Officially passed my first semester! Need advice on next semester.

Nursing Students General Students

Published

The grades are in and I got all A's and B's in my classes which included: Medical Surgical Nursing I, Pathophysiology-Pharmacology I, Adult Health Assessment, and Nursing Informatics.

No, it was not easy getting decent grades, especially since I had to adjust to a more difficult grading scale (76.4 is failing, have to get a 92.5 to get an A. I think that's the grading scale at most nursing schools though), but I made it! I just have a few kinks I know I need to work on and a few things that I need to be better prepared for. My main points are in bold if you don't feel like reading through all of this.

Issue 1:

I feel like there were things I could have done differently to get better grades... I had a method of studying down for every single professor, except for one of my professors in medsurg... I could NOT get above an 80 on her tests (we have two professors for medsurg, and if it weren't for the other professor's tests I would have got a C in the class, or worse failed)... The way the difficult professor worded her questions were so confusing. I will be dealing with her tests for another 2 out of 3 semesters... I read my Lewis book and fundamentals book for her class. I read my Saunders NCLEX book and answer all of the correlating questions. The first thing I learned about testing in nursing school is that memorization and endless notecards do not help like they did in pre-req courses. I know there's got to be a better studying method out there other than just reading, rewriting the professors PowerPoints in my own words, and applying situations in my head. Any suggestions?

Issue 2: This is probably my most important issue

My clinical instructor was extremely lax and did not give me very good feedback on my care plans. She always told me that I did a good job blah blah blah. And clinicals always seemed "too easy" to me. I was a CNA before nursing school and everything we did first semester for clinical was CNA work + passing meds and charting. So my background as a CNA may be why I didn't find clinical too difficult. I just wish my instructor would have challenged us more. I am very worried for next semester because we have two clinical days. That means two completely different instructors and two time consuming care plans that will cut into my studying time. How can I best manage this?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I passed my first semester of nursing. OMG how stressful it was and its only going to get harder. Anyone have any suggestions on material to read up on for second semester nursing Adults and children Level 1?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I highly recommend youtube, you have to search through for the good videos but sometimes just seeing the same info presented in a different way is what helps it click. Also oddly pinterest, tons of great stuff there.

For your care plans, get yourself a good NANDA and care plan book (I know its all available online but I found having it in print in front of me to ease the process). Avoid the obvious things like pain, and pick things that could make an impact on your care and your patient right now. That makes zoning in on the important stuff easier.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Oh and look up nursing concept maps, our school had one for us to fill out and I found it really helpful to sift through all the information to find the places to focus on for care plans.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks for the advice:yes:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I also passed the first semester of my LVN program. Cant say it was like a "walk in the park" but I can say my motivation and dedication got me to level 2. .I learned a lot about myself and my learning style....not really a fan of study groups but more audio and creating questions (tactile visual) learner. I also was not passing fundamental tests either and passed that class by the skin of my teeth....lol but made it through and ready for level 2!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Congrats on passing your first semester!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Issue 1

In my first semester of nursing school I wasted SO MUCH time rewriting stuff, making note cards, and making pretty notes. The best thing you can do is read your material. It takes 3 times to really learn something. Read your material before class. Go to class (reading beforehand will help you really focus during lecture). Then go home and review the material and go over the corresponding chapters in your Saunders NCLEX book and answer the questions!

Some people are able to review PowerPoints...I simply cannot. But I do know some teachers will put whatever is on the test into the PowerPoint somewhere. I wasn't that lucky and typically they were a waste of time!

The harsh truth about nursing school is that you aren't taking prerequisites anymore. It is sooo much harder. Those A's don't come easily and sometimes those C's are going to be what you are praying for :)

Issue 2

Clinicals will ALWAYS get in the way of your studying. I'm in my last semester of nursing school and I am currently doing two 12 hours shifts of clinical a week, two lecture days, and I work. As you get through the program you will learn how to get all your stuff done. Those care plans took me hours to finish in the beginning...and by the end I was whipping them up quick. Try and do your care plans as soon as you come home from clinical to get them out of the way. Sometimes if I had downtime at clinical I would start writing out some of my paperwork so I could spend less time on it later. But that always depends on the clinical instructor you have.

Good luck and take it one day at a time :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

Congratulations on your first successful semester! I'm sure you will have many more to look forward to.

I have had the exact same concerns as you regarding care plans. I think part of the reason your instructor was so lax is that care plans are not real nursing in real life. They are a tool for you to learn and master your pt's condition as well as to hone and master your prioritization skills. If you did well in that but are afraid you aren't clear on why it is you did well, keep this feeling into the next semester and continue to give everything you can for each care plan. Care plans will become part of your studying. I used them and learned from them more than I did in most lectures -- I'm personally a little envious that you have twice as many care plans.

In regards to studying for subsequent terms, it is fantastic to see that you are already using an NCLEX prep book. Good for you!!! It's also great that you recognize that you need to change up your studying habits for nursing school. You might even find that you need to do so for each different semester. I studied a completely different way for fundamentals, med-surg and OB and peds. I will continue to change it up with psych, critical care, and community. That's really the best way to play this game.

I recommend that you essentially douse yourself in Medscape. Put it as your homepage (they have a Nurses section), get the app and get the email updates. They send fantastic modules to study from, offer CEs (never too late to start) and have a fast-five quiz that is really challenging and will continue to keep you up on your med-surg game well after you stop seeing so much of it and start getting deep into other specialties.

Keep it pushin. You're going to do amazing. You'll start recognizing it one way or another. :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment