here, NCLEX passing rate 100% as of '09 and '10 - Incredible. I am also worried to be not 100% prepared yet. I know my life will be even more stressful starting January. We have to buy and read 13 books for just fundamentals, can you believe that!? CRAZY

My advice is learn to SKIM. I quickly found that it was impossible to read and absorb the sheer volume of reading that was assigned. Skim, read what you don't understand, and pay attention in class. That's been huge for me. Study smart, not necessarily just often. Quality over quantity! I have found the subjects to not be necessarily difficult - it's just a huge volume of information, and that can be overwhelming. Try not to freak out at the beginning - you'll figure out a balance.

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