Advice for first semester?

Jenngirl34RN · Nov 22, 2013

Congratulations!

I am just finishing my first quarter. My advice would be to finish your assignments and reading as soon as you can, instead of waiting until just before they are due. Things get pretty intense once clinicals start so if you can stay ahead of your work you will be a lot less stressed out.

Good luck!

cheriealexa8 · Nov 22, 2013

Buy an NCLEX book and use it as a tool, as you go along in your program. Read assigned chapters before class (if I did this I would have done much better my first semester), study smarter not harder.

LoriRNCM, ADN, ASN, RN · Nov 22, 2013

I went from being a straight A student to a solid B student in my first semester of nursing school with about twice the effort. Do the assigned reading, attend every. single. class. And don't beat yourself up for grades, just concentrate on passing each test. On assignments, where you have more time to complete them, don't procrastinate and do them well. We have scoring rubrics to follow for assignments, and basically that's a check off sheet. If you meet all the check offs on the scoring rubrics and do a thorough job, you can get an A on pretty much every assignment, and that will help your overall grade tremendously. I will be done in a couple weeks with my first two courses with a solid B and I'm ok with that! Almost done with first semester! :woot: I need a break so bad!!

CURRYA · Nov 22, 2013

Thank you all for the advice! :) I just bought Lippincott's Q&A Review for NCLEX RN and wanted all of your opinions. I like this text because it's divided into sections and it provides correct answer with details why the other choices are not correct. I've heard Saunder's has a great guide as well, but isn't as depth in the Children's Health sections. (I would've flipped through the guide but it was in the plastic at the books store.) My question is should I return this one for Saunder's, or maybe just study both? I plan on studying the NCLEX questions by chapter/unit along with my program.

2k15NurseExtern4u, BSN, RN · Nov 23, 2013

This is great stuff!

sourapril · Nov 23, 2013

keep yourself ahead. The better you do in the beginning the less stressful you feel.

Jhoward58 · Nov 23, 2013

Hello I'm new here . I need all my science classes to get in the nursing program , then I'm done . Anyone know where I can take them strictly online accedited courses including labs that I can transfer to anyone college

Thanks :)

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Nov 23, 2013

I'm a 3rd Semester student. I can honestly say that in 1st semester, you're going to have a lot of new stuff thrown at you. One of the best ways to keep that from becoming a problem is to stay ahead of the reading... at least a week or two if you can. Also, get a calendar and put all your assignments on that. Using a calendar will certainly help you keep track of what's coming up and keep you organized. My program is nice in that they create their calendar ahead of time and distribute it to the class. What I do is print it out and post all the pages on my wall so that I can see everything at a glance.

Doing NCLEX questions is an awesome thing to do... even as early as 1st semester. Those questions will likely be a whole lot different from what you're used to seeing in all other classes, so get used to seeing these questions. If you're doing them on your own, don't be surprised if you get many of them wrong at first. That will improve with time and learning the material.

The biggest thing is (and I didn't invent this...) to read ahead, stay ahead, and be in class every day you can. If this is all new material for you, you will miss a LOT of stuff even just missing one day.

Also, organize your study materials into binders. One big one for each course as a whole, and a smaller "working" binder you use for whatever your classes will be going over that week. Staying that organized will help tremendously because later you'll have that material readily available and easily referenced for review later. It will make your life easier.

Oh, and get to love those most horrible of things, the "care plan." I have never actually met a student that likes doing them. Most, including me, absolutely hates doing them. Here's the thing though, they're essentially your recipe for taking care of patients. You learn a lot about your patients through doing those care plans. I absolutely love them for that aspect, but that doesn't mean I like doing them one bit... though I have gotten pretty quick at doing them.

missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN · Nov 23, 2013

Congratulations! I hope you love nursing school, and you seem eager and ready to go. Find out if you can get the textbook at the bookstore, or check online for the ISBN number. Then order it from Amazon if the price is cheaper. Buy the Fundamentals success, as mentioned previously, it's amazing. The ISBN for that is: 978-0-8036-2779-6

If you have anything you want to accomplish before you start nursing school, get it done now. Catch up on your shows, catch up on the fun books, go out with friends. Your life now and your life as a student will change, but it's not a bad change. It's just different, and like anything that is different, it takes some time to get in the swing of things.

Congrats again, enjoy your time before you start, and best of luck!

shamrokks, ADN, ASN, RN · Nov 23, 2013

You will have a lot of dates to remember so get a sturdy planner that will fit in your purse and use it. Write everything in it. A missed due date usually means a zero. Missed clinicals are not good either :-)

allnurses Guide · Nov 24, 2013

Be brave in clinicals. If offered the opportunity to do something (and your instructor has allowed you to do it), then for gosh sakes get in there and take that opportunity. Don't be cocky but don't be timid either. Show a strong desire to try and to learn.