HFCC winter 09 120/126

126: Lots of material. Stay on top of your reading. Then reread it. Do your E.O.s every time. Look at the powerpoints & know it all before the test.

I really recommend getting an NCLEX review book so you can get a real idea of what they mean by "critical thinking". On the test you essentially have to pick the most right answer and that can be hard to discern if you haven't had to do that before.

120: It's boring and not that hard except - that last test is a killer so don't slack off. There is no final in that class.

You will get a TON thrown at you the first 2 weeks. Tackle it all as soon as possible and it will make life easier on you. There are a LOT of outside tests you need to do. Do them the first 2 weeks if possible. Same w/ your portfolio. Get it done as soon as they hand it to you. You will only get busier as the semester goes on.

You will also take a Math and Pharm test. Take that seriously and study hard. Two failures means removal from the program.

I hope I didn't scare you. Nursing school is hard, but it's so iteresting that you really don't mind all the hard work. If you're really focused, you shouldn't have a problem getting good grades.

I agree. Looking back, I think 1st semester was the most time-consuming. All kinds of things to get done, especially in the first 8 weeks. And then trying to get thru all the lecture material and beginning to learn to think like a nurse. 120 doesn't have a final and you only have 3 tests, so if you do pretty bad on one....you have to ace the others. I thought 126 was interesting and the final was fair. But learning to 'discern' which is the best answer had everyone's nerves frazzled. Then you realize you survived and you move onto the next one. You see what you need to focus on. ALWAYS review your tests so you know why your answer wasn't the best and you get the hang of nursing 'rationale' so if that question shows up again, you'll be able to choose the 'best' answer. Talk to your teachers, they are support persons. They want to see everyone succeed.
But....nursing school is "fast and furious" as I was told my first day and some people just can't hang on. The program has a way of weeding those students out. So if you feel like you're on the edge, PLEASE seek out your staff and get a hold of it. NEVER get behind in reading. MUST learn to prioritize time and say 'no' to outside influences. And TAKE care of yourself - don't make school your entire existence and wear yourself down, put aside one day a week to do nothing nursing related. It will make all your hard work that much more rewarding. FIND a study method that works for you - I meet with one or two people 2 days before the test and we hammer it all out. Get an NCLEX book to use as a reference and help with the rationales. If you want it, you'll do what it takes to succeed!

Good Luck and Congrats!

RN2B73 can you believe it is almost finally here. I can't wait to get started. after christmas i am going to sit down and go over the stuff they said we needed for the first week of classes. I have cut work back to 2 days a week, much to my bosses horror. Oh well, I want 1 day to just study while the kids are in school, and 1 day to clean, and relax. hopefully it will work out. i wish we would have ended up in the same section, but I just was scared to do the accelerated.

Atleast you know the teachers you have, mine is still listed as staff. i met a few people while in line for uniforms that are in my class. I am starting to freak now.
I need to finish the paperwork, get shoes, and get my house in order. and do you know can we wear jeans to class( actual class not lab) or is it business casual? I heard casual, but no jeans. that is all I wear is jeans.

You can wear your pajamas to class if that's what you want, just keep it "business casual" on lab days.

Sweet, thanks for letting me know.

Another tip that was given to me by a few of the nurses that I work with is to read (really read and pay attention) to the test taking skills chapter in an NCLEX review book. I personally have the Saunders Comprehensive but others have said they used the Kaplan review book and liked it just fine. I skimmed it and did o.k. on my tests but at the end of 126, I was hovering at an 82% and one of the girls reminded me to really read that chapter; so I focused on it for a couple days and when I took my finale I only got 6 wrong out of 100. It really helps! Gook Luck.