Things You Know Now (And Wish You'd Known Then!)

Nursing Students General Students

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This is for every student and past student, from pre-nursing to those who have graduated. What are things that you learned along the way, even if your just now getting done with your first semester? What are things you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?

I'm was a pre-nursing student, and I'm now going into my first semester as a full-fledged nursing student in just a few weeks. Things I've learned so far, that I wish I'd known in the beginning:

Ink-pens have legs! And they're fast little boogers too. The minute you turn your back, they're gone. And there's typically not one to be found, especially on the day of a test. As soon as the teacher hands you the test and says, "you may begin..." you go to grab your pen and poof, it's gone. What luck.

The Financial Aid nightmare. Every student goes thru it, even the seniors. If you are receiving financial aid, DO NOT WAIT until the week of the starting semester to go visit financial aid after filling out your FAFSA. Over 200 students were crammed into the waiting room, it was a 7 HOUR WAIT. As soon as you fill out your FAFSA for the upcoming semesters, go visit the financial aid office! Doing it months ahead of time beats doing it days ahead of time. For the 2012-2013 semester, I'm going to visit the financial aid office in just a couple months, as soon as I get my W-2 and do my taxes. It'll be much easier. :up:

Save yourself! Get a rolling backpack. I spent months lugging an insanely heavy backpack up and down stairs, going from class to class. I was stubborn because I had invested a good bit of money in such a nice new backpack, and I didn't want to invest in another one in the same semester. BUT, for this upcoming semester, I bought a new backpack... ON WHEELS. O-M-G. It's heaven. I'll never go back to a backpack without wheels. :heartbeat

I also learned a lot about people. I learned that they can be liars, gossipers, haters, biggots, and just plain full of hatred... but they'll smile to your face. I learned to do my best to weed out the good from the bad, to not include myself in the gossip, and to separate myself from the negative. Trust me, the drama is not worth it. Focus on your studies, surround yourself with positive people, and move on.

So, what have you learned so far?

Specializes in SDU, Tele.
1. Do not buy the required texts at the bookstore, buy the older edition for $5 on Amazon, Barely anything has changed and depending on the program you may never open your book. For that matter wait 2 weeks before buying anything to make sure if it is really necessary. We bought all of this expensive software for our iphones when free software would have worked almost as well.

2. Skip printing Powerpoint lectures and lugging a 4" thick binder to class. Bring a laptop and type notes in Powerpoint directly.

3. If you want to work full time and go to school, night shift is where its at. Lots of study time on night shift.

4. Work as a tech while in school, the job market is super competitive and techs will have an advantage since you can network with hiring managers and possibly have a job waiting for you. Plus you gain invaluable experience and become much more comfortable working with patients.

5. Never stop doing NCLEX questions.

agreed with everything. NCLEX from day 1 will help so much with tests.

i want to add that lippincott's is an excellent book. questions are harder than saunders.

1. Learned to prepare for lecture as if you are studying for a test.

2. Practice NCLEX style questions over the content your are studying. Lippincott has a great med surg app for iphone.

3. Never asked yourself "what if" when reading a test question.

4. Get sleep, have fun, and make time for yourself.

I wish that I would have taken all of the "nursing school is so hard and you'll never have a life!!!" talk with a huge grain of salt! It's not easiest of educational paths but I'll take it over a lot of other majors. I was prepared to hate my classmates, hate the course load, hate my professors, get eaten alive at clinicals, never see my husband and kids and watch my GPA take a hit BUT I love most of my classmates, the course work is intense at times, tedious at others and probably the busiest of any 14 credit semester I've taken but it was still manageable, I like and respect my professors, clinicals went well, I have plenty of family time - weekends in the mountains, kids' sporting events, Saturday's full of college football - and my GPA is intact.

Specializes in Primary care.

I am also skeptical about the whole GPA thing. I just finished my first semester and planning to I apply to the Master's program after a couple of years of work experince. It is funny how my instructors are saying the same thing. I think they are out of touch from reality. I have two B's from the first semester which one of them can be easily avoided if the instructor was clear about the study guide and the paper. I blame myself though, for being so naive, I guess. I should have pester her and made sure that I had everything under control. Now, I have three semester to bring up my GPA which is about 3.6 now.

