First day of nursing School *unleashed* post yours

[9livesRN]

Well, I would like to share my first day of nursing school experience.

It all started last night when i could not go to sleep, then I woke up at 4 am, because I was so excited and anxiety had taken over! Well I got up, took a shower, took care of the dogs, and even ironed my uniform.

I ended up leaving home at 6 am, for the 1 hour commute, since I was afraid that I would be caught in the middle of traffic.

I ended up at school at 7 am, I sat in my car, had my coffee, and at 730 people started showing up. Well I found out that classes would not start until 9 on the first day, since they had people lost on the buildings, trying to find the classrooms, teachers coming back gathering loads of stuff, from a side to another, and finally classes started. It was funny to see all my peeps from pre-reqs there in addition to some other new faces!

It all started by our Pharmacology teacher (we have pharm all day long on Mondays) asking us to write a paragraph on:

- Why nursing?

- Semester goal

- 3 year goal

After we wrote that, she made us one by one, read it to the class, as an introduction! Well, I heard maybe half of the people with the CRNA goal, the other half with money/or NP goal, LOL hopefully they'll get there!

Then she started the syllabus, in which:

• 50% are tests
  
• 10% presentation
  
• 10% group work, participation
  
• 5% post test
  
• 25% finals.
  

Which is not bad. My first impression is that Our teacher is a nice Lady, she has been a NP for 12 years, and on still works 2 days a week on her private practice, which I thought was a plus, since she is updated on things.

Well, then lecture started, and we went over the nursing process, and then the 7 rights, and then we covered chapters 1 and 2 of the book (keep in mind 5 hour lecture LOL) the funny thing is: We have to know chapters 1-9 by next Monday!!! For our first test, she will give us multiple choices only, and will allow us to use a 4X6 flashcard, where we can write stuff on one side, and hand it to her, then she will return it to us on the first test day, keep in mind that we have 5 tests. OMG that is a lot of info, even though I had answered the questions already on the study guide...

She is really nice to us, always asking if it is all clear, anymore questions! I like her I guess! (Although you know... some people on the break room already started venting... blah)

Then she was telling us that we will have clinicals starting on the end of the month, so we can learn how to talk to our patients, practice some basic skills. (For the first 3 weeks we have Thursday and Fridays just for skills!!! 10 hours a week!).

She said that we will not do any invasive skill on ourselves, meaning no drawing each others blood, or giving any sort of injection. How the hell am I going to learn??? How did you guys learn this??? It makes me wonder, since I have no previous experience with that other than a few lovenox abdominal shots.

She said that in May we will start giving IM, IV, Sq, and all that good stuff. (But then again with no previous human attempts! She said that if we were to do it among ourselves, somewhere else... Whatever! But not in class!)

So it was exciting today, lots of information, and homework! Can't wait for tomorrow (but I am ok, anxiety level is down now).

We have fundamentals ALLLLLL day tomorrow, starting at 8-2pm

So, bottom line, so far I am very happy with everything, the nursing staff seems amazing so far (have dealt with them since pre-reqs) and all my classmates are cool (of course, there is the sleepy one, the parrot one, the repetitive one, the fancy girls, the CNA knows it all's, but they are ok so far!)

Comments are welcome!

Those who start(started) soon please post your experience here! Lets make this thread last all the way through our graduation!!!

[seasoned hopeful]

Wow, Csantos. You are one busy fellow. Keep it up....you are doing great. Thanks for taking the time to keep up posted. It is wonderful to see how it "really" is.:redpinkhe

[BreatheFree]

You guys have officially scared me to death.:uhoh21::uhoh21:

[shaversd]

i love reading all of your experiences so keep posting please. i must say that it scares me to death too but i'm looking forward to entering nursing school.

[sproeber89]

I start classes next Wednesday and I have to say I've never been more excited :) I'm sure that'll wear off after hours of homework but hey I'm excited for now.

