WANTED: Nursing student tidbits of advice

Nursing Students General Students

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hey guys,

I start this fall in my nursing program and Im extremely anxious!!! Im looking for any advice that will help me in school. Whats the thing you can NOT live w/o during nursing school? What was the best study method for you? Index cards, recorders, palm pilots? What should I take to clinicals? I know you all were anxious when u started!!!

thanks guys

p.s. ....im hoping this will end up being a HUGE thread that other anxious students can read

Purchasing Microsoft Student is a great investment.. The Word document has the option to record voice (i.e. lectures) as you type and saves it along with document so they're together.

Some other advice:

- don't get caught up with people who are super competitive about marks and such; a lot of the time they'll try and psych you out especially during exam period, clinicals, etc. (in my experience anyway). you'll get to know who these people are with time and for your sanity, they are best avoided :)

- find a good study partner, preferably someone (or a group of people) that study the same way as you do. personally, I found it helpful to study on my own first and absorb all the material and then one or two days before the exam, verbally go through all the material with a classmate and ask each other questions

- get organized from day one! a small filing drawer is great for keeping all your course notes, handouts, journal photocopies, etc accessible and in one place

- invest in good underware! haha.. this may sound weird but my nursing school uniform consists of white scrubs so this was a big issue.. sports bras are great for clinical

- get sleep when you can; naps have become essential to me during the semester

- get help from your profs early if you find you are not grasping the course content; don't leave it until the exam!

can't think of anything else really.. good luck!

Specializes in Pediatric Intensive Care, Long Term care.

landesmummy, im so glad you are able to get through school while having other big responsibilities too....i was kinda worried about being married, with a 2 yr old, custody of my teen sister, working, AND tackling NS. Your story greatly encourages me!!!! thanks so much :yeah:

Specializes in Emergency.

im right along with you. im 22, with a 5 month old, well he will be 5 months on the 23rd. but when i start nursing school he will still be very young 7 months. and im moving 150 miles away by myself, unless my bf, who is my childs father can fix the mess of legal problems he's in ( he is accused of something he didnt do) but i know it will be hard mrskellrd, but everything will work out. things that arent hard, arent worth it. or at least i believe.

For the students/nurses with children, I have a question on how you got childcare. My school's nursing program is 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. four days a week. It's really just the "window" and the admissions coordinator said just one hospital wants students there at 6:30 and I am wondering where I am going to find childcare early in the morning. Where my 18-month-old is now, they open at 6:30, so do not know what to do about that first half hour. My other son is provided transportation to and from school from this daycare (our elementary schools get out at 2:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. one day during the week next year). So, I'm covered in the afternoons, but what do you all do/have you done for your early morning hours; I just separated from my husband of 19 years, yikes and yay :) but even if he was here, I wouldn't have anybody to watch the kids from 6 a.m. to 6:30 (that's where the yay comes in). Anyway, those 30 minutes in the a.m. are my concern . . .

Specializes in Emergency.

Well I made sure to find a daycare that was open in time for clinicals, so my only advice to you is to find another one that you really like in your area. The daycare I'm planning on going to if my bf's situation doesnt work out, opens from 6A-6P. That was one of the things I was looking towards in finding a daycare was the time. I like you, was worried about clincals. I hope you can find one. Look at the CPS website in your state, and they should give you the ratings of each daycare and the hours of their operations, plus how many children they take.

Specializes in oncology, med/surg (all kinds).

congratulations and good luck. i love reading some of these responses!

regarding the underwear comment: very good point. you don't need to be grabbing wedgies when you are trying to look professional! or thinking about how much the wedgie is bugging you while you are trying to listen! also, white underwear actually shows through white uniforms: that fleshy/nude/ shade of undies does not. i don't know how that works for dark skinned people.

on a more serious note: you will have to figure out your style of learning. you MUST eat a high protein breakfast on test day (every day you should, but if that is too much, you must force yourself on test day!)

do what the teachers tell you to do. it sounds simple, but i found most of my classmates spent a lot of time trying to figure out short cuts and easier ways of doing things. if the teacher says read chapter 6 before class and you know s/he is going to review it in class the next day, most of your classmates will not bother reading the chapter. JUST READ CHAPTER 6 BEFORE CLASS. really! if you just do what they ask you to do, and not try to cut corners, you will likely do fine.

ask for extra help BEFORE you are lost or drowning. this is less likely to happen in you read the assignments.

