WANTED: Nursing student tidbits of advice

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hey guys,

I start this fall in my nursing program and Im extremely anxious!!! Im looking for any advice that will help me in school. Whats the thing you can NOT live w/o during nursing school? What was the best study method for you? Index cards, recorders, palm pilots? What should I take to clinicals? I know you all were anxious when u started!!!

thanks guys

p.s. ....im hoping this will end up being a HUGE thread that other anxious students can read

I still cannot find a place that will debind books...

I just called my local kinkos, they said no problem. They said 1.00 to debind the book and 4.00 for each bound section. mentioned coil binding??? Not sure what that means.

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Have you tried FedEx Kinkos? Staples, Officemax? Or any local printing company? I have read on other postings that those were the places people went to have theirs debound.

I also saw on one member's post that they took an exacto knife and did it themselves - time consuming but maybe that's an option for you? Just be careful not to perform surgery on yourself :eek:

Ha yea, surgery might not be the best, but I could definitely try that if it came down to it. I tried staples so far and I'm gonna look into a few other place. Thankyou

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runtagua,

If you decide to get a crate at any point. This is the crate I bought; I ended up getting the package that includes the rolling crate, lid & a huge insulated lunch bag.

Rolling crate

Thanks for posting your bag. It seems like it will be pretty functional. How many books can you fit inside it? I have quite a few to lug around. It will be a back-up option for me if I don't like my crate, but I have a feeling I just might make it work. :-)

The main compartment of the bag will hold about 3 good sized books and a notebook or two. There is then a lot of room at the top (on top of the books) where a lunch bag or sweater or more books could go. The laptop compartment could also hold another good-sized book if you didn't carry around a laptop. This bag had the largest internal area (in cubic inches) that I found.

Thanks for the info about the crate. I think I actually checked that out the other night (from another post of your's, I think). It's super cool. :)

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Specializes in Pediatric Intensive Care, Long Term care.
I was thinking the same thing. I also think my appearance is important. I was thinking maybe one of the rolling totes that look like briefcases or laptop bags. When you debind the book do you get a cover over each chapter so the pages aren't wrinkled? How much does it cost to do that?

somebody already touched on the price but yes they can put a cover on them or whatever u want. This saves you from the wrinkling. U have options as far as 3 ring holes to put them in a binder (which is what i will probably do) or to get the coil binding. The coil type of binding looks like this: http://thm-a03.yimg.com/image/14be3f466ad78abe

Yay for alternative solutions for carrying a million lbs of books!!!!

OH!!! and im super excited. I ordered my stethoscope from https://www.medisave.net/index.php today in the color grey. I used the promocode: backtoschool to get an instant 5% off! :D

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Specializes in Pediatric Intensive Care, Long Term care.

oh yea i forgot to tell u guys that they have free engraving on that site as well!!!!!! Cant go wrong w/that!!!

https://www.medisave.net/

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Specializes in Pediatric Intensive Care, Long Term care.
This is the one I got. It's huge, but definitely will not hold ALL my books (I'd need a crate for that). It's smooth rolling, and has a nice, padded laptop compartment.

http://www.ebags.com/columbia/science_park_cyberroller_limited_time_offer/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=96311

Columbia Science Park Cyberroller

Thanks sooo much for u guys input!!!:yeah:

Runtangua, i love that bag!!! Its a bit too pricey for me but they have many cute sturdy rolling bags on that site that i checked out.

i like this one in the pink

http://www.ebags.com/high_sierra/fast_forward_wheeled_backpack/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=90508&rlid=detail&rcode=465897991538931

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Thanks sooo much for u guys input!!!:yeah:

Runtangua, i love that bag!!! Its a bit too pricey for me but they have many cute sturdy rolling bags on that site that i checked out.

i like this one in the pink

http://www.ebags.com/high_sierra/fast_forward_wheeled_backpack/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=90508&rlid=detail&rcode=465897991538931

That is super cute!

Sign up for their email newsletter. They send out emails with % off coupons all the time (every couple days, it seems). Some were 20%, the last one was 10% off and free shipping. PM me with your email, and I will forward the latest offer.

