HELP! 1st semester ADN student needs advise

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Hello Everyone,

I just received my acceptance letter for the RN ADN program for a local community college out here in North Carolina. I am extremely excited and extremely anxious at the thought of starting the program this Fall. I have been stalking this site in attempts to find information for new nursing students to help prepare and motivate me for the upcoming challenges.

Unfortunately most of the posts I found are scaring the bejesus out of me (ex. "you will not sleep, you will not have a life, you will be fighting to keep a C average, ext.....").

I have an obsessive compulsive personality and I always try to be prepared for everything. This does cause me a good deal of stress (I'm sure its not great on my body) but it does help me stay focused and be ahead of the game (most of the time).

Because I like to be overly prepared I was hoping someone could give me some advise on what to expect from my 1st semester of nursing. I have already completed every course in the program with exception of all of the NUR specific courses. NUR 111- Intro to health concepts will be the only class I will have for this upcoming first semester. I am going to purchase all of the books online prior to the course start date so I can... 1) Get the books on the cheap :-)... 2) Start skimming and familiarizing myself with some of the material. Any advise or resource material would be much appreciated.

Thanks

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I am right there with you. People don't really offer any advice. They say enjoy your freedom spend as much time with family as possible. Does your school also offer an orientation date? Mine does it's May 29th 9a-3p, they will explain everything for us, like what books we need, sign us up for our classes, get uniform info, etc. Until then I'm in the dark. Some people actually offered some good advice like to pick up a good critical thinking book for nursing. Good luck :) I start September 3rd.

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Congrats on your acceptance! I just finished my first semester so I can try to help.

1. Learn the vocab. For me it was like taking a language in high school when my teacher only spoke in Spanish. My fundamentals professor was no different. Words like tachypnea, bradycardia, and diaphoresis were used often. Use flashcards if that's what works for you.

2. Do the reading. Some professors make tests that follow their powerpoints. Others use powerpoints generated by the textbook. If you read the book and take notes from there you will be fine either way!

3. Record the lectures. I began recording the lectures after I tried to study and everything sounded brand new to me. I stopped listening to the radio and only listened to lectures when I drove.

4. Avoid negativity. Every nursing student and graduate will tell you stories about complaining in nursing school. It happens everywhere. Stay away from people who are vocal about seemingly the smallest things. It will start to wear on you and you definitely don't want your professors and classmates associating you with people like that.

5. Practice your skills. Do you have a significant other or kids? Any relatives or friends that live near by? Make them all your dummy for skills. I practiced blood pressure, heart rate, respirations and everything else on my family and friends. No one was safe! Unless of course their arm was too skinny or big for my average sized cuff. You will learn why soon enough. My friends cringed when I walked up with my nursing bag. I didn't care because I became so confident in my skills that it became second nature.

Excuse any errors. I'm typing fast on my phone. Good luck!!!

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Our orientation date is on 7/23.

I am so "OCD" I have already been to the school and begged the instructor to go ahead and give me the Textbook adoption form that lists what textbooks will be used for the course so I can go ahead and start ordering them.

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Thank You Parks22 for your info. Couple of quick questions....

1) What book or online info did you use to help you with the Vocab?

2) What kind of voice recorder did you use to record your lectures?

3) What skills were the hardest for you to learn/perform?

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Thank You Parks22 for your info. Couple of quick questions....

1) What book or online info did you use to help you with the Vocab?

2) What kind of voice recorder did you use to record your lectures?

3) What skills were the hardest for you to learn/perform?

I took the vocab directly from the chapter readings in the assigned textbook. If it was bold, I knew it.

I bought my recorder at Staples. It's in my car right now so I don't know the exact model but it was around $40. It has a calendar so I can easily go back and listen to a specific lecture. It also came with a usb cable if I want to save lectures to my computer. Some people might use a recorder app on their phone but I never had service and the constant searching for signal would drain my battery and I didn't want to run the risk of missing the info.

Blood pressure was the hardest for me because I bought a cheap stethoscope and couldn't hear a thing! I went to a local scrub shop and they let me sample a few brands. I bought a Littmann and never missed a thump again lol.

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Okay for real - they will scare you durin orientation, these threads with scare you, and people will tell you how hard it is and is going to be. Here's how I saw it...

As someone who's also obsessive compulsive with things I do, I made sure I was always prepared.

Don't let these things get to your head. Don't let what other people say hinder you. Don't let me AMOUNT of reading and work bother you.

Use your obsessive compulsiveness to make a schedule for all your reading. When you get your schedule for tests and the reading for it, assign certain chapters and chunks to be done in certain time frames. This helped me A TON and didn't leave stuff for "last minute"

You'll be fine. Trust me. It's not as hard as people make it out to be. EVERYONE is different but you just need to find your groove.

Nursing isn't HARD material it's just ALOT of material.

Make a plan, stick to it. You'll do great:)

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I am in an ADN program in eastern NC and I haven't found nursing school to be that bad, am halfway through. It can be stressful and if you let yourself get behind in studying then yes, its horrible. I found if you do a little reading every day and listen in classes, I take at least an hour a day sometimes more depending on the day. If I have a test the next day I try and go over anything that am not sure of. Nur 111 for me was basics and all I did was read my book and highlight then reread the highlighted stuff before taking the test. I passed with an A. I still have time for friends, my 2 kids, and my husband. If you make a study schedule and stick to it then nursing school isn't that bad. Good luck to you in starting your nursing journey.

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Also meant to say that I bought some of my resource books (drug book, etc) online for a lot cheaper than the college book store offered them.

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Specializes in Medical-ICU.

Just started my second semester of an ADN program. Make sure to read the assigned chapters. The more opportunities you have to look at the same material, the more you become familiar with it. Honestly I would start to look at NCLEX style questions because I think that is the biggest adjustment to nursing school. It's not just knowing the material but it is applying it to different patients and scenarios and picking the BEST answer. Each question usually has two right answers but something in the question will clue you into which one is the BEST answer.

Honestly I did some of the readings before hand and it didn't really help because you aren't use to the pattern of what you need to know and what is important. For example there were two chapters they assigned to read on the history of nursing so I read them before the semester began. Come to find out all the stuff I memorized didn't matter because the teacher told us that only three questions from those chapters were on the exam! I suggests enjoying your summer while you can. I say this not to frighten you but to help you relax because although school is not all doom and gloom there is little time to relax.

I will also say that when you do start, do everything early. Once I get the syllabus I go through and see what I can turn in. For example we have at least one paper for each class that are due mid semester but I always turn them in early so it's one less thing to worry about. My classmates and instructors joke around about how I always finish my stuff very early but then are envious and appreciate how I don't have to worry about it anymore!

When school starts practice practice practice your skills they want you to know. Every school is different but sterile field was a big check last semester. The more you practice the more comfortable you will become and it will come across when instructors physically watch you do it.

But seriously enjoy your break, relax and welcome to nursing school! Congrats!

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Specializes in Cardiac and OR.

Hello! First of all, congratulations. Secondly, what you are feeling is completely normal, but don't overly stress about it. There will be plenty to stress over when your program begins! But the fact that you are looking for guidance is a great step.

As some of the previous posters mentioned, start learning terminology. This will be a great help as you learn the new language of the medical field. I completely second the advice the others have given. The only other bit of advice I have to offer is to either go online, or to a library or if you are compelled, buy a guide that teaches you how to deconstruct NCLEX type tests questions. I used Test Success by Nugent and Vitale half way through my first semester, and I wish I had gotten it sooner.

Start your reading assignments early, prepare, find a study/life balance, and believe in yourself. Conraratulations, and good luck!

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sounds like we might be in the same cohort!

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