Any advice for us "baby" Nursing students?

[RPN_2012]

A question to everyone who is in their 2nd, 3rd, 4th years of NS. Any advice for us "baby" Nursing student who just begun or about to begin their first year/semester of NS (I'm just starting NS in a few days)!

Let's make some sort of pot luck/melting pot of ideas, suggestions, advice, wisdom, habits.

As you look back on your 1st semester/year of NS experience... What would you do differently, if anything? What would you do at all/not do at all? What worked, what didn't? And I don't just mean studying! I mean everything, like family, socializing, time management, schedule, health, sleep, interaction with teachers and classmates, patients and preceptors, and all others and of course school work, group work, studying, exams, and everything else in your life when you were a "baby" Nursing student?

What would you differently if you were to do it all again/if you were just starting out? :)

Go!

[emtoh17]

1. Don't learn the material long enough to pass a test. The material builds on itself and you will need to to know how to apply it and how it applies to more than one body system.

2. Keep your head down and your mouth shut.

3. Listen to EVERYTHING the teacher says.

4. PAY ATTENTION in CLINICALS

5. DO NOT get wrapped up in nursing school drama.

6. Stay on top of the work.

7. Ask for help early if needed.

8. Say goodbye to the outside world!!!

[cheezwhiz]

hmmm...i think this type of thread ought to be a sticky. i feel like ive seen it before lol

anyway, it would boil down to time management and keeping up with work so that i could have more fun time instead of going from one cramming binge to the next

[emtoh17]

If you are worried about more fun time, and if you are just studying by "cramming binges" which is a scary thought.... maybe you should re evaluate your priorities.... and put nursing school on hold until it can be your #1 priority...

[cheezwhiz]

thanks for your concern, but you can save the lecture for someone else. i do quite well academically. just trying to help others who might not have the ability to pull off the awesome like i do.

i'd also like to add that if you have to worship everything your teacher says and have to say goodbye to the outside world, you may want to reconsider your priorities about life in general, and perhaps find a less rigorous field of study that is a little more on your level. not everyone needs to or wants to live nursing school 24/7. food for thought.

[MzRN2B]

thanks for your concern, but you can save the lecture for someone else. i do quite well academically. just trying to help others who might not have the ability to pull off the awesome like i do.

i'd also like to add that if you have to worship everything your teacher says and have to say goodbye to the outside world, you may want to reconsider your priorities about life in general, and perhaps find a less rigorous field of study that is a little more on your level. not everyone needs to or wants to live nursing school 24/7. food for thought.

Love it!

[Cupid14]

BALANCE.

Yes. Nursing school is tough and you need to study A LOT to pull off amazing marks. But if all you do is study and "say goodbye to the outside world" you are going to hate your life. You are going to resent nursing school instead enjoying it and learning the stuff you need to know.

And as for the memorization of info.. I find for me at least, I will memorize things just for the tests. I know it's dumb and won't help me too much in the future.. but I am a person who will look it up later if I need it. No matter if I feel like I know it, if I am thinking of a drug that I haven't given to anyone (especially since I haven't done any med passes yet hah) I am going to look it up. Then, as I use certain knowledge more, I will know it straight-away, without looking it up.

Good Luck! and make friends if possible. You aren't in competition with them (at least not at my school, no curve!) and everyone is super helpful, they are little nurses after all! Making friends opens you up to study groups, missed class notes, outside of school activities.. it's nothing but helpful :)

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

If you are worried about more fun time, and if you are just studying by "cramming binges" which is a scary thought.... maybe you should re evaluate your priorities.... and put nursing school on hold until it can be your #1 priority...

People lean different ways. Some people work best cramming and being under pressure, others don't. "fun time" is important.

To the OP poster. There are a lot of threads with tons of pages of advice on this very topic. I will try and find one and bump it. Lots of good information in them I used back when I was starting out.

Congratulations on nursing school.

I don't agree with those that say not to make friends, or keep to yourself and so on and stuff either. I am a social person and I am doing just fine. I have made some great friends in Nursing School, I have fun, I have free time, and I don't let school take over every ounce of my life. I make time for me, for my kids, for my husband and for my friends on top of school.

[izzycatswimRN]

I def. agree with the whole you need a life thing. I would have cracked loooooong ago if I didn't keep up a small social life. I do school work sunday-thursday while not in class. I may do a little work on a friday afternoon. I always try to take saturdays off completely to give my brain some rest time. If I have a Monday test obviously I do some studying on Saturday. I am also one of those who work better under pressure. That's just how I roll. The whole "to each his own" and such. Setting up a regular exercise regime has also helped. I was a competitive swimmer up until this past February...we're talking like 10 years of near every day practices up until the past few years. Instead I picked up kickboxing. Hitting and kicking a bag really help with the stress I build up so you could try something like that as well.

[m_aidez]

one word: sleep.