Advice. I do not want to fail Nursing school!

onetiredmomma · Jul 19, 2009

How many hours a day you study is totally subjective but don't put it off until cram time! Focus only on nursing program, no left over pre reqs once you get in the program. Classes are usually sequential, must do A then B, etc. As for working full time, it can be done but once you start clinicals you really can't work more than Fri-Sat night because, even though you only have clinicals 1-2 days a week you probably will have classes two days a week PLUS all your clinical prep time! NCLEX is a one time pass licensure test...once you pass you ARE an RN! Best of luck

PopeJane3rd · Jul 19, 2009

How many hours a day you study is totally subjective but don't put it off until cram time! Focus only on nursing program, no left over pre reqs once you get in the program. Classes are usually sequential, must do A then B, etc. As for working full time, it can be done but once you start clinicals you really can't work more than Fri-Sat night because, even though you only have clinicals 1-2 days a week you probably will have classes two days a week PLUS all your clinical prep time! NCLEX is a one time pass licensure test...once you pass you ARE an RN! Best of luck

What all do you have to do in clinical prep time?

OOOppps. The other part of my reply got lost, so here it is: Thanks for that. I will have to go part time on my job and perhaps take out loans to cover other household bills.

twinmommy+2, ADN, BSN, MSN · Jul 19, 2009

Some people have to study very hard after school every day, others just sit through lecture and get as much as they can in lecture and still do well. It is up to the person.

For clinical prep time, you want to be going over your drug cards, finishing care plans, make yourself a nutritious lunch/snack and get uniforms together (ironed and what not)

Be_Moore · Jul 19, 2009

You will have to study more than you are used to, but not necessarily all the time. I managed to procrastinate a pretty good bit in nursing school without failing anything.

As far as clinicals, they are amazingly time consuming. Going to the hospital before to read up on patients only to go home and write reports about the patients. 6 hours for a care plan is a solid estimate (roughly half the night before and half after).

As far as the NCLEX-RN, you only have to take it once ever. If you pass and then practice as an RN.

Nursing school, honestly, is NOT that hard. It is terribly time consuming, however...you will want to go part time. It will suck your life away because of the time it takes to do all the stuff.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 19, 2009

How many hours a day you study is totally subjective but don't put it off until cram time!

Agreed. You will learn so much so fast that to wait until the last minute to crack open the books would be committing educational suicide.

Everyone studies differently and a plan that works for someone else may or may not work for you. In your first semester of school you'll get to know the type of material you'll be dealing with, and so can start finding the best way to study it.

But if I have to tell you one thing, that would be to study every single day, even if some days it's only for 30 minutes. Once you fall behind, it's incredibly hard to catch up, even on the weekends.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jul 19, 2009

i am a procrastinating student, but sometimes manage to cram and pass.

procrastinate means to extremely go about putting off doing something. when it becomes a habit the person continually delays and is late about doing all kinds of things. it's a behavior fault that not only applies to how a person studies, but also will manifest in other areas of the way they live.

cramming

for tests is merely a way someone attempts to deal with this problem. passing the test is the good outcome; failing the test is the poor outcome. be more concerned about how procrastination is involved in other aspects of your life. if people tend to be late to work, that is not good. if school assignments are always done at the last minute what are you really absorbing out of what you are supposed to be learning? there are many lpns and rns that i have worked with that were not procrastinators on their jobs because if they put off doing too many of the more unpleasant tasks bad things eventually happened and they got into severe trouble. procrastination and nursing do not go well together. see

http://www.accd.edu/sac/history/keller/accditg/sspc.htm

what advice or study tips can you as a professional nurse having already passed nursing school, give me in order to pass completely? how many hours a day should i be studying to pass? how many classes do you normally take in nursing school, is it like 2 or 3 a semester? are there any study guides or websites that might be helpful?

see the web links on how to study on this sticky thread in the student forums:

https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/study-strategies-254733.html

-

study strategies.

saying "

pass completely

" is misspeaking. when one fails a course, it is failed. there are no grade levels of failure when it comes to grading in most schools.

the number of hours a day that it takes each student to "

pass

" as well as learn the material that is required depends on what the cognitive abilities and experiences are of each of you.

