Questions about nursing programs in general

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi,

I was recently accepted into one of the best nursing programs in Georgia and I am so exicted but nervous at the same time.

I have a couple of questions for all those current nursing students out there or those who have recently graduated..

1. Did you have to give alot of presentations and or speeches? I am a very shy person and I don't know if I can handle speaking in front of a group of people:o

2. What are some of the hardest parts about the program ie. instructors, studing for tests, etc.

Any comments are appreciated!!!!!!

Which Program?

Mercer University

hi gUyz..

where could i find some test taking strategies in taking the local board exam??

thanx.

Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.
Hi,

I was recently accepted into one of the best nursing programs in Georgia and I am so exicted but nervous at the same time.

I have a couple of questions for all those current nursing students out there or those who have recently graduated..

1. Did you have to give alot of presentations and or speeches? I am a very shy person and I don't know if I can handle speaking in front of a group of people:o

2. What are some of the hardest parts about the program ie. instructors, studing for tests, etc.

Any comments are appreciated!!!!!!

I had to give a 15 min presentation. Next semester we have to give a one hour presentation but it is a group presentation. I think the hardest part is adjusting to the volume of work. I study at least 40 hours a week out side of the class room.

Suggestions. Do not slack. Ever. Don't ever get behind in your reading. Go to class unless you are bleeding out of your eyes. NEVER be afraid to ask for question/help from your teachers, even if it is in privite, don't wait until you have stuggled and it is too late. I see it happening to a classmate and I am worried that I will not see him next year.

My sister is in nursing school (her first semester) and she has to do things infront of the class all the time. Some examples that are fresh in my mind (she did them last week): Her and two others just had to do a 25 minute presentation (so they each had to talk about 8 minutes) and also she was telling me how she had to practice some of the skills she learned infront of the whole class (being, 60 students i think)

that's scary to me..everyone watching you. yikes. i guess we better just get used to it tho'

:balloons: Congratulations!! Actually for the program I'm attending we don't have to give a lot of presentations or speeches. For pharm we had group presentations where 5 of us would go up at a time and read, for example, a side effect of a certain drug, its action, etc. You could literally read it nearly verbatim from your paper and still get credit as long as the content was correct. During clinicals we have to give an individual presentation, but it is just in front of the other members of our clinical group (9 of us) and our instructor. I used to be literally terrified about getting up in front of the class, but the key is knowing the content of your material well and practicing giving your presentation in front of a mirror. With time you will feel more confident. As for question #2, ditto what HeartsOpenWide said. It really is the sheer volume of the material that is presented that makes it so overwhelming at times. When do you start your program? If you can take a dosage calculation class you might find that helpful and also make a trip to the school library and browse the nursing section. You might also find it helpful to get an overview of nursing fundamentals. Best wishes!

I study at least 40 hours a week out side of the class room.

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That is like 6 hours a day :studyowl: . Wow.

1. Did you have to give alot of presentations and or speeches? I am a very shy person and I don't know if I can handle speaking in front of a group of people:o

2. What are some of the hardest parts about the program ie. instructors, studing for tests, etc.

Any comments are appreciated!!!!!!

1.) The more you deal with people the less shy you become. I can handle talking to small groups of people, or even fairly large groups, and I've played music in front of a few hundred people numerous times, but I still would probably choke if I had to give a speech somewhere ;).

2.) From my experiences nursing school is tough depending on four different factors. How good your instructors are at teaching material. How much material is piled on you at once (no one peice of material is tough to learn, but tons of it all at once can get hard). How good your clinical experiences go. How well your instructors assist you in learning during your clinical experiences.

The toughest part for me is taking test. I can handle clinicals no problem because I've been working in a hospital for a while and patient interaction is easy for me. I just hate the test.

But if you take time to study, and study enough, and don't slack and always put it off to the last minute, you'll do fine.

Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.

We have had to give one presentation each semester. The first semester it was an individual 5-10 minute presentation; this semester it was a group effort and one person could do all the speaking or you could take turns. It was up to each group to decide. All I know is that 3 out of the 5 in my group absolutely refused to speak, lol. In the end, we each took a turn and the whole class just basically read their notes or powerpoint slide. And EVERYONE was nervous. Remember, these folks are going to be classmates for some time, so they are your FRIENDS. The most important tip I can give for a presentation is to be sure you KNOW your material up front. That will help ease a lot of the jitters, and then just do it if you know you have to.

Suggestions. Do not slack. Ever. Don't ever get behind in your reading. Go to class unless you are bleeding out of your eyes. NEVER be afraid to ask for question/help from your teachers, even if it is in privite, don't wait until you have stuggled and it is too late.

These are some terrific suggestions. Chances are, any presentations will be a very minuscule portion of your grade, so take care to be sure these items are taken care of and then any presentations won't hugely impact your grade. This will help you approach them from a bit more of a relaxed standpoint.

Best wishes!!

Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

Often, presentations are known to us way ahead of time. We often have case studies involving whatever unit we're covering, and usually do those in groups and talk about answers to class while still in seats. STUDY for tests, if you start off bad, it's next to impossible to catch up! Pay attention, if your instructor repeats something 2x or more, it'll be on there!!!

Thanks so much for the suggestions and advice that you all have given me.....I will take this advice and apply it when its time for me to give presentations, speeches, etc.

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