For those of you that have completed your FIRST year (of BSN)...

BrandiBooh · Jun 18, 2007

Oh ...and of COURSE I mean your first year of the nursing portion (Junior year)!:smackingf

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Jun 20, 2007

I'm a senior in a BSN program now. I really enjoyed my first year of NS and can't believe how much I grew during that year. My first year I felt so lost and things at that point didn't always make sense...now they do and I'm starting to feel like a nurse. It's amazing. I love it.

Now that I am working in an ICU I can tell you that your booksmartness (is that a word? lol) and critical thinking skills are so important as well as your Assessment skills. The skills will come, nothing is hard about learning skills (foleys, NG tubes, injections, etc...those all just take time and practice), it is the pathophysiology, knowing what your labs mean (your cardiac patient has a K of 8 for example), understanding the diseases process and nursing interventions, etc.

My first year I took Med/Surg, Psych, Concepts, Med/Surg 2, Physical Assessment, OB, Peds, Pharmacology, I can't remember what else. I think I enjoyed Med/Surg the most because you get a lot of info you will use almost no matter what type of nursing you do. It's the hardest class (I made A though it was a hard A to earn). I've had a blast in nursing school :)

I made A's and a few B's in my pre-reqs and so far in nursing school have made mainly A's and a few B's (I'm trying to stay competitive for NP school).

I think the deal with nursing school is to not get behind. Stay organized and keep up with your classroom and clinical paperwork and reading.

BrandiBooh · Jun 20, 2007

Thanks so much for your post! I am also planning for the NP pathway after graduation

I think the most reoccuring thing I hear is pertaining to time management, that the class work isn't really too hard (per say) but its staying on top of it...which is a test in it self

I think when you are interested in something it will be a lot easier to study that material--so hopefully i'll do alright! I hope!

Persnicketier · Jun 28, 2007

I agree with marilynmom. You will gain so much confidence after your first year of nursing school that it is amazing. I started off with zero experience in health care and fumbling around the hospital in clinicals to feeling like I belong there because I already think like a nurse.

As for grades, I have done better in the nursing classes than I did with my prereq's. I was always a little lazy when it came to studying but now I am truly interested in what we are learning so I tend to pay more attention and pick up more. I haven't found the classes to be difficult, though I might change my mind if you asked me the night before a big exam while I cram. The first semester was mostly review of what we learned in our prereq's. The second semester you start learning the disease processes more and how everything fits into the "big picture".

teebee · Jul 29, 2007

I have been so busy this summer that I really haven't been keeping up with this site but wanted to respond to you.

I think I share similar experiences to marilynmom & persnicketier in that I feel that I have learned and grown so much during the first year (junior year at OCU/OkCityUniv) that it is hard for me to believe that just a year ago I was still vascillating between nursing and another health care career field (dental hygiene mainly). I love nursing school and I realize I sound like a complete dork saying that!! haha...

So, our first year at OCU is a little different than some since we do not have nursing prereq's like UCO - just science prereqs. So I had for the junior year: Professional Nursing, Assessment, Fundamentals, Pharmacology, Nursing Research, Mental Health (Psych), and Adult Health I (Med/Surg). Plus I had a couple of gened requirements unique to OCU since it is a private/Christian university.

Personally, I think I perform better when I am challenged and more "invested" - like, I thought Chemistry was somewhat more difficult than Anatomy yet I got A's in Chem courses and B's in Anatomy - I love a challenge!! So overall, I've actually earned better grades in nursing school than in my prereq's - I got my only B in Pharmacology and A's in all other nursing coursework over the last year. Like many others, my goal is to remain competitive for future educational and/or employment opportunities...

I think if I could make any one particular suggestion it would be to take any and all opportunities available to you to learn and/or practice a skill in whatever situation you are in - whether in lab or clinicals. During our first semester we practiced the 'fundamentals' on dummies during lab, mainly in preparation for our check-offs. And, realizing it will be different when performing technical skills on a real live human being, it is still important to feel as comfortable as possible with that skill before the point when you transition to real patients - so find as much time as you possibly can to come into your lab to practice. It really will pay off - maybe not necessarily in absolute grade value, but I believe the more you practice the technical skills in conjunction with the nursing process, the more you will develop the mindset and critical thinking skills necessary for success. On exams, READ THE QUESTIONS and really determine what it is you are being asked!!! If it asks what *diagnosis* is most appropriate - you can eliminate answers that are not actual *nursing diagnoses*. Or if the question addresses an *intervention* eliminate answers that are not actual *nursing interventions*!!! Seriously, slow down and with a critical eye, examine the test questions and consider what is actually being asked.

And really, I encourage you to be cognizant at all times of your ultimate goal - if just getting by is good enough... well then I think that is certainly something many can achieve. But if you aspire to become a truly superb nurse with excellent skills and a vast knowledge base - then please ALWAYS keep that goal in mind and I believe that you will be inspired and motivated by that goal!

I also suggest working somewhere in some capacity during the summer between your junior and senior year if at all possible. Even if you are not given the opportunity to practice a lot of technical skills... it is still a great time to learn to interact with patients, families, and coworkers. I feel so much more comfortable after this summer - just in approaching patients with compassion and empathy but also with knowledge and authority. It has also helped me learn TIME MANAGEMENT!!!

Anyhow, I hope some of my rambling has been somewhat helpful. Oh - I would also suggest keeping your physiology text - even if it is just during your first year. I am the kind of person that is both 'big picture' and 'little picture' at the same time - if that makes sense?!!? In that, I need and want to understand the big picture before I can understand and make sense of the little picture - the details only make sense to me in relation to the grand scheme - and so I referred often to my physiology textbook as a refresher when studying other concepts.

~teebee~