Give advice for new nursing students!!

labrador4122, RN · May 9, 2008

study really hard in school.

follow the rules of the hospital where you work.

don't do something just because the nurse that has been working there for 16 years told you to do it, it just might be wrong.

nurseby07 · May 9, 2008

Get a planner. Organize the time to study- They assign so much reading it is unreal. I would sit with my book, make note cards on everything, memorize them the next study session, read in depth after that. I would then keep a tablet of facts I never thought of. I would then do the questions out of every nclex book I had related to the material I studied. Learn to prioritize, to me the stupid power points and poster boards on older adults fell to the bottom, I got them done but with minimal effort, I saved all of my effort for the content of the nuts and bolts of nursing.

Also plan blocks of time when studying was not allowed.

Also, learn to get a thick skin. Just accept now that the EMT/CNA in the class will know more than the intructor with 20+ years experience as an ER nurse. Know that there will be the group who sits in the front and has either known someone or had whatever disease, ailment, issue, dilemma that is EVER mentioned in class.

And my favorite advice from a nurse and instructor I worked with: Make friends with the smart people. Call, get together, etc, everyone comes up with something you missed and guaranteed it will be on the test!

You can totally do this!

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · May 9, 2008

Great advice so far---love the "make friends with the smart people" as well as dont listen to the 20yr nurse that tells you "well this is the way we do it" if it is against the way your learning in school. those statements--so true! Dont hang out with people that will drag you down.

Also while in clinicals if your able to pick your own pt the night before try and pick a pt with a diesease illness that you are currently learning in school, example if you have an endocrine disorder test,. try and get a diabetic pt. Cardiac chapter coming up, take a CHF pt. The hands on exp you get in clinical will help with your classwork.

Also get a 3 ring binder with dividers and keep all your clinical paper work, my last semester I had what I belive was the worst instructor ever to walk the planet....she was forever stating she never got certain things even though we had them graded and handed back. By providing her proof that I did in fact turn in the 8 page care plan and you already marked it up wtih your red pen---I didnt have to do it again!!

wear comfortable shoes- pack gum and a pony tail in your bag. If given the chance--always seek out the hardest sickest patients... much better to deal with the really sick now while your in school and have the help of your classmates and mentor nurses.

jessi1106, BSN, RN · May 12, 2008

If you are questioning if you will like nursing, I strongly recommend shadowing a nurse...or better yet a few nurses (in different areas/specialties).

Nursing school takes a lot of work and dedication...I think this comes easier if you are fairly certain it is the career you want.

Good luck to you:redbeathe

jilliang · May 12, 2008

DO NOT GET BEHIND!!!!!!!! Making friends with the organized, smart people is GREAT ADVICE!!! Seriously, though, stay on top of your assignments especially at the start of each semester because it gets heavy quickly. Good luck

jdartis · May 23, 2008

I just graduated Nursing school and I remember my first year!!! Find a good study partner!! After a few test, you get to learn of the ones who are doing well, these are the ones you want to attach yourself to throughout nursing school. Set certain times to study each week and each person in the group contributes note cards on their assigned chapters and then each of you exchange note cards on your chapters....What someone doesnt understand, you should be able to teach them about it. Ask each other questions as you read together....This is really helpful because it forces you to remember it because it encourages conversation about the topic. Lastly, Please read your chapters because instructors love to pull questions directle from the book, and if you read your chapters and do the review question for the chapter, you will be way ahead...My motto in school was to not be fooled by any question...Pride yourself on being prepared for any question they may add!! I hope this helps.

TX_TeleRN · May 23, 2008

I feel your struggles. I too changed from another completely different field into nursing. Many family and friends challenged me for giving up a lucrative career to go into nursing. So, in regards to this portion, I concur with "jessi1106" that perhaps shadowing a nurse for a few days to see the good and bad of it all. Speak to RNs if you don't have that option, especially those specialized in field(s) of interest.

As for pre-nursing, GPA (at least in TX) matters so study hard and get good grades. Believe it or not, this was the easy portion of nursing program for me.

Once you're accepted into nursing school...

Don't fall behind on your class work. They may give unrealistic amounts of reading and/or assignments.
Many people use flash cards, and that may, or may not, work for you depending on what type of a learner you are (i.e., visual, audio, hands-on, etc.). I wasn't good at learning from reading books so I focused more on lectures. If lecturer isn't very good, then I relied on the books. If you're computer savy (esp. w/ MS Power Point) and your teacher posts his/her presentations, then you could manipulate the printing views of your lecturer's presentations into what works for you. Also, some teachers know how to use MS Power Point and they would insert their notes in each slide. Look for them. I used to print an original copy for class to take my notes. Then in preparation for exams, I reprint all applicable slides to an illness on single-faced page and put each illness side by side to look for similarities and differences in, for example, signs and symptoms, and highlight them in different colors. I also transferred my notes from class and textbook onto them, etc. I think you get my point. COMPARISON IS THE KEY !!!
Schedule your study time AND study breaks. It's important to allow yourself some downtime to destress. Make sure you work in sleep!
Don't throw anything away until you've passed your boards. You may need to refer to them.

