what book did you find invaluable for first semester nursing program?

hobbes · Mar 29, 2004

I'm sure alot of people will tell you this. Don't read ANYTHING!!! Enjoy the time you have now to do whatever it is that you want, because once you hit your nursing classes all you will be doing is reading.

I never have quite understood this mentality. If you are motivated enough to get a head start and do some reading before hand, it can only help you. You can never learn too much. Seeing material several times will cement it in your brain and make the lectures much easier. Find out what courses you will take in the Fall and start reading, if you feel so inclined. Not only will you be ahead of the game, you may also feel less overwhelmed. I've employed this strategy all through my prereq courses and have gotten A's in all of them.

Berta · Mar 29, 2004

I loved the "incredibly easy series". Also, do work on your drug calculations.

It may be worth contacting you school and getting a syllabus for the class. I know that our first week of classes we had something like 15 chapters to read. It was overwhelming to say in the least.

Now, they give us a reading list at the end of the semester to start over break. It is so much better to be ahead on the reading.

Having said that, do take the time to enjoy you time off. You will be doing quite a bit of reading in addition to textbooks. Each semester, we get an average of 15lb of lecture notes to go over.

Good luck and enjoy, Berta

SickleMoon · Mar 29, 2004

Not for actual sitting-down-and-reading, but PRICELESS the whole time I was in school and then some--Taber's Medical Encyclopedia. Have fun when school starts!

susi_q · Mar 30, 2004

Want an idea from an instructor? I'd get a boards review book early in your school career. Start looking thru it. As you study certain sections, do those in the book. By the time you graduate you will be comfortable with the board format, and you will probably do better on exams in the process, since most instructors like to test according to what will be on the board exam.

But ... do have fun this summer. School will get harder, and you need to be well rested & relaxed going in to it. good luck.

septicwad · Mar 30, 2004

If you really want to do some reading buy a used copy of Health Assessment by Barbara Bates. I used that book rather than the one the college required. I'm in my second semester of a BSN program. I spent about $600 for books first semester and $350 the second. It's pretty much a waste of time to read the books because the tests are from the instructors notes. The amount of reading assigned is insane. My brother is an RN; he graduated in 1993. One of the best bits of advice he gave me (besides breathe through your mouth when cleaning up poop) was to avoid text books.

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Mar 30, 2004

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index%3Daps%26field-keywords%3Decho%252520heron%252520intensive%252520care/103-9446706-9391823

I am serious, Echo Heron's nonfiction books will tell you more about nursing than any text. The one above is her first and describes her nursing school experiences too. I laughed til I nearly peed myself.

jemommyRN · Mar 31, 2004

I found out the difference between "Test Success" and "Fundamentals Success" . Well, "Fundamentals Success" was written as a sequel to "Test Success". It has more questions for the beginning student in the Fundamentals area. It also has examples of the new "innovative" version of the NCLEX. I think I am really going to enjoy this book.