WANTED: Nursing student tidbits of advice

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  • Specializes in Pediatric Intensive Care, Long Term care.

You are reading page 26 of WANTED: Nursing student tidbits of advice

madnurse2b

175 Posts

this thread has been extremely helpful in preparing for this fall for my first semester of an asn program. it seems most students are taking other gen ed classes along with their nursing courses. i have finished all my gen ed courses and will only be taking one nursing course each semester for 4 semesters. i will also be working full time around my class/clinical schedule. i am a very organized person but i am worried about having time for myself and other obligations besides school (boyfriend, friends, etc).... any advice on how to balance school with everyday life? :confused:

i'm starting my third semester. see my first post in the thread for most of it. you have to have at least one person who is either in school with you or has gone through it - here is good, but rl is better. you have someone who understands when it's finals week and you spend more time with your school study group than you do at home.

i have a very understanding husband who takes care of me during that time, especially when i get home at 1030 from study group and have a clinical at 630. enlist your "normal" family and friends and make sure they get the idea that they are not going to be the priority...i've already seen 2 marriages fail and it is only third semester. if you find that you have emotional stuff come up from clinicals - which happens, one of my rotations was in hospice - check into counseling services at school. keep your head on straight, it's the highest priority. eat well, play well, exercise well, study well, sleep well. balance all of them. and when you can't - don't always choose studying, and don't get mad. that's nursing school

i've heard people on here say "oh it was easy for me" - good for them. most people i know in multiple places and multiple schools say it's hard. i know mine is. but it's more than doable. you will meet some of the most wonderful people on your journey and i wish you bright blessings on the road.

just keep dancing :dancgrp:

legal disclaimer #97 don't ever take anything i say seriously :wink2:

xochristie07xo

14 Posts

OMG guys! I have only a week and a half until the first day of class!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im s o e x c i t e d !!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG!!!!!!!! You have to tell us how it goes, Ill be sitting here in agony waiting another 3 weeks still

Specializes in Pediatric Hem/Onc.

My first day is Sept 8th! I exchanged email addies with some people in my section. Hopefully we'll be able to form a study group. One of them has a Livescribe pen. I can't afford it so I'm sticking with her LOL

I aced my job interview - just waiting for them to check my references. It looks like this whole clinical thing is going to work out:w00t:

Specializes in critical care nursing, ED, education.

I also start sep 8th .... I can't wait!!! I have heard thoes pens are amazing, I need a friend with one to live vicariously through. ;-)

enjoy the calm before the storm, best of luck!

PurposebyDesign

286 Posts

Specializes in Nursing Assistant.

Same here I start my ADN on Sept 8 here in Boston and I'll be starting a new per-diem Nursing Assistant job (2 evenings a week) as well. I plan on working through NS. I'm very nervous and I hope and pray that I will be able to study and use my time wisely while working. I definately plan on getting a recorder for my lectures. Two years of Evening classes and here I am, ready to start Nursing school.

Here we go CLASS OF 2011 !!!!:yeah::stdnrsrck::yeah:

AllSmiles225

213 Posts

Specializes in Trauma & Emergency.

CANT WAIT UNTIL SEPTEMBER 9th--IM GOING CRAZY!!! Watch one week in I'll be begging for the semester to end!

9livesRN, BSN, RN

1,570 Posts

Specializes in SNU/SNF/MedSurg, SPCU Ortho/Neuro/Spine.
Don't cram the night before a test. It will be hard to concentrate if you are dead tired. Coffee will only help so much, so try not to rely on it. Anyhow best of luck to you all. I am currently in the nursing program myself.

you know what... I always do a intense review the day before, or even on the moring....

and to be honest there were at least 5 questions that i got right in each test just because of that...

if you don't know anything, than cramming is not good, but if you are kinda in the middle, information wont hurst you, and I guarantee that your brain will not smoke and overheat!

remember, whatever the reason is, if you studied or not, you still have to pass the test... so.... do what you can!

I always focus on the big things, and then make side notes on "notes to self" (things that could probably also be on the test) and that is when I will pile stuff and just read!

landesmummy

63 Posts

omg, get that livescribe pen as soon as you can...i just wish i had had one earlier...get the 2gigabit, you need, if your instructors talk as much as mine!! a friend of mine goes to a school where they do not allow taping & she taped with her pen & got all a's...

Specializes in Case Mgmt, Anesthesia, ICU, ER, Dialysis.

August 24th, and we're in the OR, putting real people to sleep.

I am scared to death. Reading my Morgan & Mikhail (source book for CRNA boards) cover to cover, remembering that I've kept much worse alive on much less, and just breathing.

Good luck to you all, God bless y'all, and PM me if you need any help/support/encouragement/answers. I may not know them, but we will figure out the right direction in which to point you.

Specializes in IMCU.
Can't understand why anyone would invest in debinding books,though. Gosh, I just want to tell you all to put the brakes on on that one. Might want to wait to see if you need to haul those textbooks to every class. That would be the last thing I would invest in...some of my books are gems and I'll keep til I pass boards....But I want them intact. I was given a textbook that had been debound and it drove me bonkers. Other books not so much help, they'll be sold...so not worth the $$ to debind. Plus might have impact on resale value. Understandably, though, everyone has their own way of doing things, so do what works for you. Also, I invested in the Saunders Student Nurse Planner....never used it....If you have a type planner that you use now...keep using it.

I am for the idea of debinding books. But, like the above poster said, I am waiting to find out if I will need to bring them to class. The only one I am 99% certain I will debind in the Fundamentals book. I can hardly lift it and it is impossible to sit comfortably and read it (right now I have to sit at the table). As for the other I would wait and see.

Oh yes, also if you debind them, you have to buy GOOD quality 3 hole binders. The quality ones can run a bit expensive. I have noticed that some of my nursing books have a companion website that seems to have the entire text on it.

Specializes in Pediatric Hem/Onc.

So the Livescribe pen? They're running a deal on their site.. Buy a pen and get a 4 pack of notebooks free! The 1 gig is $149.95, the 2gig $199.95.

Target has it for $129.95, the 2gig is $169. 3 subject notebooks (150 pages) are $7.99. The 4 pack of single subject notebooks (400 pages total, so the best deal) are $19.95.

Best Buy - same price as the Livescribe site.

So basically....it all evens out to the same price LOL Dammit all. I was hoping to catch a deal.

But.....with my tuition reimbursement from work and my FA....I might be able to swing it! :yelclap:

landesmummy

63 Posts

it is unbelievable what i have caught on 'tape' on the pen--& even when i have not been able to catch what the instructor says, usually because of an accent, i can slow the pen speed down & decipher it!! that feature alone has given me extra points on exams--& we all know we need every single point on every exam...

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