Hopeful SSU nursing student for Fall 2014

RunBabyRN · May 6, 2014

Okay! I can't wait to start. @RunBabyRun, what was the most stressful or surprising thing that you encountered during the first semester?

Probably the sheer volume of reading and the vast knowledge that we are expected to have as nurses. I remember posting on FB the first or second week and tagging all of my nurse friends saying how much respect I have for them!

A lot of people are intimidated by clinicals. It's a matter of how you operate. That was my comfort zone, because I have prior experience in patient care.

Georgettes · May 7, 2014

Probably the sheer volume of reading and the vast knowledge that we are expected to have as nurses. I remember posting on FB the first or second week and tagging all of my nurse friends saying how much respect I have for them!
A lot of people are intimidated by clinicals. It's a matter of how you operate. That was my comfort zone, because I have prior experience in patient care.

Again, thanks for the quick response :) What do you think those of us starting the program should brush up on or study before nursing school?

RunBabyRN · May 8, 2014

Again, thanks for the quick response :) What do you think those of us starting the program should brush up on or study before nursing school?

Time management, stress management, meal planning... If you have studied Spanish, brush up on those skills. A lot of the content won't make a lot of sense out of context, so I wouldn't stress over it. That said, if you can get your Davis Drug Guide sooner rather than later, you can start learning some of the meds. I know there are several posts about these sorts of things, so you can search for those in the nursing school fora. Be sure to know what labs or vitals you need to know before you can administer a med- they WILL ask, and you need to know the values! Know what the normal ranges are for those labs, and whether high or low means it's okay to give the drug.

You can start learning lab ranges, which may vary from source to source, but once you get into school, go with ATI. You can get a general sense online, though. Look up CBC, CMP, PT/PTT/INR, ABG, LFT... I know there are others, but those will give you the good basics to know. :)

RunBabyRN · May 10, 2014

We just had our pinning tonight, and I wanted to share a little taste of what you have to look forward to! Motivation! Earn that pin! :nurse:

meib92 · May 11, 2014

That's very awesome! Well done. When are you planning on taking your NCLEX now that you've graduated?

RunBabyRN · May 11, 2014

That's very awesome! Well done. When are you planning on taking your NCLEX now that you've graduated?

Thanks! There's a delay with the BRN and a lot of us are caught in that. It's basically that the processing of our paperwork has been significantly delayed, so it's out of our control. The day my ATT comes (notification that we can take the NCLEX), I plan to schedule it wherever has it the soonest. I don't care where I have to go as long as I can take it ASAP!!! I've been told on here that for most places it takes 4-6 weeks to get in, but that there are cancelations, so that's what I'm counting on. I'm hoping that being one of the earlier to graduate schools helps, too. Get in before the wave of grads.

Georgettes · May 14, 2014

Wow! Congrats!! And good luck with the NCLEX!

Georgettes · Jul 8, 2014

To the SSU grads out there:

Do you guys recommend buying or just renting the textbooks?

RunBabyRN · Jul 9, 2014

To the SSU grads out there:
Do you guys recommend buying or just renting the textbooks?

Some of the books have changed since our class (we just graduated but the class just above you has a few different books). See if you can buy some of the books from them (or us... ). There were a few books we used for more than one semester, like our pharm book and our med/surg book. The NANDA book you'll need through the whole program. Same with the Davis Drug Guide.

Oh, and I passed my NCLEX with 75 Qs. :)

Georgettes · Jul 9, 2014

Congratulations on passing the NCLEX!!!!!

I just looked at the books needed for NURS 301 and 303 and the books needed for the first semester are

Medical-Surgical Nursing by Lemone 5th edition

Fundamentals of Nursing Package

Maternity+Women's Healthcare by Lowdermilk 10th edition

Think these are worth purchasing? Or should I just rent? I'd also be happy to purchase used books for a discount :rolleyes:

meib92 · Jul 9, 2014

I know you asked graduates from SSU and I'm just starting... But I figured I would invest and buy my textbooks for nursing school, in case I need them throughout the entire program and beyond. I purchased three of the textbooks used from half.com (maternity for $60, med-surg for $90, nursing diagnosis $25 [part of fundamentals package]) and you would never guess the books were used! No highlighting, and very very minimal wear on the covers. It definitely saved me a ton of money buying them used.

For the fundamentals of nursing, I bought that textbook, along with lippincott's drug guide, from the publisher's website (we received an email with a link and a 20% off coupon code) because it was cheaper than all the other websites I usually buy textbooks from. Also, since the fundamentals textbook was purchased new, it came with a CD-rom (we'll see if it's helpful...)

I'm usually a book-renter, but for nursing books, I would say buy them. You never know when you might need them in the future for reference. And if you end up not using them, sell them back for $$$!

Georgettes · Jul 10, 2014

Oh wow, I just checked half.com. Those prices are alooooot better than the ones Barnes and Noble offers through the university .

And you're right. Buying sounds like a much better idea. I just got so used to renting books when I was doing my prereqs since I never bothered to sell any of the books I actually bought!