Any Advice for New Nursing Students?

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Jun 6, 2014

As far as what to study, you can certainly learn some common lab values, drug calculations (dimensional analysis or ratio/proportion), and the like are fine to study. Review your A&P. Try not to stress out too much. If you have access to your reading assignments, or as soon as you do, do some reading to get you familiarized with about the first month of class. While this is a marathon and not a sprint, don't let yourself get behind in your assignments. Also, get yourself a calendar big enough to write down your assignments, exam dates, quiz dates, etc. Use that calendar to keep track of EVERYTHING you have to do and where you have to be. It will be a life-saver. While you could use online calendars (I used google's calendar) to keep track of this stuff, I just used it to block out time that I have to be somewhere and used generic labels such as "work" or "classroom" or "clinical" unless I had an exam, which I'd label those specifically.

My written calendar had the details.

At first, figure you'll spend about 40 hours per week studying, outside of class. That's only about 4-5 hours per day. That will change, and usually reduces as you go along and learn what to concentrate your efforts on. My last semester, I spent only about 2 hours per day studying.

Hands-down the hardest thing to deal with is learning how to pick apart NCLEX-style questions on your exams and those will be different from anything you've likely ever had before.

It's completely doable. It is a process. Let it work and do what they want you to do when they want you to do it. Sometimes it won't seem very logical... but it'll all come together in the end and they expect that.

HisKids37 · Jun 6, 2014

I just finished my first semester, and while it was certainly challenging, I really enjoyed it! My advice would be to be as prepared as you can - not academically, but organizationally. Maybe it's just that I'm usually not super organized, but it helped me a LOT to have my house neat as a pin, some meals in the freezer for those tough days that I just couldn't cook, etc. In other words, do whatever you need to do to make your learning environment and schedule open. HAVE FUN!!

Episteme · Jun 6, 2014

Can anyone know what nursing school is like before they experience it? Hmmmmm... It's rather like becoming a parent, don't you see? When I became pregnant for the first time, (I'd already been to nursing school) I thought I understood pregnancy, caring for an infant, toddlerhood, first steps, potty training, boo-boo's, sibling rivalry, first grade... But did I have any idea what I was in for?

Not by a long shot!

Had I heard all about parenthood from about a bazillion people? Yep.

Nursing school? You won't know what it is until you're in the thick of it. But don't let that dissuade you. If people really knew in advance what parenthood had in store for them, the species would die out.

rob4546, ADN, BSN, MSN · Jun 6, 2014

Yes it was hard, but not unmanageable. I don't recommend it to everyone, only the people that take time management and responsibility seriously. There have been good posts before me so I will defer to their advice, but in my experience the people that don't make it and complain the most about it are the people that are negative and have a tough time with everything (including living). We had one of those people in our class that was like that and she decided that she would fail the NCLEX the first time so that it would hurt the pass/fail statistics of the nursing program. Real smart huh, even if she thought it was too hard and they "did her wrong"....

Dranger · Jun 6, 2014

Nursing school is nothing till you experience the daily grind of actually being a nurse! Let loose and have fun while you are in school and YOUNG. When you graduate all you have is work...forever.

jrabbit0811 · Jun 10, 2014

Can anyone know what nursing school is like before they experience it? Hmmmmm... It's rather like becoming a parent, don't you see? When I became pregnant for the first time, (I'd already been to nursing school) I thought I understood pregnancy, caring for an infant, toddlerhood, first steps, potty training, boo-boo's, sibling rivalry, first grade... But did I have any idea what I was in for?
Not by a long shot!
Had I heard all about parenthood from about a bazillion people? Yep.
Nursing school? You won't know what it is until you're in the thick of it. But don't let that dissuade you. If people really knew in advance what parenthood had in store for them, the species would die out.

This made me laugh - I went out of town for the weekend with some girlfriends and one of them laughed at me and told me "It's like labor no one talks about it - but as soon as someone see's a pregnant woman they go on and on about how horrible labor was ... seriously? Each one of us had more than one baby - so no matter how bad it was - the end result was worth it." I've got this - My eyes are open and I know it won't be easy but I also know it will be worth it!

Boxer Mama · Jun 10, 2014

I would just rest and enjoy your time before starting. I am just finishing up my third quarter. I have found that reading ahead does not really do any good, as many of the professors jump around and teach only certain parts of the chapters. For me, what makes nursing school challenging is not the material being taught but the volume of material to study, remember, and apply.