[CardioNRS~DAWN]

CSantos you are a real trooper your program seems way more intense than mine. You guys are moving really fast. I applaud you :yeah:for being able to keep up and achieving good grades despite having to work full time and only able to get minimal amounts of sleep.

Ok it's only my third day and I'm ready to drop the extra class I'm taking (a non nursing class). It requires alot of reading that I can't handle while taking my nursing classes. I have eight chapters to read this week in nursing alone.

Wednesday was my first fundamentals class, which was pretty cool. I really enjoyed lecture the instructor who has been in Nursing for over thirty years was very knowledgeable. Her bark was much worser than her bite. :chuckle

Today was my first full day of skills lab and boy did we move fast :sstrs: We did handwashing, hygiene, bed bath part/complete, changing an unocupied bed, changing an occupied bed while doing bed bath, oral care, skin assessments, bed to chair/gerny transfers, moving a client up in bed and range of motion.

I passed my handwashing and isolations check offs today. :dncgbby:

Next week since there is no school on Monday , they moved check offs to next Thursday, we will only have check offs on bed to chair/gerny transfers, moving a client up in bed and range of motion. On the following Thursday we will have check offs on the rest. We have to give a complete bed bath while doing skin assessments and range of motion and change an occupied bed all in 45 minutes. :grn:

My study group meets for the first time tomorrow after Fundamentals, we agreed to have all of our reading assignment complete, so we'll see how that goes. I still have one more chapter to read, formulate questions, and outline.

My school is offering some additional classes to help new students like Med Math which is only three meetings, a Care planning class and a Test taking stradegy class. These classes are only a few meetings I think like four times and your done. I figure I'll sign up for anything if it will help me understand the concepts of nursing school.

[mkblakley07]

So yesterday was my second nursing skills class and we learned how to put on PPE. My instructor told us that we should practice because next class she was going to see if we put it on correctly by throwing ketchup on us and seeing if it gets on our skin/clothes. Is that weird or is it just me? She's super funny though, so maybe she was joking. We also are supposed to do handwashing checkoffs next week. fun fun.

[2bnurseforce1]

Csantos what kind of work do you do. if you don't mind me asking. I work in a hopstial and my program starts in march i have fundamentals Mon-Thur 8:30-2:30p and i would be working 3p-10p and early on fridays and the weekends i have to work. Do you think this is possible?

[MtAloy10]

Well I was hoping to post at the end of every day this week but it just didn't happen. :typing

Here I sit at the end of my first week. I believe I am already experiencing sleep-deprivation. In fact, I had to hold my eyes open in my last class today just to make it through!

We have not done anywhere near what you have, Csantos! I am overwhelmed enough, you are a trooper!

We had theory class Monday from 8-10am, Seminar today from 8-11am, and On-Campus clinical Tues and Weds from 7a-1p. Clinical just consisted of hand-washing techniques, PPE, and extra lecturing. It was all a bunch of note taking and listening.

We actually have our first exam on Monday (we have one every Monday of the semester except 2!) on 3 chapters including Critical Thinking, The Nursing Process, History of Nursing...and other things that are escaping me right now.

It also hasn't helped that we have had the worst weather we have had in years here (Pennsylvania). I am just glad I only have classes Mon-Thurs but most of those are all day and it takes me an hour to commute to/from. Tomorrow I must work and then get to work on everything I need done for next week, including my first exam of the week!

Good luck to everyone else and take my advice...get your sleep now while you can!

P.S. Unfortunately, the practicing on fruits thing will not be used with us. Main reason? Our one instructor actually had a student go buy 12 oranges to practice her insulin injections on. Apparently, she decided after injecting the oranges with that insulin she ate them....so, needless to say, they've banned that at our college b/c of one idiot. I am excited to see what we use instead. Our school actually has the dummies that were used in Grey's Anatomy episode last year that die, talk, react, so I'm anxious to see how that goes.

