Can you guys give me an example of a day in the life of a nursing student?

alecia305 · Aug 14, 2012

I'm a second year nursing student and in my first semester I had fundamentals clinicals once a week where I went to the hospital. I also had skills lab twice a week in which we practiced our skills on mannequins and dummies...I pretty much had class every day of the school week. The first couple of days are more like orientation and learning about the syllabus. You should always carry your pda with you and at least one small notebook for notes. To de-stress I learned to love the gym. This helps to kill two birds with one stone. You relieve some stress while keeping fit. I stayed on campus without a car. I made friends in nursing school and got rides to clinical from my friends while offering to pay for parking, gas, etc. Hope this helps you :) and congrats on getting into nursing school

kdbean530 · Aug 17, 2012

I just finished my first year. We only went over the syllabus for half a day. We had clinical 2 days a week from 0650 to 1400. We had lecture one day a week from 0800 to 1400. I always carry my syllabus in the car, lots of pens, something to write on, and snacks. When not on campus I was studying with my new study partners at restaurants such as panera, dennys or barnes and noble because they had coffee and long hours. =) I literally studied every hour of every day. Do de-stress I went to work lol. But lucky for me I'm a dance teacher and only teach 6 hours a week. If my mind is truly overloaded I stop and either veg out on tv or use that time to take a shower. Your hygiene will suffer, you may gain weight, possible pressure ulcers for sitting for long hours jk lol. There were periods I tried to eat healthier by packing my own lunch etc. and by taking out time to work out, but that ended up taking too much time away from studying. I lived with my parents to save money and eliminate some financial stress. It's only two years of your life and very do-able! Not easy. Exhausting. Totally worth every single bit of time you don't spend on yourself.

Nursing_Mamacita · Aug 18, 2012

Well my situation is a tinyy bit different.

I am in an advanced RN program, meaning, it is EXTREMELY fast paced. A normal college class is 16 weeks, our classes teach the same amount of material that is divided between 16 weeks, but instead it is taught in 5; SO...every 5 weeks I start a new class. My total program is meant to be completed in 16 months. I have 5 classes left

When I first started, GOOD LORD I was overwhelmed (who am I kidding, I still am!). Unlike many of the other students in my class, I came with no previous experience (many of them were working LPNs). So here is what it was like for me...

I had little to no sleep, still don't. Every waking minute your mind is cranking out scenarios. Exams are insane, especially the ones that fall in that time where you switch from "puke" questions to "NCLEX" style questions (they make you actually think, not just regurgitate information). My social life became non-existent. I had lecture every other day from 0800-1430 or 1630 with every other day clinicals from 0630-1700. I always had all my books for the class, even reference books, in case I needed clarification. HIGHLIGHTERS ARE YOUR BEST FRIENDS. Don't get liquid ones...you will be using them far too much and the liquid does not have the endurance you are looking for (especially at 9.00 a pack!). I learned how much I loved a good pen. NURSES LOVE PENS. Most of my spare money went towards 5 hour energy and coffee. I've gained a total of 25 lbs since beginning the program because I have no time to eat healthy; the school vending machine is my personal chef. Because of the nature of my program I was only able to "destress" on the weekends in between modules...aka...every 5 weeks haha! I DID manage to get married in the middle of my program

So here is my advice to you:

INVEST IN A GOOD STETHOSCOPE

If you ever have questions, my facebook is linked to my account on here! Shoot me a message!

GOOD LUCK

allnurses Guide · Aug 18, 2012

Well my situation is a tinyy bit different.
I am in an advanced RN program, meaning, it is EXTREMELY fast paced.

Curious, is this an accelerated BSN? Or an direct APN MSN?

Crazed · Aug 19, 2012

First days are pretty slow. Instructors tell you what you'll be doing, where you'll be going, and that they own you for the next semester.

You'll have a break where some of your fellow nursing students run outside to smoke.

Then you come back and inevitably someone will ask a series of questions that was covered before the break, yet will forget the answers to in a short 15 mins. At some point during the day you'll hear about someone/everyone's children and what adorable thing they did this past summer. There will be some posturing as people gleefully announce their past patient care experience.

You'll have at least one girl in your class that could pass for a playboy model. She'll outscore you on every test.

The instructor will go over the books you'll be using. About 10 or so mins into this speech something shiny out of the window will catch your eye. You'll start daydreaming about an ice cream cone, only to look over at playboy model girl and reconsider. At this point you will have missed something important.

You become that person that asks the question that was just stated.

You kind of feel like a jerk.

