HOT TIPS: a NuRsInG school survivor's guide for dummies ;-)

scribblerpnp · Sep 23, 2007

Don't be surprised if you fail your first nursing exam. Even if you made A's in all of your other college classes.

truern · Sep 23, 2007

#3...Nobody really cares about your great-aunt Sue would had the EXACT thing the instructor is lecturing about. Cuz it wasn't *exact* and her treatment wasn't traditional and nobody wants to clutter their brains with facts about her case when they're NOT what the instructor is saying.

There's always one in every class...unfortunately.

BethulieRN · Sep 23, 2007

In clinicals always go to your instructor to update her about your pt, such as new labs finding, new med ordered, vital signs change, and your pt's current meds to pass and IV to infuse(Be on time). Never let your instructor hunt you down for a scheduled meds or IV infusion. She sees this as incompetence and thinks that you are hiding in clinicals.

ceresk

jmking · Sep 23, 2007

If your having trouble with a teacher, find a teacher or someone else you can talk to. Bottling up emotions is never healthy!

purple_rose_3 · Sep 23, 2007

I'm not a new nurse, but these are great to see! Keep them coming! I'm enjoying reading them. Thank you everyone.

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · Sep 23, 2007

#6 Don't EVER try to gossip about classmates, cause someone likes someone who you don't and then it'll make it awkward if you ever HAVE to do a project with them....

#6a)Just gossip to your friends, and remember to have a sense of humor about the people in tip 3.....

newish nurse · Sep 23, 2007

#7

You DO NOT have to be the FIRST person signed off on every skill. We change clinical sites, and add new skills every 8 weeks. I wait until the first week is over before getting signed off (in the skills lab) on a new skill. That way, when i am trying to figure out where the linen is kept, how to contact pharmacy, and how the computer charting system works, I can honestly tell the nurse "I'm not signed off on that yet...can I watch you?" Not only does it take a bit of pressure off of the first clinical week, I also get another demonstration on how to do things, and a chance to ask questions too.

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Sep 23, 2007

#8

Don't talk about your test scores if they are good, and don't say that you thought anything was "easy". The other students will hate you.

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Sep 23, 2007

#9- Everytime someone asks you "What did you get on the test?" (Especially students who usually don't talk to you), just say "I passed." (even if you didn't!)

pretty soon, people will get bored and stop asking what you got. :)

Works like a charm!

Ms Kylee · Sep 23, 2007

One LPN that graduated from my program gave me wonderful advice about getting through school... Play the game... you won't win if you argue, so just play along and you'll get through with a lot less brusies. Of course, I hate it cause I hate injustice and unfairness, but after getting my butt kicked on the Nutrition final (they changed the course and never changed the final), I learned.

EmmaG, RN · Sep 23, 2007

#10: Study and study hard, but don't forget to give yourself some "me time". Nursing school is too intense to be "on" all the time. You need to decompress. Take care of yourself; plenty of sleep and eat a good breakfast before clinicals. You don't want to end up like a friend of mine who skipped breakfast and passed out watching a procedure. She spent the rest of the program with her jaw wired shut

#11: Don't cram. All it does is raise your test anxiety and confuse you.