Advice to a pre-nursing student?

CrunchyMama, ASN, RN · Jun 15, 2009

Hi and congrats on starting school! I start the nursing program this fall, so I have no advice (yet). But I've taken A&P and all that already. Some swear by anatomy flashcards or coloring books. I have flashcards and honestly, I hardly used them. What works for me is re-writing everything out again, such as my notes....so the flashcards didn't do it for me. Anyway, good luck to you!

CuriousMe · Jun 15, 2009

Hi and congrats on starting school! I start the nursing program this fall, so I have no advice (yet). But I've taken A&P and all that already. Some swear by anatomy flashcards or coloring books. I have flashcards and honestly, I hardly used them. What works for me is re-writing everything out again, such as my notes....so the flashcards didn't do it for me. Anyway, good luck to you!

My advice is similar to CrunchyMama's, I do swear by flashcards for anatomy....but only the ones I made. I would look at the material and think of a question (either for a factual answer or a concept answer) and write that on one side and the answer on the other. It takes a long time, but the process of making the cards and having to break it all down into questions and answers was at least as useful as testing myself with the cards after. I also use the Mead cards that have holes in them with two metal rings and plactic covers on them. I would always buy the ones with the clear covers (they also come in red, blue, black, etc) so that I could write the name of the class and which exam it was on the front. Since the cards were on the rings, I could open up the rings and change the order of the cards (or add more if I needed to) and they were easy to carry them with me everywhere!

As far as nursing school. It is time consuming, there's no doubt. How much time you have aside from school though....there are to many variables for me to guess. It depends on how much you need to study, how much time your specific program requires, what your academic goals are, etc... So, I think it's one of those things you just need to feel your way through. I would definately start conservatiely on your time commitments outside of school in the beginning. Then if you feel you have more time, you can alsways add on other things (job, clubs, etc).

Best of luck and contratulations!

Peace,

CuriousMe

RetroReactive · Jun 15, 2009

Thanks. I guess I will have to see what works best for me when I start. I am already taking my biochem and composition class this summer. I have reports to write everyday but I absolutely love my biochem class. I've learned so much, high school hasn't come close to the depth of this stuff. I am just hoping I don't get too overwhelmed with everything. I am doing my best to keep organized and thinking about starting my knowledge of anatomy to prep up for the fall semester.

Any more advice?

kw123 · Jun 16, 2009

Prioratize! I found once I used my planner to the fullest the course load became way more managable.

RetroReactive · Jun 16, 2009

I'm a little upset. I went to talk to my advisor today and she told me there is a YEARS waiting list to get into the nursing. I will be taking my pre reqs this school year and maybe starting next year but not 100% sure. I think this is a WASTE of my time. I didn't sign up for this. Me and my fiance are going to college together (dorming) and plan to get out at the same time to find a place and a job... now I have to go an extra year or 2.. this is not what I want!!

I'm a little unsure. I don't know whether I should still stay with this and keep doing my pre reqs or not. There will not be enough credits for prereqs to be considered full time.. I am so lost....I hate advisors!

CrunchyMama, ASN, RN · Jun 16, 2009

A lot of schools have a waiting list.....so don't get discouraged, you're not the only one. Stick with it if it's what you really want. Just do your prereqs and some other classes that are a part of the program to get them out of the way. Don't give up!

RetroReactive · Jun 16, 2009

I don't know how worth it, in my position, it is to wait. I had everything planned out. Me and my fiance can't go separate ways. I absolutely hate the city I live in and I am needing to get out. It's a dump. I am soo stressed. I can't wait a year or two years. I am not even garaunteed into the RN program. I want to start working when I pass my RN.. I need to be done with college in 2 years because if I don't me or my fiance is going to be homeless. We can only dorm if we are attending school. Is there any nursing schools statewide that I can apply to rather than waiting for the one in town? I don't know much about nursing...

looking4wrd · Jun 16, 2009

RetroReactive, do not give up! You are soooo young. You have your WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE to live. If nursing is what you want then go for it. You are only 17??!!!...when I was your age all I wanted to do was become a nurse....that is what I wanted my whole entire life. Guess what I did?? I let the little obstacles get in my way, instead of fighting them or coming up with alternatives...and here I am at the age of 42 and still not a nurse. I will be one day though because I am now realizing that ANYTHING you want in life you can have you just have to GO FOR IT!!! If you want to know what other nursing programs are in your area ask your school guidance counselor or Google it. Whatever you do DO NOT give up your dream of becoming a nurse. It will happen. You will just have to be patient. Best of luck to you!

RetroReactive · Jun 16, 2009

Thank you! I still plan on pursuing nursing. I just need to decide WHERE I want to do it. I don't know how it's gonna work but I will transfer somewhere else. If I apply at a college now will I be able to get in next fall, not this fall. I don't want to apply and have them think I want to go this fall. I want to get on the list ASAP so I can start..I'll have all of my Gen Eds done at the end of spring.

CrunchyMama, ASN, RN · Jun 16, 2009

I don't know how worth it, in my position, it is to wait. I had everything planned out. Me and my fiance can't go separate ways. I absolutely hate the city I live in and I am needing to get out. It's a dump. I am soo stressed. I can't wait a year or two years. I am not even garaunteed into the RN program. I want to start working when I pass my RN.. I need to be done with college in 2 years because if I don't me or my fiance is going to be homeless. We can only dorm if we are attending school. Is there any nursing schools statewide that I can apply to rather than waiting for the one in town? I don't know much about nursing...

Only you know your situation. Do you have family to stay with? You and your fiance don't have to go separate ways....if my hubby and I can spend the first 6 months of our relationship 12 hours apart, then I don't think it'll hurt anything if you're not with him while he's in the dorm. Or you guys can explore other options....you don't like where you live....then how about moving to somewhere else and starting over and go to a different school. You might have better luck and get right in. Or just get on the waiting list....and when the time is up and you have to get out of the dorm, move in with family or something? I don't know....like I said, only you know your situation and know what's possible.

shrimpchips, LPN · Jun 17, 2009

I'm not going to lie - nursing school IS tough. It's a lot of reading and studying...clinicals can be exhausting and of course if you get stuck with a crappy instructor then it just isn't fun (fortunately I have had fabulous instructors so far). There will be times when you will have exams/quizzes/projects/lab practicals/papers/other assignments due all in the same day or week. I'm not trying to scare you - I'm just telling you the truth.

I'm loving nursing school. Sometimes the amount of work you do is ridiculous and you really don't have time to "slack off" but it has been a rewarding experience so far and I can't wait to graduate in a year and a half with my BSN :yeah:

One thing that I think makes nursing school so hard is that it's all about applying knowledge to a situation. In all of our years of schooling prior to become a nursing student, you pretty much just remember facts and spit them back out on a test or quiz. Memorizing facts won't really get you anywhere in nursing school. It will help when remembering the norms for vital signs or lab values but other than that you need to apply your knowledge to your patient care.

And are you going for your BSN? Generally it's a 4-year program (sometimes 5). Your first year (or 2 years if you're doing a 5-year track) is spent completing your pre-requisites then you will be considered for admission and it is like that everywhere you go. I also want to say that 90% of schools have waiting lists so don't be discouraged.