Expert advice on passing your 1st semester

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I am now an expert on passing your first semester of nursing school, having just done it myself. (you'd see me wink here if you saw me in person)

Here's what you need to know:

1. Just getting to the first day of class is a big first step. Wading through all of the assorted paperwork and requirements is its own good preparation for what you are up against. Get in the habit of reading all directions carefully. Twice.

2. Get there early on day one and sit in the front. This will assist you greatly in step 3.

3. When any of your instructors are talking, shut your mouth and listen. Believe it or not, the things your instructors say are much more likely to help you than the things your classmates say. If you are a bit less polite than me, you might want to firmly instruct your classmates in this same idea early on.

4. Read your textbooks carefully. Sometime during the semester you will figure out that nursing tests are not like other tests. Many of the questions will be about what YOU should do. So pay attention to those sorts of things. Know when you should be washing your hands, when you should or shouldn't put on a mask, etc. You'll need to study the other things too, but really focus in on those nursing actions when you study.

5. Study early, often and regularly. While you probably don't need to spend every waking hour studying, it would be good to read your chapters before class, review after class, have a regular time each day for study, and find that extra time right before each exam as you can.

6. Skills. If you have skill check-off sheets like my program does, just memorize them word for word. Start doing this ASAP. You can pretend they are lines you have to learn for a play. Even if you don't understand all of the words now or don't know exactly what you should be doing on each step, just go ahead and start learning it anyway. This will save you lots of grief and heartache.

7. Clinicals. If you have clinicals during your first semester, whatever you do, don't be shy. If you have ever spent time in a hospital as a patient, or even just spending significant time with someone else who was a patient, think about whether the doctors and nurses asked you if you wanted to have your vitals taken or wanted your wound looked at. No. They just said, "I'm going to take a look at you now." That's going to be you now. You can be polite in how you say things, both to the patient and to the staff, but you really need to just jump in there. If a nurse or doctor is there with you go ahead and ask them questions about what they are doing. They normally won't mind. Or just tell them you'd like to watch and then move into a good position to see. This is the whole purpose of you being there, to practice your patient care skills and to learn from others.

8. Technology. For the most part technology will be your enemy in nursing school. Turn off your phone at the beginning of class and leave it off until after class. Leave your laptop at home. Take notes with paper and pencil. There are several studies showing that students perform far better on exams when they take notes by hand, as well as studies showing big drops in performance when the temptations of messing around during class are available. Give yourself every advantage you can here.

9. Be pleasant and polite. This means with everyone. Make every effort to treat your instructors well. Don't gossip about them after class. Same for your classmates. And the nurses at your clinical site. You will need to work with these people and they will play a big role in determining how you do. Some of them will be easy and some will be difficult, but treat all of them well.

10. Mistakes. This is probably the most important bit of advice. Mistakes are your biggest learning opportunities. While its preferable to learn from other people's mistakes, you'll make plenty of your own. Don't get mad when one of your mistakes is pointed out. That's how you are going to learn. Don't get mad when you get a test question wrong. You can argue about it and discuss it, but your main goal should be to figure out why your instructors thought the OTHER answer was the RIGHT one. Ask about what would happen if you made a mistake in various scenarios.

Good luck to everyone getting started in school and those who are continuing like me. Feel free to add other bits of wisdom below as well.

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Specializes in LDRP.

Great advice! Thanks! I'm starting my ABSN in just over two weeks and I'll definitely be putting this list to good use! :)

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Very nice tips! Did you use any outside resource books for your first semester to help understand the material?

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Very nice tips! Did you use any outside resource books for your first semester to help understand the material?

I'm kinda funny that way over the two and a half years I spent doing my pre-reqs I picked up quite a few older editions of nursing books to look at. That's just the way I am. Of all of those, the only one that I thought actually helped me was a Saunders NCLEX review book. Outside of that I haven't really gotten much of use. Once the semester started I had my hands full just studying the material we have.

Perhaps I should have added something particularly about math, since I think everyone will have to learn dosage calculation. But I've always found math pretty easy myself, so I'm probably not the best person to ask about how to study it.

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Specializes in Neurosurgery, Neurology.
Very nice tips! Did you use any outside resource books for your first semester to help understand the material?

I also just finished my first semester. Me personally, I had some review books for all of my courses. The only class I ended up not really using the review book for was pharmacology. His tests were based completely off of what he said in lecture, so I made flash cards based on his words only. He didn't use the textbook either, but I would read the chapters to help in understanding what he said in class, but not really to make study notes.

For fundamentals, I used the study guide for the textbook, as well as "Fundamentals Success", "Nursing Fundamentals Demystified", and "Fundamentals Reviews and Rationales". I also had the "Reviews and Rationales" and "Demystified" for Health Assessment. I found them all helpful.

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Specializes in Neurosurgery, Neurology.

For dosage calculation, practice practice practice! Do problems in your textbook, and any practice problems they give. Keep doing them, even the same questions over again. The math isn't complicated. You may get psyched out by statements like "you need to get a 90% or better on the dosage calc test to move on, then a 100% to graduate" or something like that, but don't worry, you'll be very prepared. At my school, you also have like 3 chances to pass. After the third, you are dismissed, but I don't think that ever actually happens. Also, find the method that works best for you. Your dosage calculation textbook and professor will most likely go over 3 different ways to solve a problem. The way I do it is different from the way the professor normally did the problems, but perfectly acceptable. Just find what works and makes sense to you.

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Specializes in ED, Medicine, Case Management.

Thanks for the tips! I am starting January 12, so I am soaking up all the advice I can. Congrats on getting through your first semester!

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Thanks! I start Jan 5, and found these helpful.

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I recently graduated an ABSN program and my bit of advice is to get in the habit of doing NCLEX questions daily early on - even when your answers are wrong they are good learning opportunities when reviewing the rationale for both right and wrong answers.

I started by doing 4-5 day (on most days) in the second term of my program and increased the number incrementally to 25 (minimum) pay day throughout my last term. Passed NCLEX on first attempt with 75 questions.

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Specializes in Hospice.

These are good tips. I can personally vouch for the handwritten notes tip. It's probably a big reason why I'm entering 4th semester with As and Bs.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

Agree with all of this especially about the skills tests. I wrote out a script every time I had one.

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I am a recent graduate and I can vouch for everything the OP said EXCEPT the part about technology. I agree that phones and laptops should be turned off in the classroom, that seems pretty obvious. However you are most likely going to find that many exams are given on computers as preparation for NCLEX which is a computerized test, therefore you need to be familiar with the format. As you are studying, you can and should read the material and go over notes, but many of your text books will come with either a CD or online access. Do practice tests that way. It really helps with NCLEX prep!

I work in the sim lab, so a bit of advise: It is important to remember that the easy things are where students lose points. Do not forget to introduce yourself, wash your hands on the way in and out of the room, and document, document, document!

One other thing-ask questions! no question is "stupid", ask about everything and anything you don't understand, but keep track of the answers and try not to ask the same question twice!

Best of luck, if I could get through it, you can!

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