don't study the day of your test. you are not going to learn anything and you will just confuse yourself. this is difficult to do because everyone else does it.

don't discuss "what did you get for question 2" after the test. it will cause undue anxiety.

be on time. doing what the teachers ask you goes a long way if and when you run into difficulties. running late annoys teachers. annoying the teachers is never recommended.

my med-surg book weighed about 457 pounds. it was hard at first to destroy a beautiful text book, but....i cut the book up into chapters and put each chapter in those plastic see-thru big envelopes. that way, i only had to carry my chapter on respiratory.

your supplies don't matter as much. they will tell you what you need. other posters gave great advice with that.

oh, and it won't hurt either to sit up front.

try to enjoy nursing school. i was lucky--my teachers WANTED us to succeed--they weren't just waiting for us to screw up. don't misunderstand strict, high standards for being mean.

Specializes in Pediatric Intensive Care, Long Term care.

mykidzmom, a while back i read somewhere else about about breaking down my book and carrying only the chapter we are on in class. I think that is a GREAT idea. ill have to evaluate the book once I get it though and see if its worth it....thanks for reminding me!!!

oh, and yes prettyladie i know it wont be easy but we WILL make it and I think it is good that we are preparing ourselves and being realistic about our situations. nursing school is full of "non-traditional" students but when u want something bad you make it work. 3 cheers for all of the brave nursing students who are also parents:w00t::w00t:

Specializes in Emergency.

wow lol ive never been called "non-traditional" student... *tear* hahaha. but you know things happen and things change, and we will be fine!!! but as far as breaking down the books, that scares me a little. i know im NOT selling back my books, because i want to keep all of my nursing books, but i feel like I will destroying my book. how much does that cost. and what is the purpose again, maybe i feel like i dont want to becuase we dont have that many books. we have 3 classes, and 3 books. plus one for clinicals. i do have other books like nclex and dictonaries and stuff, and i know i wont take them to class, but still. is that why you are thinking about cutting the cover off because you have so many or what??

With regards to childcare, we have been very fortunate. My hubby goes to work late 4 days a week, so that I can be on time. I leave at 0600 and he gets the children 7&11 up--they make their breakfast & lunch and they get their clothes out the night before. He drops them at 0700 at school where the YMCA runs a programme from 0700 until school starts-it costs $200 a month for before school care. He then drives to work (we live in L.A. so the 30miles/45kms can take up to 2 hours...)The children go to the afterschool programme at their school-it costs $50 for the year & is available until 1800. We do not have any family in the state & thank god for the most amazing neighbours, friends & generous bosses (my hubby's) as they have allowed me to get this far...& today starts summer school...the children will be at a babysitters for the 2 days a week I need...huge sacrifices all around--this degree belongs to all of us. For the incredibly early clinicals, check online with your city--many cities I have found, have numbers for early child development centres & childcare. Also, check with the faculty at your school--they may know of what former students have done & may be able to put you in touch with them or know of the options they use. Good luck fellow nursing students--you can do it! :wink2:

but as far as breaking down the books, that scares me a little. i know im NOT selling back my books, because i want to keep all of my nursing books, but i feel like I will destroying my book. how much does that cost. and what is the purpose again, maybe i feel like i dont want to becuase we dont have that many books. we have 3 classes, and 3 books. plus one for clinicals. i do have other books like nclex and dictonaries and stuff, and i know i wont take them to class, but still. is that why you are thinking about cutting the cover off because you have so many or what??

People who debind their books do it because they are very large and heavy. My Med/Surg book is large and weighs about 5-6 lbs, so after a day in my backpack my muscles are sore! If you do take the binding off the book you need a 3 ring binder big enough to hold all the pages and then a smaller 3 ring to take out just the chapters you need to take to class. The binder will protect the pages and having the whole book in a large 3 ring will prevent pages from being misplaced...it works really well!:D:up: btw, it only costs about 5 dollars plus the price of the notebooks.

Specializes in Emergency.

ohh okay i understand now that is a good thing. i will have to think about it once i actually see my books and how heavy they are. so when you debind them, the pages are all even, and not jagged or anything? ive never heard of this, ive only made copies of the books and punched holes and took them to class, thats only because i couldnt afford the books at the time.

Yeah, they basically chop off the cover at the spine of the book and then three hole punch the pages for you. They look like they were never in a book when there done.

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