Advice on getting a head start?

Hi! My name is Tina and I just found this great forum this morning. I am currently working at home as a Medical Transcriptionist. I recently got promoted and am now editing voice recognition dictations, which essentially just means that the computer types the report and I edit it. Anyway, I've been an MT for almost five years now and now that my kids are all going to be in school and with all the changes in the MT business I have decided to finally go to LPN school. I've been thinking about it for a very long time now and I know its going to be extremely hard. I'm wondering if there is anything that I can do to get a head start. I won't even be able to test to see if I qualify for the class until March of 2006 and then if I get in, the class does not start until July of 2006. Everyone that I talk to keeps telling me that I will be fine, that I already have a head start because of my MT background, but I don't feel that. I feel like I really have not learned much over the past five years. Yes, I know what bid, prn, qhs, gerd, etc, etc, etc, means, but that does not mean that I will be a good student. I would really like to spend these next few months studying and getting ahead in my LPN studies.

I'm also scared to death. I'm scared that I won't even pass the pre-admissions test. Does anyone know what this test is like? Can you give me an idea of what all it entails? I'm also scared that if I am actually lucky enough to get into the class what if I have trouble remembering everything, or what if I do fine on written studies but crash on the clinicals or vice versa?? I'm scared to death of failing and having to take the class all over again. Everyone that I talk to says "oh, you'll do great. You already have medical terminology experience. You'll pass without a hitch!!" Well, what are they going to say if I fail. Are they going to look at me like I'm stupid??

Anyway, the point of this post was to introduce myself and to get some advice. Do you think it would be a good idea for me to review papers that my friend who is currently in the LPN course has? Would that help me or hurt me? Either way, thank you for taking the time to read this and please don't think I'm crazy, I just have a lot of stuff running through my mind right now and I'm very excited about possibly starting the second part of my life! T