Good luck to you! You can do it! :up:

AnalegnaRN · May 23, 2008

My advice would be:

TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME, ONE HOUR AT A TIME, A MIN, A SEC. because seriously with all the work they give it is REALLY hard to say that you will go ahead. Don't worry about ahead worry about now.

Your first validation will probably be the SCARIEST thing you have ever had to do until: you had to give your first bed bath

-saw a baby delivered with the cord around the neck

-on your psych rotation 5-7yr olds are using color pencils and are 2cm from you eye ball

-your geriatric pt is no where to be found on the floor and is by the exiting door of the facility

-a classmate has a pt that is NPO that pt is begging and crying for fluids and someone else takes it upon themselves to give them water that is your cue to leave and get someone

Clinical is a learning experience you make for yourself. Your instructor, your classmates, the floor nurses are not the determining factor of how good your clinical experience is... YOU ARE If you are bored go ask an aide, another nurse. respiratory therapist if they need help. Find work to do and do it this is one of the only times where you will be expected to make mistakes and learn from them....

And know what the weird tubes and knobs are poking from the wall are and if they work.

Ask every question, stupid, unmentionable, dumb whatever you ask it because chances are if you are thinking it someone else is too and if not you NEED 2 KNOW.

Don't get caught up in a group full of negative, unhealthy grade comparing nursing students, you are there to learn and really understand and the material and sometimes grades don't reflect that. Sometimes you have to get it wrong to really understand and I bet you will never forget it again.

Don't get on the self pity band wagon if you fail do better next time.

GO TO CLASS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GO TO CLASS!!!!! If you are going to miss a class call them way before 7:00am when class starts and let them know you are not going to be there. If your leg is not attached to your body, broken, in pieces, any limb for that matter bring it with you to clinical DON'T MISS CLINICAL.

Keep all of your old notes from the very beginning of nursing school because in your senior year you may get a professor who doesn't give you notes and expects you to know everything you learned in the last 3yrs and have it in your head. All 7,000,000 pages of the Med/ Surge text book.

Buy books online and make sure its the right edition

Make friends with the seniors they will help you for the most part

Oh yeah and...

HAVE FUN ENJOY IT!!! IT IS GREAT and it goes way too fast

ZooMommyRN, ADN, RN · May 24, 2008

You won't learn everything, you will learn what you need to know to be safe, competent and pass NCLEX which really only says you meet minimal competency standards, too many people I talk to feel they were "gipped" because they only got to do 2 IM injections or a few if any IV starts, foley insertion, NG tubes etc, your clinical experience is like a lottery, you're given a room number and it's whoever is on the other side of that door is your prize and it's what you make of it, your GI bleed with dementia just might turn out to be your most entertaining patient even though they might present the least challenge to you clinically, or the one with lung cancer who threw a blood clot from her calf into her lungs and is running on a steady drip of blood thinners but is so constipated from side effects of medications and chemo that you need to manually remove an impaction because an enema would cause more discomfort due to a bleeding hemarrhoid (i know I spell it wrong every time lol) can teach you the most about perserving a patient's dignity while performing a task that is no more pleasant for them than it is for you (nursing isn't about you, it's about the patient as a human being). Every time you walk into a room, remind yourself of ONE thing- that patient's dignity may very well be the ONLY thing they have left to their name and you aren't going to be the one who takes it away, you will preserve it. Keep that in mind and no matter what their diagnosis, you will walk away from the experience knowing you affected someone's life positively

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · May 25, 2008

1. Know that while you're in NS, your instructors may as well be GOD....don't argue, don't fret, ask questions, but do NOT do so at the expense of others. I compare it to being in the military...they say "do it." you say "when?"

2. Read your chapters before class...it really helps with comprehension.

3. NEVER give any kind of medication until you check with your instructor, this can be the Kiss of death.

4. Treat all your classmates, teachers, staff nurses, and patients with respect at all times.

5. Realize there is a lot you don't know, so just be open to learning.

and finally,

NS is one of the most challenging expirences of a nurse's life. You cry, stress, smile, have good/bad times, care for patients, suffer through the loss of classmates, etc. Looking back, I wouldn't have traded the last 2 years for anything...it helps me realize that I can do anything, and I WILL be a sucessful nurse!

cherubhipster · May 28, 2008

NS is one of the most challenging expirences of a nurse's life. You cry, stress, smile, have good/bad times, care for patients, suffer through the loss of classmates, etc. Looking back, I wouldn't have traded the last 2 years for anything...it helps me realize that I can do anything, and I WILL be a sucessful nurse!

This is very inspiring! Thank you!