Advice and must-have's for a first year nursing student?

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Hi everyone! I'm brandy-new to the site :)

I'll be starting my RN program in September. I've already been at the college for two years doing my pre-reqs and such. SO....

Any advice for how to spend the summer preparing? Books/study guides to read?

What about school/clinical? Absolute must-haves that got you through the semester?

Any and all comments are appreciated!!!! Thank you :)

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Specializes in None.

You can look over these older threads. Pretty informing.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/what-item-s-111796.html

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/nursing-school-must-458460.html

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Specializes in Neuroscience.

Find a good shrink in your area... ;)

On a serious tip: Don't read anything. You'll have more than enough reading once school starts. Enjoy laying up on the beach and enjoy every day of the summer school free while you still can.

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Some basic medical terminology would definietly benefit you.

Other than that RELAX and enjoy your last moments of sanity. j/k. But do enjoy your time off. You will be given so much information and learn so much these next couple years.

Best of luck!

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I'd definately agree with this. I just finished my first year of the BScN program, and I am absolutely physically and mentally exhausted. :yawn:

Before I started we weren't given any direction on where to start preparing anyways. The course manuals with the reading lists are all made over the summer at my school. But once you start there are TONS of reading (like every night and every weekend). Now that summer break is here, I plan on laying around doing nothing, and enjoying every minute of it until the fall. :cool: So yea, just enjoy your summer while you're free. You may want to start with buying a good quality stethoscope, BP cuff, a penlight, and black pens (about a hundred will do), a medical dictionary, and maybe a couple pairs of scrubs for clinicals. And like jmira said, some basic medical terminology would be good idea. It drove me insane when I over-heard (a few months after a two month gerontological course) "what's gerontology?" :eek:

Some must-haves that got me through was coffee (start stocking up now), and some friends I made who were also in the program. Sometimes you just need a good rant with some gals who are going through the same stuff as you. :hug:If your school has a nursing student society or group, join it! The people that are ahead of you have great tips, and the ones in mine organized parties and stuff so we could let loose every now and then. Try to find some good online resources like this one All Medical Animations it has tons of animations on diseases and treatments and things like that. This one Listen to Heart Sounds - Lung Sounds Audio - Breath Sounds : 3M Littmann Stethoscopes: 3M US has stethoscope sounds you can listen to. There's tons out there if you just google them.

Good luck! It is a ton of work, and there will be some times when you will want to quit every day that week, but stick with it! It was pretty stressful for a while, when I was getting used to the process, but now it's all good and I'm excited for next year when we get to learn more advanced skills. You picked a great career my friend! :yeah:

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I am in an ADN program so I not sure if my advice applies ...

*Definitely relax and enjoy the summer

*Make sure you know you medical terminology and if you just memorized your A&P for class, go review it. I have been slightly frustrated at not knowing it as well as I would like.

*I would not buy scrubs unless you know what your school requires, most of the schools in my geographical area have their own requirements. Don't even buy the shoes until you know for sure! But when you do know do not be cheap when buying your shoes!

*I have not needed a ton of black pens (no one paper charts anymore, so you will not be doing that much writing in clinical). However, I have gone through a few gallons of printer ink and reams of paper. Hi-liters and colored pens are good investment if you are a kinesthetic or visual learner. Got a good tip from a test reviewer yesterday. Take you favorite hi-liter color and hi-lite everything assessment with that color. Take your 2nd favorite color and hi-lite everything intervention with that color.

*The book(s) that helps you may not be the one you are required to buy for class. Go ahead spend the money on another book, if it will help you get the material.

*Search youtube for nursing videos by topic, you might find someone who explains it better than you instructor.

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bump!:cool:

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Here's another recent thread on the topic of what to do (if anything) while you want for fall & your nursing program to start

https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/general-things-you-708412.html

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Do not, I repeat, do not study anything until you start nursing school. First and foremost, the information will be meaningless and useless without some context and explanation behind it. Secondly, you will have plenty of time to kill yourself with readings and study materials when the program starts. Take the free time you have left to relax.

Supplies are pretty basic. You'll need high lighters, Sharpies, pens, paper, folders, binders, a laptop, etc. For clinical I would suggest finding a clipboard that you can carry around with you. I put my report sheet, I&O sheet, IV fluid sheet, VS sheet, and blank paper on my clipboard, and I use it to stay organized during clinical.

People always act like anatomy and physiology is the be all and end all in nursing school, but it's really not. You need to be able to understand a basic pathophysiology of the disease, and you should know what's happening in the body, but no one is going to ask you to write a 50 page dissertation on the patho of a specific disease. You will focus much more on nursing interventions, nursing diagnoses, medications, lab tests and their meanings, and what you can do for the patient as a nurse. Patho will be included, but it won't be the focus of your learning experience (it's certainly not at my school).

My advice is don't study anything. The purpose of nursing school is to teach you how to be a nurse. No nursing instructor expects you to come into your first semester with a great understanding of patho, chemistry, micro, tons of disease processes, diagnostic tests and their implications, and information about various medications. In my state, you have to be a CNA before you can even apply to nursing school, so we were expected to already know medical terminology, but that was it. We were expected to have a basic understanding of the prerequisite courses we had taken, but no one expected that we would remember everything from every prereq we had ever done.

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Don't buy a ton of extra books thinking you will read them, you probably won't even have time to read your school books that m uch,, but a davis drug guide, and a tabers medical dictionary is great to have as it has nursing diagnosis statments in the back.

I 'd get two voice recorders, one for fundamentals/medsurg,, and one for pharm so you wont have to pick thru your recordings so much,,, practice getting up early at least 2 weeks before school starts so you wont be so sleepy, and practice reading so your brain won't be idle when school starts.. study daily, dont stay up late, eat lots of apples and drink milk to help your brain.

Make studying for hesi/nclex your hobbie, especially on hearts and endocrine and respiration. I would also recommend a book callled clinical pharmacology made incredibly easy. There are tons of skills on youtube.

good luck, and dont forget to have some fun.

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Some schools don't allow recorders at all. Others, it's on a professor by professor basis. Before spending money on a recorder(s), I'd find out what the policy is at your school.

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