Tell me about your first day of nursing school

[♑ Capricorn ♑]

Hi everyone.

I am curious to know what everyone's first day of nursing school was like and how it went that day. From the time you woke up until the time you went to bed that evening, describe your first day. I often hear how anxious students are on their first day of nursing school and thought this might help those (myself included) prepare and transition better into nursing school. It may give someone an idea of what to expect on that first day. First day of class is usually a memorable one.

I'm really looking forward to nursing school. I will begin my nursing classes this coming Fall and I'm very excited about it. :w00t:Even though I won't start nursing school for another 5-6 months, I will bookmark this and answer my own questions regarding my first day when the time comes.

Anyone can answer this whether you're a nurse now, current nursing student, pre-nursing student (just alter your answers to fit your situation). I'd like to here from many of you. Please elaborate and be honest with your answers. You may be as wordy and descriptive as you like. No, you do not have to be "too personal" in your answers. This is the internet after all. But, I'm not looking for just "yes" or "no" answers. Most of all, be honest with yourself.

What I want to know is:

01) How did you sleep the night before?

02) What did you have for breakfast?

03) How were you feeling that morning?

04) What was the weather like that day?

05) What did you wear the first day? Did you dress up with hair and makeup done?

06) Did you do any pre-class reading from your nursing textbooks? The night before, week(s) before, or month(s) before nursing school?

07) What did you bring with you to class? (books, supplies, iPad, laptop, backpack etc.)

08) Did you arrive early or late to class?

09) Were you able to find your classroom on your own or did you ask for help?

10) How long was your first day? Couple of hours? All day long?

11) Did you know anyone personally in your class? (friends, relatives)

12) Were you younger/older/same age, as your classmates?

13) If you're male, were you the only guy in class? How did you feel being surrounded by females?

14) What were your first impressions of your instructors? Did you like them? Did they like you?

15) What nursing material did you learn in school the first day?

16) Was the nursing material difficult or overwhelming? Did you feel lost? Confused?

17) Did you enjoy learning what was given the first day?

18) What did you have for lunch? Did you eat alone, with classmates, or someone else?

19) Did you make friends with any of your classmates? Exchange phone numbers and/or email?

20) On your way home from school, did you stop and treat yourself to a snack/dessert/beverage for surviving your first day of nursing school?

21) Did you have homework from the first day of nursing school? How long did it take you to complete it that night? Did you finish it all that night?

22) What did you have for dinner?

23) Did you have any free-time tonight to watch TV, be on the computer, hobbies, etc.?

24) What time did you go to bed? Were you able to fall asleep quickly?

25) Are you looking forward to you next class day or dreading it?

26) Overall, how did you feel about your first day of nursing school?

27) At any time today, did you feel you made a mistake in attending nursing school?

28) Please rate your anxiety level from this day, on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 highest, 1 lowest)

[OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN]

Well I was gonna answer your post lol but I saw how many questions there were and welll I'm rounding end of semester time. I will say its different then I thought and at my school unfortunately our first day and semester was not too exciting but after that it gets crazier, easier, and better. Anxiety depends on the person, I don't stress that much but some people in my class I think really take it to the extreme. I think many question themselves here or there as wel but you just got to keep on. You will make some special friends especially in clinical cause it definately changes your relationship when you're doing your first foley with someone or ask your classmate to help you move your patient to find they had diarrhea everywhere or you and your friend are now standing in a huge puddle of urine because some didn't re-close the foley bag after they emptied it. Have fun, so far I have and I don't stress too much and seem to do very well, at least so far hahahha

[JROregon, ASN, BSN, RN]

Really, 28 questions. I don't even remember the 1st day. I do remember the 1st 2 weeks being the most stressful as none of us know the schedule until we showed up on the first day. We were thrown a lot of new information, really quickly. We had skills and assessments to learn in lab and many of us had to come back to demonstrate very simple skills like donning sterile gloves more than once or twice. Classmates always looked as though they were coming out of a war zone when leaving the classroom for breaks.

