Gaining an Edge Before Nursing School

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Hi,

I recently received an acceptance letter for nursing school. Although classes don't start for another 4 months, I want to prepare in any way that I can as it is an accelerated program. I'm already a certified nurse assistant, so I am familiar with some of the nursing processes and skills. Anyone have any other ideas or tips? Are there any courses or information online that would help me prepare for Pathophysiology and Pharmacology?

Thanks!

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

Sleep. Seriously just sleep, relax and enjoy the luxury of free time, as it will become a distant memory.

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Spend time with your family and friends. Travel.

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Specializes in ICU.

Spend time doing fun stuff. Those 4 months will be up before you know and you will be bombarded with stuff to do. Enjoy your time now. There is not really anything that will give you an edge.

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Polish your study habits, and enjoy time for yourself. Vacations and social life temporarily go down the drain

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One more tip- search for some scholarships ahead of time.

Discovernursing.com/scholarships

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Specializes in Hospice.

Well, there are some things you could do that would certainly help. I am in my 2nd semester so if I could go back to the summer before I started, I would do these things.

1) Get dosage calculations down pat.

2) Memorize common lab values.

3) Review body systems from A & P.

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Specializes in Emergency, Tele, Med Surg, DOU, ICU.

If you can purchase the text go for it and start reading. Ask if you can obtain a syllabus so you will be prepared for the first semester. Nursing school is incredibly tough but doable. Just study ahead of time.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

As some one who has graduated from an accelerated nursing program, I agree with the previous poster who mentioned reviewing dosage calculations and studying lab values. And then once your syllabus becomes available, you'll probably already have lots of chapters you'll have to read before the first day of class. When I started, we already had quizzes a week after class started.

Yes, take some time to relax but you chose an accelerated program for a reason. Good luck!

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I would suggest that if you know someone from Nursing process I, ask them about their syllabus and get an ebook for the required book, especially the Fundamentals of Nursing book and I would start reading it. Very helpful.

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My #1 tip is to relax and all that stuff, but something related to school would be read test taking strategies book like the Kaplan.

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Specializes in Geriatric/Hospice.

I would suggest getting your party on. Nursing school, accelerated or otherwise, eats your life for a period of time. Plan time with friends and family. Travel, vacation, ect. If you're really worried about getting a head start then I would suggest:

Pharmacology:

-Learn your lab values (Keep in mind that lab values vary based on what lab is doing the looking. That said, they will all be approximately the same.)

-Look at the over-arching medications categories (don't bother with individual drugs, this will come later)

-Look up things to help you learn basic med math.

Patho-physiology:

If you already have your book and course lesson plan, start reading it ahead of time. Don't memorize things or start flash cards because all instructors teach differently.

Other:

Every instructor teaches and tests in a different way. Often, if you find yourself struggling with a particular instructor, it's wise to speak with that instructor about how they test and ideas for studying. Most of them will be more than willing to help you. If your instructor is less approachable or unavailable at times you can see them, try asking students who had that instructor before, they would be your best bet at figuring things out.

Find your own way of studying. What works for one person may not work for another. Don't memorize things just for tests and definitely don't just cram right before it. Make sure you a lot yourself time EVERY DAY to read and understand the material from each of your classes, not just the classes you had that day. Repetition is the best way to incorporate something into your long-term memory. Study in different ways, too. Flash cards, practice questions, NCLEX prep books and talking with other students about what you learned in class that day. Teach each other things. It is said that you remember 80% of what you teach others. So if you have a study group, have everyone study different portions of something and teach each other about what you studied.

There are many more things you can do once you get in, but the most important is to remember to take care of yourself. Eat healthy, get plenty of sleep and take time for yourself to relax and de-stress (especially after exams.)

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