You'll write some notes, maybe utter a few sentences to the person next to you.

You'll leave, lay out your books on the floor and possibly cry.

You'll eat ice cream.

...

The nitty is - I have a clinical bag. My clinical bag contains the following:

A nice Littman

A BP cuff

Blue and black pens

An iPod touch (drug guide, lab values, wifi for looking up things on the go)

Little note pads that fit into my pocket

Breath mints

A book that has nothing to do with nursing

Alcohol wipes I forgot to take out of my pocket at some point

Water

My lecture bag contains:

Whichever of the 85 text books we're currently using.

My nursing diagnosis book

A binder I always intend to keep neat but looks like my 6th grade locker midsemester

Sharpie gel hi-lighters

Pens

Pencils

Notebooks

Gum (I have a paranoid tick about bad breath I think)

Gum wrappers

Water

Nursing_Mamacita · Aug 19, 2012

Curious, is this an accelerated BSN? Or an direct APN MSN?

it is 0 --> ADN

(:

Nursing_Mamacita · Aug 19, 2012

Whichever of the 85 text books we're currently using.
My nursing diagnosis book
A binder I always intend to keep neat but looks like my 6th grade locker midsemester
Sharpie gel hi-lighters
Pens
Pencils
Notebooks
Gum (I have a paranoid tick about bad breath I think)
Gum wrappers
Water

My binder looks the same

and omg about the gum, I am CONSTANTLY paranoid...

but then again I smoke

:uhoh3:

jacelynn · Aug 19, 2012

First days are pretty slow. Instructors tell you what you'll be doing, where you'll be going, and that they own you for the next semester.
You'll have a break where some of your fellow nursing students run outside to smoke.
Then you come back and inevitably someone will ask a series of questions that was covered before the break, yet will forget the answers to in a short 15 mins. At some point during the day you'll hear about someone/everyone's children and what adorable thing they did this past summer. There will be some posturing as people gleefully announce their past patient care experience.
You'll have at least one girl in your class that could pass for a playboy model. She'll outscore you on every test.
The instructor will go over the books you'll be using. About 10 or so mins into this speech something shiny out of the window will catch your eye. You'll start daydreaming about an ice cream cone, only to look over at playboy model girl and reconsider. At this point you will have missed something important.
You become that person that asks the question that was just stated.
You kind of feel like a jerk.
You'll write some notes, maybe utter a few sentences to the person next to you.
You'll leave, lay out your books on the floor and possibly cry.
You'll eat ice cream.
...
The nitty is - I have a clinical bag. My clinical bag contains the following:
A nice Littman
A BP cuff
Blue and black pens
An iPod touch (drug guide, lab values, wifi for looking up things on the go)
Little note pads that fit into my pocket
Breath mints
A book that has nothing to do with nursing
Alcohol wipes I forgot to take out of my pocket at some point
Water
My lecture bag contains:
Whichever of the 85 text books we're currently using.
My nursing diagnosis book
A binder I always intend to keep neat but looks like my 6th grade locker midsemester
Sharpie gel hi-lighters
Pens
Pencils
Notebooks
Gum (I have a paranoid tick about bad breath I think)
Gum wrappers
Water

This cracked me up!!!!! Thanks for the laugh :)

Crazed · Aug 20, 2012

This cracked me up!!!!! Thanks for the laugh :)

Thanks. By the way you look eerily familiar if that's you in your avatar picture.

jacelynn · Aug 21, 2012

Really? Live in MO. What about you?

naniinasci · Aug 21, 2012

First days are pretty slow. Instructors tell you what you'll be doing, where you'll be going, and that they own you for the next semester.
You'll have a break where some of your fellow nursing students run outside to smoke.
Then you come back and inevitably someone will ask a series of questions that was covered before the break, yet will forget the answers to in a short 15 mins. At some point during the day you'll hear about someone/everyone's children and what adorable thing they did this past summer. There will be some posturing as people gleefully announce their past patient care experience.
You'll have at least one girl in your class that could pass for a playboy model. She'll outscore you on every test.
The instructor will go over the books you'll be using. About 10 or so mins into this speech something shiny out of the window will catch your eye. You'll start daydreaming about an ice cream cone, only to look over at playboy model girl and reconsider. At this point you will have missed something important.
You become that person that asks the question that was just stated.
You kind of feel like a jerk.
You'll write some notes, maybe utter a few sentences to the person next to you.
You'll leave, lay out your books on the floor and possibly cry.
You'll eat ice cream.

That was the funniest thing I ever read about first days!!

Thank you for that!