each nursing school will direct the students on how many classes a student may take at a time. there are upper limits as to what they will allow. unless a nursing school specifically has part-time nursing programs, it has been my experience that the curriculum for nursing classes must be followed to the exact dictates of the school which means that nursing classes are full time and at least of 12 unit hours total a semester or more. at the first day of each nursing course a syllabus is given to each student that contains an outline and schedule of what is going to be taught in the course along with the learning objectives you will be responsible to learn. the instructors of the classes themselves will sometimes give students study guides to help them prepare for upcoming tests and the textbooks often contains helpful websites. the sticky threads of allnurses are loaded with links of helpful websites and you only need to explore allnurses to find them. this thread has weblinks specifically to help students already in nursing classes:

https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/medical-disease-information-258109.html

-

medical disease information/treatment/procedures/test reference websites

. helpful weblinks for classes like anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology and chemistry are also on allnurses in other student threads.

i have read posts on here where people were saying that once you fail a semester the school either will put you on a waiting list to get back in or you're permanently out.

every school has its own policy on this. you have to contact the school you are going to and ask them what their rules are when a nursing student fails a semester of nursing school. in the community college i went to if someone failed they were out--forever.

i also hear about care plans taking 6 hours to complete.

a care plan in college that has to be turned in for a grade should be considered to be on the level of an essay or a term paper. so, putting 6 hours into an essay that might be 10-25% of a course grade isn't such a lot of time. you need to learn how to do care plans in order to (1) learn how to think like a nurse in order to solve patient problems--this is called critical thinking, (2) they help you learn about disease and their treatment and (3) because the writing of care plans is required of rns on all hospital, nursing home and home health jobs by federal law. the school has an obligation to make sure you know how to be able to write a care plan by the time you finish nursing school.

and that you have to pass a loooooong rnclex test. how often do you have to take the certification test?

the taking and passing of the nclex is the

only

way you can get a license in the state where you live and become an

rn

. to qualify to take this test you must successfully complete and graduate from a state board approved school of nursing and then fill out an application with your state board of nursing to take this test and fork over a few hundred dollars fee for the test. the school instructors usually help the graduating class with their applications to the state board. the state board will send you back confirmation that you can take the test and where you call to make an appointment for the exam. the test lasts 4 hours and is taken at any number of approved computer test areas around where you live. if you pass, you become an

rn

and never have to take the test again as long as you always renew your license (just like you renew your driver's license) when it is time to be renewed. if you do not pass the nclex, your state will usually have rules about how many times you can re-register to take it again.

i took my

rn

state board exam 34 years ago before they had switched to the nclex. it was a 2 day exam that was only given 2 times a year at specific places in the state. the test was paper and pencil and went on all day long each day and was very tiring. i took mine in july of 1975 and didn't hear until september if i had passed.

i have moved to several states in that 34 years and i have been able to transfer my license along with me. i have also obtained special certifications in medical surgcial nursing and iv therapy which also required taking special national tests. however, those certification tests were completely of my own choosing. certification is

voluntary

; licensing is mandatory, usually by law.

you might want to read more about what being a nurse is about on these websites:

http://www.discovernursing.com/
http://www.nln.org/careers/resources.htm
- nlns resources page for nursing students

Diaper, RN · Jul 19, 2009

When I was in nursing school, I didn't do well for my Peds exam coz I get really nervous before the exam. So I talked to my professor and asked if there's anything I could improve my grades and I'd like to do more extra credits. My professor's being very supportive and she gave me more tutorial and extra assignments to boost up my grade.

So the moral of my story is that if you have any concerns about anything, don't be afraid to speak to your professors. If they know that you're willing to work hard, they'll be likely to let you pass your classes :)

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jul 19, 2009

if you want an idea of what students go through with care plan assignments look at this thread just posted this morning on the nursing student assistance forum: https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/help-care-plan-409036.html. i answer a lot of care plan questions because i did a lot of care plan writing as a nurse and i understand the process. it is a mental skill. we get good at physical skills because we do them over and over and perfect them as a result of that. if we shy away from doing something (like care plans) then we never learn to become good at doing them. your first attempts at tying your shoes, riding a two wheeler bike or driving a car seemed like it took ages to complete, didn't it? why? because they were first attempts, there were directions to follow and you wanted to do the process correctly. speed comes with time and experience.

lisamc1RN, LPN · Jul 19, 2009

My advice, besides the excellent pieces already given, is to start practicing from your NCLEX book and cd from the very beginning. I've seen a couple of graduate nurses where I work who didn't crack the book open until after they graduated. Neither one of them passed the NCLEX on the first try. The type of question you see on the NCLEX should be introduced to you during school, but practice makes perfect! And you want as much practice for NCLEX as possible. :)