[9livesRN, BSN, RN]

Csantos what kind of work do you do. if you don't mind me asking. I work in a hopstial and my program starts in march i have fundamentals Mon-Thur 8:30-2:30p and i would be working 3p-10p and early on fridays and the weekends i have to work. Do you think this is possible?

i work on a consierge seting... but i think you would be able to do just fine, although time management, and inteligent study methods would be the key to your success!

[9livesRN, BSN, RN]

let me share my fundamentals notes !!!

today we had test taking skills!

so my fundamentals note for comm. and vitals were already under the style that i thought would work the best!

I am extremaly tired now, LOL have studied a lot!

and am just about to drink the bottom half of my 5 hour energy so i can drive home safely!

Fundamentals - 26 & 27.doc

study guide test 1.doc

[RN2B73]

I just finished my first week of school....and I'm sitting here trying to hold my eyes open! Felt a little clueless at first trying to understand the module style of learning but it's getting a little better. I am so happy to finally be here and so scared at the same time. I got my name badges for clinical and feel so official:)...lol. We get to go into the skills lab on Wednesday and I'm sooooo excited for that. We're gonna learn how to wash our hands!!!!!!! Oh Boy!(i know it's very important) and learn how to take vitals!!!!! I've been reading and answering EO's. Our first Pharm test is on the 28th and need an 80% to pass. We get one retry to make an 80% and then they kick us out on our can. Hard to believe that we've worked soooo hard to get here and one mistake can end it all.....................but we're not gonna let that happen, are we??????? Best of luck to all of you in your journey! I'm sure there will be many more moments for us to post about.

[9livesRN, BSN, RN]

Ok yall!!! how is it going??

I just thought that it wouls be time to come back here and post the progress of how things are gonig!!!

Well...

First of all i am so tired, we had covered so much information that is not even funny!

Guys i have studied so much, have dedicated my whole entire being to nursing school on these past 4 weeks, and still was tough!

- Fundamentas, is not the easiest class, not at all! we have all our questions nclex style and all of them 1 minute or less to answer!

i have studied so much, and to me the worst chapter so far was communication, the terms are so close, that some times it looks like ambiguity? !!! i got a little stuck between the introductory/working phases of a relationship, since when they word it nclex style, it really confused me!!!! dummy here though...!

well on our first fundamentals test (not quiz) i got an 84, 2nd highest grade on class!!! only 6 people passed the test outta 24!!!

now on our second test i got an 82 (although my mistakes where silly i could have gotten an A)

I am not stressing it, i just want to get as far from a C as it is possible, and all i really want is to know my material, not memorize! so, now that we were doing other things such as vitals, asepsis and things like that, it is easier, and i am being able to relax a tad bit more (by relax i mean take 1 (one) day off of the week without studying) but still, READING WRITING and SAYING it what has helped me!

- i am trying a different technique then the ones that are cramming for the tests (even though they are memorizing they are still strugling) because i am thinking of my finals (still 3 months from now) but i want to be able to remember all the stuff, other thenpull my hair r/t material overload !!!

now when it comes about pharmacology, everything is kicking in!!!

i was so proud of myself, my whole class!!! we all did great on the exam today!

it was 100 questions all nclex style

involving

med admin, parenteral routs, IV, drug calc, geriatrics, pediatrics, antibiotics, parasites, and desinfectants!

i finished the test whithin half an hour, and i only missed 2 questions!!!!

so... getting prepared now, since friday we have our first clinicals at the hospital (acute care almost like ltc)

friday we have hospital computer training/ one class at the board room (i dont know what that is) then we have lunch YEYthe hospital is excited about us, and are going to give us free lunches and we get our badges!!!!! then we have a hospital tour, then we get with our instructors, and get familiar with our floor and get info on our first patient, like admission diagnosis, (was told there is going to be ortho, alzeimers, and some dementia) and other things that we have to do, look up meds and all that good stuff!

so... would love to hear about yall!