Start LVN school Wed...

StocktonNurse, BSN, LVN, RN, EMT-B · Feb 18, 2008

Hey everyone! I start LVN school on wed. :DI was just wanting to ask everyone what you suggest bringing and how to better prepare myself for the year ahead. I would love to hear about your experiences while in school! I also wanted to ask you how you studied. I am more of a kinetic learner. So if you have any ideas of how to make my learning/studying easier that would be a great help! Thank you!!!

I use to be more of a hands of learner and I pretty much am, but when it comes to having to study for test and preparing for skills lab, you HAVE TO READ. It is time consuming but if you really want to get ahead and be fine throughout your program than read. The main benefit from this is that once it comes time for you to take the nclex you will have read so much that you can recall many things as you dwell into nclex subjects. It helped me out.

To be ready for school just make sure you have a very very open mind and be prepared to do countless hours of assignments your first couple of months. Skills and clinical s are not bad in the beginning but once you reach med surg and pharm you really have to have your wits about you. You have to really find what works for you. I have gone through countless highlighters only because I eventually found my study pattern. But some people just actively listen in class and take notes and then do fine on test. But some others will do the above, read, take notes, use a study guide, and be fully ready to take the test. I mainly just read listened to lectures if I really needed(lectures for me was my down time to relax), highlighted in my books, I did study guides and maintained an A throughout the program. I had to change my study pattern several times to adapt to the test that were thrown at me. Your first test will tell you where you stand and show you how they give test. So pay attention to all these cues. Main thing is you really want to do good in theory because clinicals are not as bad, you just have to be prepared. So have your favorite pen, highlighters, notebook, calculator for sure, and you should be good. If you want a personal tip from me I also bought a medical dictionary(not the expensive one but a $6-7 one and compact); a nursing process book that included nursing diagnosis, goals, interventions, and outcomes("called Nurse's Pocket Guide"; I wish I would have bought this early but I later purchased a l"ippincott manual of nursing practice"(this applies to lvn's and Rn's); and I also bought a "nurses quick reference to common laboritories and diagnostic test". I also had a small compact notebook that fit just in my hand to write out all my patients and their diagnosis, and I also had a small lvn flip note reference that shows the scope of what the lvn can do and shows all types of reference for example where to listen the heart on the patients chest, lab values, CPR, wound care, and things like that. I might be kind of pricey, but I carried all these things with me to all my clinicals and theories so that I can look up references ASAP if I needed to ask questions. You can ask all your classmates questions if you really want to find out answers, but some will tell the truth and some will be correct, but that is why you have your instructors and when they cannot answer your questions then grab your reference books, and then there is the next best thing which is the doctor who is infinite with knowledge. All these book were small and compact so that I would be able to carry them in a small bag and take them everywhere. Good luck throughout the program, and always study and even overstudy. Your overstudy will prepare you for the nclex.

suchablonde0788 · Feb 18, 2008

Thank you so much for your reply. I greatly appreciate it :) I do plan on reading and over studying! Im just trying to figure out how I can turn that reading material into something I would better understand. Im thinking as I read to maybe practice it on a "person" or do a lot of drawings and taking a lot of notes. I have had to always figure out new study ways to better understand what I am reading. So i wanted to see what tohers may have done to make this more easy for them! Again thank you for your reply I am definately going to look into those books you suggest I feel that they will really help me!

akcarmean, LPN · Feb 19, 2008

very good suggestions couldnt of said it better myself when i went through school a lot of our text books had cd with them i found those very helpful also good luck

ChargeNurseAmy74 · Feb 19, 2008

GOOD LUCK:stdnrsrck::anpom: