Survivng Drexel ACE - advice pls!

Good call Loner. There shouldn't be anything else scheduled on the day you have clinical, and you should probably contact someone this week to get it cleared up before classes start. The university is still open, shouldn't be much of a problem.

Thanks for clearing that up! I see it now. Before, my schedule showed wednesdays and fridays had nothing but it was just updated. My wednesdays are still free but that's where my clinical at Lankenau will be. My 201 Health assessment will be on tuesdays from 8-11 am.

My NURS 200-067 still has a "to be announced" at the bottom of my schedule. My first class on Thursdays starts at 2 pm so maybe something will get put in earlier. . .


Monday:
8-10 am Nurs 204a
11-2 pm Nurs 201-007

Tuesday:
8-11 am Nurs 201-007 (which is assessment lab in the lab correct?)
12-2 pm Nurs 101-007
2-4 pm Nurs 200-007

Wednesday:
clinical day N200 Lankenau 3SW

Thursday:
2-4 pm Nurs 200-07

Friday:
8-10 am Nurs 204-068
10-11:20 am Nurs 102-153
1-2:20 pm Nurs 337-153

You may actually have Thursday mornings off. That appears to be the full schedule. And yes, the NURS 201 is in the assessment lab, same as NURS 200 lab when you are on campus.

wow. . .so much reading to do already and it's only the first day!

To the ACE'ers that have been around the 1st quarter block already. . .any suggestions?
What to prioritize, what to really read vs. skim over, etc?

Your help's greatly appreciated!

Congrats on surviving your first day! What did you think?

My first suggestion would be to not do all that reading. Really. Instead, look through the chapters and focus on the boxes and charts, particularly nursing interventions and pt teaching. Use your power points as a guide, and if you find yourself stuck on a topic, read that section in the book. If you're still stuck, ask for help (classmate, professor, here, whatever works). Do NOT let yourself skim over a concept you don't understand...take the time to figure it out, because it will come up again, and you will need to get it sooner or later.

Keep up with your work and study as you go along, because this isn't the type of program where you can cram and be successful. Everything builds on what you've already learned, and you will be much more confident and less stressed if you maintain a steady pace. When exam time comes, the few days before should be primarily a review of key concepts and things you're still a little shaky on, instead of a race to learn new material. Also, be prepared to really apply your knowledge on the exams.

Do your best, but remember that not everything goes as planned. On those days, just try to be flexible and give yourself a break. One bad grade isn't going to ruin your life and a criticism at clinical doesn't mean that you'll be a terrible nurse. People have done this before you, and you will too. Good luck!

Thanks for the words of wisdom! Today went pretty well I suppose. Informatics seems like it won't be too bad at all. Health Assessment I'm unsure of just due to the fact that the prof breezed over 7 chapters today already!
Tomorrow's assessment lab, ethics, and Priniciples (which looks hard too).

What 1st quarter classes were the most challenging for you? Some look easier per-say than others.

It took me a little while to get the hang of Assessment too, mostly because of the volume of information (as you're experiencing right now!). Once I figured out how to study for it, it became easier. Also, my lab professor was amazing - I probably learned more from her than I did from lecture. Lab seemed a little overwhelming at first, but I ended up loving it. The checkout was not a big deal at all, and I can actually say that my assessment skills are pretty good.

Informatics is definitely not bad and neither is ethics. Principles shouldn't give you too much of a problem, and you'll be able to use what you learn in other classes. My general theory is to just go into everything thinking it will be fine, and it usually is. No stress haha.

the only thing that i'm really stressing about right now is the upcoming math quiz next thursday. My math skills aren't the greatest. I like how they call it a quiz but they give 60 minutes for it. I guess I'm just freaking out because there is so much other work to do and because of what can happen if you don't get a 90%. Also there's so much to memorize with the conversions, etc. They said review chapters 1-21 but won't give any more clues than that.

As long as the numerical answer makes sense, you should be fine...they probably figure that as long as you got that right, you were able to properly interpret the order. The quiz will have pretty specific instructions. The reason they give you so long is because they're giving you a chance to slow down and check your work so you're not forced into any silly mistakes. It's really not so bad! If you need a hand before the quiz, let me know.