Any suggestions on getting a head start

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Hi

I will be starting my nursing program in Fall 2010 ( Aug. 23) finally!!!! and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for any books I should read/review as a "head up". I don't mean things like Anatomy or Physiology but things you only learn when you either start the nursing program or have already seen/done due to working in a hospital or Dr. office. I want to get as much of a head start as possible, since I am leaving a career in Real Estate which is completely on the opposite spectrum of the Health Industry.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Thank you!

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I also left a job in real estate for nursing and just completed my first semester. The only thing that you can do to get ahead is start reading your books for this upcoming semester. You will be learning skills but every school wants you to learn them in different ways so it will probably be a little different than the book or CDs say. Good luck and enjoy your summer and the impending career change. I didn't do anything to get ahead and I ended up with B's this semester (which is pretty good in nursing school).

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

To hit the ground running, I'd start by learning basic lab tests, normal values, and common causes of abnormal values. I'd also start getting familiar with some of the major medication classes. Finally, if you don't already have a solid grasp on medical terminology, I'd get a book and start working through it.

The nursing school pace can be frenetic and any efforts you invest on the front end can pay dividends in the first couple of semesters.

Some will recommend doing no prep work and just relaxing. That's great if that's your personality type. For me, though, getting a jump on things helped both to cope with the waiting and to create some free time during the program.

Really, you'll be fine either way.

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I'm also interested in hearing suggestions about prep before my nursing coursework begins in the fall. So far the only ideas I've had have been to start listening to some nursing podcasts to get my head in the game (I'm entering nursing from a completely unrelated career) and work on memorizing normal lab values. I took a pharmacology class online as a pre-req for a different program that I didn't end up going into, so I already know the major drug classes, and in that class we touched on lab values. It was aggravating to have to look them up each time so I was thinking about really working on learning those over the summer.

I really want to be prepared and confident going into my first semester! Does anyone have any other suggestions?

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

Another subject with which to become familiar is infection control, precautions, and isolation. If you go to the CDC website you can find descriptions of the various levels of precaution as well as lists of which infections require which type.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

I recommend taking this opportunity to do a good self-assessment of your general skills as a student -- and then working on any weak areas before school starts. The middle of the semester is NOT the time to discover that you don't know how to search the professional literature ... or write a good paper ... or do math calculations ... comprehend what you are reading ... etc.

Too many nursing students fail to realize the importance of these basic academic skills until they are already struggling in their classes -- when it is kind'a late to start addressing their underlying problems. Don't start school with any weaknesses in these areas.

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I suggest that you get a few NCLEX books and learn how to take those types of tests.... my school only tests us NCLEX style - that kind of test taking takes some getting used to.. also- anything you can do to work on your critical thinking and logic skills...practice test questions and read the rationals! They are well worth the time and effort. Maybe - get a few "how to study" guides aimed directly at nursing school and really beef up on them!

I have a friend that wished she had taken a NCLEX prep class before starting nursing school - she was very math-logic oriented (from a business background) and the tests threw her for a loop. When their are lots of books on the shelf wanting to teach you how to pass a test - the clue is that there must be something different about those kind of tests...

Good Luck

I just finished my first year and have 1 more to go!!!!

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I agree with everyone so far... I just finished my first year of nursing school and am planning on getting a head-start on notes for the fall over the summer...reading the texts and jotting down notes on each chapter I get around to reading so that I can learn some of the material before going into lecture. One big challenge in nursing school is learning so much material in such a short amount of time. If you can get a list of required/recommended books in advance, you could go ahead and start reading/studying a little. Without a nursing background, the material in the books may seem over your head right now (it did for me), but it may still be over your head the first few weeks of school, so you might as well jump right in!

btw...I didn't heed my own advice last year and ended up fine...i'm just trying to think of a way to make it easier in the future! Best of luck in nursing school :)

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I would also suggest learning some of the nursing abbreviations. Also a book I read called "Test success for nursing students" was invaluable. I honestly wouldn't really start on pharmacology yet as I think that would be a bit over your head. But lab values is an excellent idea as well. Like pH, RBC, WBC, Platlets, Hct, Hgb. You can also look up metabolic/respiratory acidsosis/alkalosis maybe. I know you said nothing related to A&P but honestly make sure you understand the physiology of the various body systems. And just basic stuff from the anatomy, like brachial artery and such, blood pressure related things, plus various things of the heart for test out and stuff. I hope that helps some.

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.
I know you said nothing related to A&P but honestly make sure you understand the physiology of the various body systems.
Particularly renal and cardiopulmonary physiology which are either primary or secondary problems in nearly every medical case in acute-care facilities.
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Thank you all for the great advice!!! Our school gives us the option to take Pharmacology and Dosage calculation before we start the program ( as long as it's within 1year from your start date) which I just finished. I was planning on getting the required books but I was told that they are changing professors for Fall 2010, so the new books have not been posted yet:(

I will go to my library to see if they have any NCLEX books and lab values or just look things up on-line.

Thank you all again:)

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Getting a jump-start on learning about the fundamentals of nursing might be of great benefit to you. I have included some weblinks below for you that you may want to click on and read, because you may find them helpful. They are Nursing Fundamentals multimedia lessons. You can browse through them when you get some free time. Hopefully, they will place you ahead of the game in terms of knowledge base. Good luck to you!

Nursing Fundamentals Multimedia Edition - Introduction

Nursing Fundamentals ii Multimedia Edition - Introduction

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