Advice to newly accepted students?

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This is my first post here though I've been lurking a reading for a few months. I just got accepted to my local nursing program. While I am incredibly excited and pleased with myself, I find that I am also pretty terrified. I have no idea what to expect in nursing school. Zero clinical experience and am very doubtful I could find my way around a hospital whatsoever. One major concern of mine is in my ability with hands on type activities. I tend to get pretty nervous and clumsy. This semester has been very eye opening for me in that respect just in my labs.

So, I was curious what those of you who have been through or are currently going through nursing school would advise on getting through in one piece.

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Specializes in Oncology; Pediatric Oncology..

First of all, a big CONGRATULATIONS to you!!! I know how hard the journey of simply being accepting to a nursing program can be, so you should be proud of yourself for this accomplishment alone :)

I graduated from my LPN program at the end of March and begin an LPN to RN Ladder Program in the Fall. Here are some words of wisdom I can pass along:

Take a deep breath and relax! You CAN do this :)

Take your studies seriously! Everyone studies differently but I found a solid study group to be the key.

Focus, work hard, participate in class, ask questions (most likely someone in the class is wondering the same thing so there are NO stupid questions), take notes, do the readings, and work hard to learn not memorize the material! This education will help shape your career so simply memorizing won't help you in the long run.

Like you, I had no clinical experience prior to starting the program. I'm very much a hands on learner so clinical was so helpful. While I was nervous a lot of the time :) I learned so much and the experience is so valuable!

Take time for yourself! You must. Get plenty of sleep, exercise when you can.

At times you may be very frustrated, cry, or even want to quit. It DOES get better, I promise :) So don't give up!!

Remember why you want to be a nurse...this thought will help you make it through the tough days!

Good luck, enjoy the journey because while it is hard work, it is also so worthwhile!

Best of luck!! :)

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Specializes in Cardiac Care.
First of all, a big CONGRATULATIONS to you!!! I know how hard the journey of simply being accepting to a nursing program can be, so you should be proud of yourself for this accomplishment alone :)

I graduated from my LPN program at the end of March and begin an LPN to RN Ladder Program in the Fall. Here are some words of wisdom I can pass along:

Take a deep breath and relax! You CAN do this :)

Take your studies seriously! Everyone studies differently but I found a solid study group to be the key.

Focus, work hard, participate in class, ask questions (most likely someone in the class is wondering the same thing so there are NO stupid questions), take notes, do the readings, and work hard to learn not memorize the material! This education will help shape your career so simply memorizing won't help you in the long run.

Like you, I had no clinical experience prior to starting the program. I'm very much a hands on learner so clinical was so helpful. While I was nervous a lot of the time :) I learned so much and the experience is so valuable!

Take time for yourself! You must. Get plenty of sleep, exercise when you can.

At times you may be very frustrated, cry, or even want to quit. It DOES get better, I promise :) So don't give up!!

Remember why you want to be a nurse...this thought will help you make it through the tough days!

Good luck, enjoy the journey because while it is hard work, it is also so worthwhile!

Best of luck!! :)

This is a wonderful and beautifully written post. Thank you for writing it!

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Specializes in Oncology; Pediatric Oncology..
This is a wonderful and beautifully written post. Thank you for writing it!

Wow, thank you! and you are welcome :)

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Congratulations on your acceptance to nursing school!! The day you step foot into the clinical setting is the day you will start making a difference in peoples lives :) It is a wonderful feeling..

I am half way done and it has been a blast!! You will practice hands on skills more than you can imagine and the instructors wont allow you to do it on a real patient until you show how to safely perform the skill! And when you do perform a skill on a real person for the very first time 98% of the time the patients will ask...have you ever done this before? ALWAYS SAY YES! because you HAVE done it before...just not on a real person.. (something my clinical intructor taught me to do)

You will do things that you never thought you'd be able to do! I was scared out of my mind the first time i took someones BLOOD PRESSURE! how silly. And before you do a skill on a patient...just remember that they are not grading you. They just need a new IV, foley or NG tube and they want to get this over with...they key is acting confident! Good luck to you!

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