The thing that helped me most was something my Med-Surg teacher did at the start of the semester. She had us take a learning style test to identify how we learn best, and we also reviewed how to take tests, specifically NCLEX-style questions. There is often fluff and distractors thrown in, and it is vital that you learn what the question is really asking.

Yes, nursing school takes a lot of time, especially when you start adding in clinical hours. Time management is crucial, and it is up to you how you approach school. Some days are harder than others, but that is true with anything. Enjoy your classmates, as there seems to be a lot of "group work."

Congratulations and have FUN!!!!!!!

la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN · Jun 11, 2014

I read I Wasn't Strong Like This When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming a Nurse and it really helped me appreciate the vastness of how you will be changed by this program. So far, my program has been really great -- no horror stories with which to share with you. The most arduous thing was my 1st Care Plan and since then it's been good. The thing that helped me was staying mentally in it -- I love All Nurses because it helps me see the big picture at the end of this. Everything I do is for a job and I notice the ones in my cohort that don't take it so well are the ones who don't have this attitude. The NCLEX, the license, the job -- everything I do is for the end. This is the only thing I can tell you that has served me well throughout my first year (2 more to go!). Embrace that this is a transformation that will be taking place. You will love it but sometimes it will hurt and you will hate it until you realize how those moments are the ones you learn so much from. Also, it won't be as bad as you think.

Oh, and follow your rubrics for any project/paper/care plan EXACTLY! There is no room for interpretation on these!

Friskee, BSN, MSN · Jun 12, 2014

It's honestly what you make of it. If you study a little every day and get a good nxclex book to study with before exams it's not that hard. The people I knew that were struggling were people who began studying for each test the week of. If you put your all into it, it's actually not that bad.

ThatBigGuy · Jun 12, 2014

1. Read, read, read. The professor doesn't have enough time to cover 1500 pages in three hours a week via PowerPoint.

2. Be flexible. I can't tell you how many times sim lab times will be changed, or assignments moved, or uniform requirements switched. If you can't figure out how to deal with the unpredictability in nursing school, you will not be able to handle real life nursing.

3. Attend class, for goodness sakes. Other than the obvious reasons, a lot of professors will bump you up if you're right on a grade bubble, but only if you have good attendance. Plus, attending class reflects an early understanding of the professionalism that is needed to be a licensed nurse.

4. Have fun! Try do something unrelated to school at least once a week. You can't go 100% all semester in nursing school and not burn out. It's just too much. You have to enjoy the fact that you're continuing to be alive in a world that features puppies, Dr. Pepper, and Corvettes.

5. Start doing NCLEX practice problems now. You will be horrible at them at first, but that's ok. Soon you'll find yourself having little "ah-HA!" moments in class when you link questions to the lecture. More importantly, you'll have less anxiety if you've been doing NCLEX style questions for two years before your exam rather than two weeks.

6. Start a Facebook group and encourage all of your class to join. It really helps to get quick info from your classmates and to coordinate activities. Just remember to keep the content professional.

7. For good measure, repeat #1.

applesxoranges, BSN, RN · Jun 12, 2014

Don't try to overload yourself. While many people have to work, the people that tend to do the best are the ones who do not work.

Spend as much time as you can studying.

Try not to overload yourself.

The quizzes and tests can be hard initially. As can skills.

Saunders Comprehensive Review is great in my opinion.

saraCOS · Jun 12, 2014

No horror stories here, I'm 4 weeks into an accelerated program (so ending semester 1 in a regular program) and actually like it much more than I thought I would. It's hard, but that's what I signed up for. I have a great class, we bring food to share, do yoga at lunch and try to take care of each other. We aren't competing against each other anymore. Manage your time (as in, get off of allnurses when you're supposed to be studying...um) Make time for your friends and family. Prioritize your work, so you don't waste time on BS that is not very influential on your grade and flub the final. Eat well, otherwise you feel like garbage all the time. Give yourself a break, it can't all be perfect all of the time. I second the NCLEX practice, I have a paper book, an audiobook study tool and use the online quizzes. It's much easier to learn a new language a bit at a time. Oh, and get your personal life in order. If you are teetering on the edge of divorce, or have sick family, or toxic relationships, or financial problems, reconsider before setting yourself up to fail.

Best of luck, I think you'll be fine!