As you begin your first semester of nursing school, it can be TERRIFYING and OVERWHELMING with information thrown at you. I am a third-semester nursing student and tutor first and second-semester nursing students. While tutoring, I have noticed a few things. So let me give you some advice on how to be successful in your first semester and remaining semesters thereafter.
Buy a planner or use the planner on your phone.
This will help you stay organized with all the assignments and exams you'll have.
Record your lectures.
I have found that recording lecture is very helpful and it allows you to go back to the class to fill in things you may have missed. *tip* glance at your recorder when starting a new page or topic so that you can write down the time and quickly reference that part of the lecture later.
Take good notes and read your textbook.
This is not high school or your pre-requisites anymore. You need to read and think outside the box, make yourself critically think throughout the material. Do NOT just try to memorize, this will come back to haunt you later when you're in the second semester and the professor assumes you already know the basics.
Join/Form a study group.
This will help you tremendously. Study groups should be small (5 people at the most) and they should be treated like class. Don't invite people who are distracting or people that will slow you down.
Use your book resources.
Do the online practice questions that come with your textbook, they will help you get a feel for how the professor may present questions on your exam.
Have fun and make new friends.
Don't stick to yourself and be a loner. Nursing school is tough, and you and your classmates will need each other. Trust me.
Review your test.
This will allow you to see what you missed on the exam and will help you guide your focus for your cumulative finals.
Learn your pathophysiology!
Learn your pathophysiology! Learn it! Understand it thoroughly! Whatever you do, do NOT slack in this class. It is the foundation for every other class you'll have and doing well will help you so much when you're in MedSurg and you are trying to learn interventions. It just makes everything easier, to understand the disease process.
These are things I've noticed students slack on or didn't do their first semester and now ultimately they struggle in the semesters thereafter. Read your book, study every day and you'll do great. Do not expect the professor to teach you every little detail, because there's not enough time in class for that. Hold yourself accountable and learn as much as you can! Good luck. Hope this helps someone!
Thank you for this! I am starting nursing school in August and am trying to get a feel for how to prepare for the first semester! :) If there are any tips anyone has about books to read or things to do the next three months in anticipation for nursing school please feel free to comment back!
Thank you for this! I am starting nursing school in August and am trying to get a feel for how to prepare for the first semester! :) If there are any tips anyone has about books to read or things to do the next three months in anticipation for nursing school please feel free to comment back!
Don't try to get ahead right now. Enjoy your next three months of freedom. You will have plenty to do starting in august. Get caught up on chores around your house, work and save money, enjoy your friends and family and be mentally relaxed and ready to hit the ground running in August. It's a lot of work, but doable. No need to start before you have to. Enjoy your summer.
Thank you for this! I am starting nursing school in August and am trying to get a feel for how to prepare for the first semester! :) If there are any tips anyone has about books to read or things to do the next three months in anticipation for nursing school please feel free to comment back!
Congratulations on starting nursing school this upcoming August! If you are just eager to get a head start, I'd recommend just reviewing your old A&P material and maybe download a few NCLEX practice apps, so you can get a feel for how the questions will be presented. I wouldn't necessarily buy any books right now, but if you want to I'd recommend buying the "Illustrated Study Guide for the NCLEX RN exam". I use it to review material before class usually and for the practice questions. The book breaks down topics and points out what is most important. Most importantly, enjoy your summer and don't focus too much on getting a head start, just do it whenever you are bored and have free time! Best of luck to you 😀
Specializes in Nephrology Home Therapies, Wound Care, Foot Care..
I'm just starting my second year, and I'm going to go out on a limb and disagree with relaxing and enjoying the summer. Yes, definitely enjoy your time, and have some fun. But doing some studying would serve you soooo well. If you know anyone in the program that is willing to give you a copy of their first semester syllabus (and that's not cheating in any way!) OR if the syllabus can be purchased now, get a copy of it. If you did nothing more than to skim all the chapters that you will cover in the first semester, you'd be ahead of the game. Your primary books will likely be Medical-Surgical by Lewis and Fundamentals of Nursing by Potter and Perry, those seem to be pretty universal, but double-check- they are pricey! Each has objectives, chapter tests, vocabulary, learning any of that puts you ahead of the game, Your first semester is so stressful, just learning how to navigate the program that you are more tired than you can imagine. Our orientation was basically 6 hours of being told all the ways we can be thrown out of the program- VERY STRESSFUL! Finals are a few days away, and there are several who probably won't make it through, already lost lost quite a few first 3 quarters. Reading can be done under a tree in your hammock, but you'll feel more prepared, and feel like you're moving ahead. COngrats on being pro-active- it's one of the signs of a great nursing student!
ajourneytonursing
38 Posts
Thank you for this! I am starting nursing school in August and am trying to get a feel for how to prepare for the first semester! :) If there are any tips anyone has about books to read or things to do the next three months in anticipation for nursing school please feel free to comment back!