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.
I won't be starting school for a long while, is it too early to get the fundamentals success book?
I wouldn't get the "Fundamentals Success" book at this point, since you really need the content to be able to answer the questions (since the "Fundamentals Success" book is solely a question book). If anything, I would find out what textbook your course is using, and you can start browsing that to have an idea. Honestly though, I don't really think it's necessary to start reading now, though some may have a differing opinion.
One book that I would recommend for you at this point is Saunders Strategies for Test Success: Passing Nursing School and the NCLEX Exam.
Congrats on passing your first semester...!! i was just pinned dec 11th and graduated the 13th...it is a wonderful, wonderful feeling. Nursing school is truly the hardest thing i have ever done and honestly, i am glad i will never have to do it again. I completely agree with study groups! i am an older student but i didnt really have any trouble finding a study group...after a couple of weeks, you find out which of the students are a bit more successful and serious. for me, that was me and therefore, others wanted to join me. word of advice, limit your people to no more than 5, and make sure those five fit your groups style. yes, everyone learns differently, however, someone who's "style" completely clashes with your group, will not work best for the rest. In my group, there were 3 of us who were consistent for each semester and others came and went. Also, people will tell you A's are rare and C=RN. For me, A's were not rare, i got them in every single nursing course, however, not everyone did, but try your best because it IS doable! And while C does in fact equal RN, i have found that when applying for my first job, hospitals DO ask your GPA. So, if you are like me and do not currently work at a hospital as a PCT, being able to put an impressive GPA down is definitely a good thing. One week after submitting my application, I had one interview for PCU oncology and on Monday, i have another interview for GYN oncology at two different hospitals!
Care plans are not fun and are definitely time consuming, but put the time in. You will, in the end, save more time doing it well the first time instead of having to re-do them, as some of my classmates had to do. And to be perfectly honest, i would do 5 care plans to one mind map any day. i HATED mind maps....ugh. but, you will (probably) do them and get thru them.
I too, am of the camp that feels taking hand written notes works better. i brought my computer to class to follow the power points, but additional notes were hand written. i cannot tell you how many times in study group would my fellow "groupies" ask me a question about what the professor had said. i almost always had the answer written....
One final word of advice, (altho, maybe this part is for 2nd-4th semester)..unless your instructor tells you that you need to know a specific item, concept or disease process intimately, dont. stay in the shallow end of the pool. instead of having excessive in-depth knowledge or studying minute details (which will make you overwhelmed, burnt out and unable to remember as much), focus on a general understanding of the issue, and more attention on what you, as a nurse, can do for the patient and as someone else said, first thing to think about, safety and maslow....
also, if you are at a school that has ATI, find some time to practice it...not the first semester, but during your break before semester 2. having to find 5 hours to remediate on content from the last semester, while you are trying to learn new content is not fun. believe me, i know many people who had to do it...and if you're like me, you will be glad its not you.
good luck to those continuing and those just getting started.....you will feel AMAZING at your pinning!!!!!! and always tell yourself:
I've read that the nursing diagnosis handbook 9th edition by ackley is really good but it was from 2011. There's a 2013, 10th edition now. Does it matter which edition we buy for more accuracy?
For me, Lynn Carpenito NursingDiagnosis: Application to Clinical Practice 14th ed. had it all. I bought other recommended books on nursing diagnosis but it's all in Carpenito, including comments on EBP an mistaken diagnoses.
I won't be starting school for a long while, is it too early to get the fundamentals success book?
I think you could start benefiting right away from Nugent & Vitale Test Success 6th ed. I'm betting that the same authors' Fundamentals Success 3d ed. will be helpful for your first fundamentals test.
I think you could start benefiting right away from Nugent & Vitale Test Success 6th ed. I'm betting that the same authors' Fundamentals Success 3d ed. will be helpful for your first fundamentals test.
How did you mind read my required book? The schedule of classes for the nursing student success course required the test success book!
I hope that I didn't come across like I don't appreciate my classmates of any age - I try to keep an open mind to all! I just know that sometimes an older person can come across like a parent and some classmates shy away from that. This has simply been my experience. Looking forward to Nursing School. I know it will bring lots of wonderful experiences!
The schedule of classes for the nursing student success course required the test success book!
Makes me giggle every time I see it
:)
MurseJJ
2 Articles; 466 Posts
I wouldn't get the "Fundamentals Success" book at this point, since you really need the content to be able to answer the questions (since the "Fundamentals Success" book is solely a question book). If anything, I would find out what textbook your course is using, and you can start browsing that to have an idea. Honestly though, I don't really think it's necessary to start reading now, though some may have a differing opinion.
One book that I would recommend for you at this point is Saunders Strategies for Test Success: Passing Nursing School and the NCLEX Exam.
Saunders 2014-2015 Strategies for Test Success: Passing Nursing School and the NCLEX Exam, 3e (Saunders Strategies for Success for the Nclex Examination): 9781455733194: Medicine & Health Science Books @ Amazon.com