Arghh, it feels like it never ends. Please share your insights about master's program applications. And good luck!

Specializes in ICU.
I am also skeptical about the whole GPA thing. I just finished my first semester and planning to I apply to the Master's program after a couple of years of work experince. It is funny how my instructors are saying the same thing. I think they are out of touch from reality. I have two B's from the first semester which one of them can be easily avoided if the instructor was clear about the study guide and the paper. I blame myself though, for being so naive, I guess. I should have pester her and made sure that I had everything under control. Now, I have three semester to bring up my GPA which is about 3.6 now.

Arghh, it feels like it never ends. Please share your insights about master's program applications. And good luck!

A word of caution.... Do not let the first semester fool you. First semester is by far the easiest semester in nursing.

Specializes in Primary care.

Thanks for the warning. Yes, I am really aware of the what awaits front of me. Especially now the clinicals would be more intense and time consuming. Because I am in an accelerated program, everything moves really fast. I have had exams and papers due almost every other day. I am preparing myself for the worse.

Start practicing NCLEX review questions NOW! AS soon as you get your acceptance letter to nursing school! Ready Set GO!

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

I would have applied for jobs before graduation instead of listening to our instructors who kept telling us we could wait until we graduated because we'd have no problem getting hired.

I wonder what my old instructors are telling students now.

Don't put anything off-EVER!! Get your grades as high as possible in the beginning of every semester, because it's not going to get easier-that way you'll have a little cushion for those parts you have more trouble with. Never criticize your instructors, other students, or nurses in the clinical setting-I have witnessed truly bad endings when people have done so. Always be professional- in actions, studies, and dress-students are under a lot of scrutiny. If you can get an A, then great-but your 4.0 may not make it through nursing school-do your best, and learn to be happy with that! Obsessing over an A will only cause added stress-trust me! And keep everything-you never know when that powerpoint or those notes might help. Sorry to be so long winded, I'm in my last semester (woo-hoo!!) so I've learned a few things. Good Luck!

You've totally hit the hallmark of things learned!!

Specializes in Peds OR as RN, Peds ENT as NP.

- Be thankful for the instructors who GRILLED me. Come on now, is pain the only nursing diagnosis you know?:no:

- Expect to be somewhere with little notice! Oh I have to be in for an 8 hour mandatory thing tomorrow? Okay.

- Asking people what they got on their exams is not always a good idea. Trust me, you will have that exam where you want to immediately bolt out of the building.

- Yes, I failed the Foley catheter insertion checkoff in my first semester but NOW and I put one in with either hand (must be ambidextrous in the OR)

- You are always being watched.

-Explain things that may be unfamiliar. You'd be surprised at the amount of times someone thinks I am texting when actually I have UCentral on my iPhone and it's in Airplane Mode.

-It is a privilege to be at whatever clinical site you are even if you do not feel wanted all the time. It's because you are dangerous :).

-Overachievers can be annoying, but they are the BEST study buddies you will ever have.

- Hey, once you graduate you are on your own.

- It is okay to not know as much as you want to.

- When it comes to job hunting, it's a nurse-eat-nurse world! Be proactive and sell yourself.

-Shy and need to learn to be assertive? Carefully observe the dialogue in the OR and how the nurse runs that room. OR nurses are amazing.

- Nursing school swag does not pay the bills:uhoh21:. I don't even know what that means!

- I made it through an accelerated bsn program! Some days I didn't know if I would.

Specializes in Pediatrics and Med Surf Float.
A word of caution.... Do not let the first semester fool you. First semester is by far the easiest semester in nursing.

if first semester is the easiest, why is it my lowest nursing grade? (a&p 1 not included) it was def easy content but i wasnt thinking like a nurse yet so that brought me down.

Specializes in Geriatrics, Med/Surg, hospice.
if first semester is the easiest, why is it my lowest nursing grade? (a&p 1 not included) it was def easy content but i wasnt thinking like a nurse yet so that brought me down.

i found first semester the hardest. learning the new questions and testing style, what exactly is expected of you, instructors wants and needs, how to conduct clinicals, time management.. it was a whirlwind.

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