Work on ways to manage your stress level before starting and really prioritize what is important to you as you go through school. Learn to say "no". Pare your list of questions down to what is really essential because your school and clinical facility will expect you to be concise and to the point. Good luck and enjoy.

[x_factor]

I gotta tell you, 28 questions and almost all of them I couldn't answer even if it was last week. What'd I eat for lunch that day? I barely remember what I ate for lunch today.

I remember our first day being information oriented, basically receiving the syllabus for each class, the teacher introducing themselves and laying out their plans for the semester as far as what they planned to cover for that class, student expectations, ect.

The first day wasn't stressful. The weeks and months that followed, on the other hand, were a different story.

[nursegirl75]

wow, you're a bit paranoid. Comparing how other people's day went will just add to ur stress and anxiety level. Just enjoy nursing school without over analyzing everything and caring about other people's day. Try not to give yourself a heart attack before nursing school start. Nursing school, alone, will give u daily heart burn.

[NikkiNicole1488]

28 questions!? This gotta be some type of homework.

[QuarterLife88, MSN, RN, NP]

The first day is no big shakes. It's the 1,000 that follow that will send you on the fast track to the funny farm.

I've never been a one day at a time person, but nursing school has caused me to accommodate. It's also caused me to learn how to force myself to relax. No studying after 5pm on weekends for example, and have a life.

In nursing school you either learn to adapt, or die.

As for my first day. Eh, it was no big deal. I had one class and it proceeded as any other class. Like I said, it's the X days that follow that you need to worry about.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

the first day of my senior year i didn't go to school at all. my cat was in labor, and i knew all we'd get were reading lists, schedules, and whatnot, and i could get that later. i do not recommend this approach to anyone, however.

[Katie71275]

My first day went fine. i was very excited! We just introduced ourselves and learned what we would be doing, reading list, calander, signed paperwork, etc.

[SC APRN, DNP, APRN, NP]

I don't remember my first week. I was living in a hotel because of hurricane Irene. My stress level was high, and school was my second priority that week.

[FLboundBSN]

Hi everyone. ...

Most of all, be honest with yourself.

What I want to know is:

01) How did you sleep the night before?

02) ...28) Please rate your anxiety level from this day, on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 highest, 1 lowest)

I too am starting in the fall, but I will have all of my pre-reqs out of the way and will jump into the 2 nursing classes along with clinicals (in the hosp) a few weeks after school starts.

I would suggest rather than asking strangers what their time was like, is to find people AT your school to talk to. They will be familiar with the instructors, who are the good ones and who are the bad ones. (although you dont have a choice at our school who the instructor is, and you cant pick and choose because they have limited offerings) They will be able to give pointers on the things you want to know specifically for your school. Hang out at the lab and ask the other student for some time to chat with them. Start by asking them how they are doing. Let them know you are starting in the Fall and you are very nervous, then ask them for pointers and ask about their instructors and their clinical experiences.

I am very lucky in that I have friends that are already in the program. I have access to their blackboard and see the stuff that is posted. Ive already gotten access to the welcome letter, attended the orientation for last sememster (in place of a friend) and have the book assignments and a boatload of information as to where to take the CPR class, get vaccinations, ect. I am already preparing with reading the fundamentals book and work on the math when I have time (I am in Micro now and will take AP2 in summer).

Everyone's experience is different. Some dont stress hard, others melt down at a wrong look. I am quite nervous as well but I think it is the study habits that we have now that will go a long way and help us succeed or will cause stress because we arent doing it correctly or studying enough. I, for instance, study most of the day (I do not work and my daughter is older and drives) but I do not study past 5:00. I know that with the nursing schedule, which is much different than the schedule I have now, I may have to study after 5:00 and give up my resting/tv time in the evenings. It's the sacrafices we make now that will be worth it in the end and for our future.

Good luck to you!

[BlueChocolateCat]

You are going to burn yourself out before you even get to your first day. Calm down a little bit. I graduated high school in 2010, and promptly started nursing school in the fall of 2011. Honestly, I don't remember my first day. The first half of my first semester was all lecture classes. It was no different than the pre-requisites.

What is far more nerve-racking is your first day of clinicals.