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Specializes in n/a.

Thanks so much for starting this thread!! Up until now, I have been 100% scared to death. After reading 22 pages of the tidbits ... I am getting excited and can't wait to start August 17. Of course, now I want a Blackberry, and everything else I see everyone talking about. Probably not in my budget right now because I will only be working parttime starting the first day of school. Thanks to every single person that has contributed to us the new students. We are scared and need all the help we can possibly get !!!!

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I just called my local kinkos, they said no problem. They said 1.00 to debind the book and 4.00 for each bound section. mentioned coil binding??? Not sure what that means.

I heard they did that from another poster too, but when I took the book in they said they don't do hardbound books only paperbacks. Is your book hardbound?

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Just a thought on the rolling backpacks...you won't need all your books all the time, and they are a pain to roll in between rows of seats. You can sit up front, but then your bag is in peoples way...just my:twocents: speaking from experience. I now carry a regular backpack and I'm going to try to get my one heavy book debound and put it in a large notebook. Then I will use a smaller one to take just the chapters I need to class. I just use a 1in 3 ring with some sleeve pages for handouts like the syllabus and calendar. I have dividers with loose leaf paper for notes, a pencil bag and three hole punch that fits in the notebook for the power point notes my teacher provides. Mechanical pencils are great too, to avoid multiple trips to the sharpener in class, there is a lot of writing and my teachers talk fast to get it all in a 3 hr lecture! A highlighter is good to have to mark important sections of your text the teacher points out,too. Good Luck everyone.:nurse:

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I heard they did that from another poster too, but when I took the book in they said they don't do hardbound books only paperbacks. Is your book hardbound?

OH yeah!!! Its hard cover. 1700 pages of hard cover :lol2:

I also sir speedy and they told me they could do also for about the same price. I'm just trying to decide if I wanna have them bind or hole punch and I'll put them into binders. I'm not sure which way would be cheaper yet. Those binders are almost as expensive as the binding.

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If you want to get the most bang for your bucks invest in the really important stuff...comfortable shoes, best stethoscope you can afford...and I mean put your money into these things....That stethoscope is a tool of your trade, an investment. And shoes...you've got one set of feet to carry you through...it's totally worth the investment. It may mean trying different kinds, but it's sooo worth it. I purchased a pair of New Balance that cost over $100. KILLED my feet on long clinical days. Invested in a pair of Danskos...now can go like the energizer bunny even 12+ hours. Find what works for you. Can't understand why anyone would invest in debinding books,though. Gosh, I just want to tell you all to put the brakes on on that one. Might want to wait to see if you need to haul those textbooks to every class. That would be the last thing I would invest in...some of my books are gems and I'll keep til I pass boards....But I want them intact. I was given a textbook that had been debound and it drove me bonkers. Other books not so much help, they'll be sold...so not worth the $$ to debind. Plus might have impact on resale value. Understandably, though, everyone has their own way of doing things, so do what works for you. Also, I invested in the Saunders Student Nurse Planner....never used it....If you have a type planner that you use now...keep using it. Do what is simple and familiar and comfortable. You won't have time to spend getting comfy and adapting yourself to someone else's system. Also buy TONS of highlighters, ball point pens...NOT gel (they smear), and I'm gonna say it again, consider the smartpen from Livescribe. That pen has saved me multiple times. Expensive...yes...but sooo worth it. I bought it last year after a recommendation on Allnurses and man was that good advice. Target was carrying them. And no, I don't work for livescribe. Good Luck to you all. It's a great journey. You'll learn so much about yourself. Oh and one last bit of advice. Prior to our first clinical, our instructor told us she knew we were nervous, but to try to think that our work in the hospital wasn't really about us. It was about caring for someone who was sick, hurting, possibly grieving. That helped me get it into perspective. When I shifted my attention to the patient and away from myself, nerves got MUCH better. Just keep telling yourself..."This isn't about me, it's about my patient." Take care everyone. Now back to studying for my assessment finals...ACK!

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