Help me with nursing school please

Just graduated 8/07 w/ BSN!!
What I wish I had known: I knew it would be hard, but I didn't know how much sleep I would loose, breakdowns I would have before a test, parties and events I would miss out on with my friends, and apologizing to my boyfriend about not being able to meet him for dinner or a movie. That said, IT'S WORTH IT!!! These are sacrifices that when you are holding your degree in your hand you will cry because YOU did it and will become a better person...and those around you who don't understand aren't worth keeping around.

Also, you have to eat the books, I mean start studying now, make notecards, get studygroups.. Good resources are a medical dictionary, Nursing made incredibly easy books, and start taking the tests that come with the book, the TESTS in nursing school are geared for critical thinking on the NCLEX and are a different style of any testing you have prob done thus far.

Don't be intimidated for too long in clinicals..after your first day get over it and the next day get in there and practice! don't be afraid to ask questions, and use resources to find answers. Be resourceful. Part of nursing school is grooming you to be an independent professional.

You'll do great if you have a good support network and know that its 4-5 semesters of some of the most incredibly hardest days of your life. You will make great friends that will help you through! Everyone is just as scared and clueless as you are, you lean on each other.

Are you in already?

The only thing I wish I had done sooner was to start doing practice questions. Buy yourself some NCLEX study books, I used Saunders and the cd that came with it, you were able to pick the topic of questions that you wanted to answer. I didn't start doing this until my second year and my grades were much higher. YOur first semester it may be difficult to do so because it is fundamentals, but once you get into body systems/psych/maternity, it will help! Other than that just study your butt off and stick with it!

Oh, one thing that will really help you is to keep a journal of your clinical experiences. It will help to tie in what you are learning in theory v real life. Also, you can see how much you have grown and you can see what your strengths and weaknesses are and work from that.

Bella core, I am a nursing instructor and will pass along the advice to my junior level students.

I wish I would have purchased Kaplan ($418) in my 1st year, they have a excellent Review of content and review questions that you can down load into your computer (real player) and listen to it all the time, doing chores, etc. Also Practice 10-25 questions per day if you have time or atleast 100 questions per week.
The Davis NCLEX review book is a good one and the HESI REVIEW book is a MUST comes with a CD $65 (NCLEX questions - good to use to prep for NCLEX). Also learn your meds by classification and the common adverse reactions. Focus on nursing care when studying.
Know the difference in a question being asked are they asking you to Assess or Implement (do someting/action) helped me - when answering questions, never realized sometimes I chose the wrong answer choice simply because, I did not read the question correctly.
Also, Record the Lecture if allowed. Stay Focused its a commitment.
To succeed is truly to sacrifice alot.
#1 Pray. Meditate and be humble but not too humble, because Nursing teached you to be assertive.
Know that you are not expected to know it all, but ya better know what is a NEED TO KNOW.