Well, I just finished my first year of nursing school and decided I'd share some insights on how to survive this oh-so-feared first year. Please feel free to contribute from your experiences! :)
First of all, the three golden rules to remember when you start freaking out about projects/readings/clinicals/classmates/instructors/general nursing school annoyances:
-stop
-breathe
-you WILL survive
And now, HOW to survive:
-don't get too ahead of yourself. You'll be taught everything in a timely manner, so stop stressing.
-set aside a few hours a week to hang out with friends. Yes, nursing school is busy. Yes, you don't have time to have a life but trust me- your sanity matters way more than your GPA.
-remember that having a GPA below 4.0 is NOT the end of the world. How well you understand the material is what matters most, not how well you can decode your prof's way of wording questions on the test. Got it? Now stop crying over your 3.7
-ask questions. No matter how mean that instructor or nurse looks. For all you know, they can be the nicest person you will ever meet. Besides, when faced with a choice of answering another routine question or having you make a mistake, any one would choose to answer your question. All those people are there to teach you, so take advantage of it.
-don't let people who say that you're "JUST going to be a nurse" discourage you. Some people will never understand what it means to be a nurse so don't listen to them.
-this one is for all the new male student nurses out there: no, you won't be treated much differently than anyone else. With all the estrogen, it's nice to have a guy around for a change. Just don't get caught up in any cattiness that can arise.
-keeping up with your readings is important, but don't forget all those practice questions. They will save you.
-get those personal dramas out of the way. You won't have time nor energy to deal with nonsense.
-time management is kind of important. Unless you're cool with pulling all-nighters the day before your assignment is due. (Ok, I'm being a big hypocrite on this one because I can never bring myself to write my papers in advance but trust me when I tell you that it's not fun staying up till 5am).
-venting is good. Get it out of your system and you'll feel better. Journals, mirrors, friends and the AN chat boards are all good when it comes to listening to you vent.
-try your best. If you don't get it the first time, try again. And again.
-avoid comparing yourself to others. You're your own person. When in doubt, refer to my previous point.
...that's all I can think of for now. I'm sure other members will have more things to add.
One thing I learned first year, that they can't really teach you but you absolutely need to learn, was to move with a sense of urgency during clinical. I don't mean barreling down the hallway knocking down everyone in your path, or trying to draw up meds as fast as you can (yikes, errors!). But there are a million little things you can do really quickly and efficiently, that if you don't will add up and by the end of your day you will be behind. I will never forget the day that my instructor jumped in to help me make a bed because I was doing it too slowly! Really embarrassing, and I had thought I was just doing it at a normal pace. I knew I had it figured out by the end of the semester when I was able to care for three patients at once.
On a related note, always have an exit when talking to a patient. You definitely want to your patient to feel like you are listening, but again with that urgency, you have tasks to do and you need to start doing them! "I need to speak with your regular nurse" was an exit line I used a lot.
I'll probably think of more, but these were the first two off the top of my head!
Make time to play! I mean really play! If you don't take a break, you'll go out of your skull. TV doesn't count. You need to get up and get moving.
Play ball with the kids. Learn to juggle or contact juggle. Go for a run. Get some friends and play frisbee golf. Getting your mind off the books and academics gives the info time to soak in.
For my cohort (in an ABSN program), the first year was a lot like the first year of marriage. You struggle a lot to adapt to the time and work it takes and it's not easy or fun a lot of the time - and you have to do a lot of crap you don't really want to do, but before you know it, it's over. It's where you really learn how to manage time and prioritize and screw up (some more than others, but everyone messes up). Don't expect perfection, keep the peace, and try to learn from the mistakes of others just as much as your own! When you feel like you're going to snap the next time someone says something even slightly demeaning or negative - TIME FOR A BREAK! You'll need 4 people in nursing school to rely on for different things: 1.) A mentor - a professor you look up to. 2.) A non-nursing school friend to distract you from school. 3.) A smart study buddy. 4.) A best friend peer that you can randomly chat with and vent to about nursing stuff.
Well, I just finished my first year of nursing school and decided I'd share some insights on how to survive this oh-so-feared first year. Please feel free to contribute from your experiences! :)
First of all, the three golden rules to remember when you start freaking out about projects/readings/clinicals/classmates/instructors/general nursing school annoyances:
-stop
-breathe
-you WILL survive
And now, HOW to survive:
-don't get too ahead of yourself. You'll be taught everything in a timely manner, so stop stressing.
-set aside a few hours a week to hang out with friends. Yes, nursing school is busy. Yes, you don't have time to have a life but trust me- your sanity matters way more than your GPA.
-remember that having a GPA below 4.0 is NOT the end of the world. How well you understand the material is what matters most, not how well you can decode your prof's way of wording questions on the test. Got it? Now stop crying over your 3.7
-ask questions. No matter how mean that instructor or nurse looks. For all you know, they can be the nicest person you will ever meet. Besides, when faced with a choice of answering another routine question or having you make a mistake, any one would choose to answer your question. All those people are there to teach you, so take advantage of it.
-don't let people who say that you're "JUST going to be a nurse" discourage you. Some people will never understand what it means to be a nurse so don't listen to them.
-this one is for all the new male student nurses out there: no, you won't be treated much differently than anyone else. With all the estrogen, it's nice to have a guy around for a change. Just don't get caught up in any cattiness that can arise.
-keeping up with your readings is important, but don't forget all those practice questions. They will save you.
-get those personal dramas out of the way. You won't have time nor energy to deal with nonsense.
-time management is kind of important. Unless you're cool with pulling all-nighters the day before your assignment is due. (Ok, I'm being a big hypocrite on this one because I can never bring myself to write my papers in advance but trust me when I tell you that it's not fun staying up till 5am).
-venting is good. Get it out of your system and you'll feel better. Journals, mirrors, friends and the AN chat boards are all good when it comes to listening to you vent.
-try your best. If you don't get it the first time, try again. And again.
-avoid comparing yourself to others. You're your own person. When in doubt, refer to my previous point.
...that's all I can think of for now. I'm sure other members will have more things to add.
Good luck to all you first years!
All good advice...Bolded part especially pertinent to my cohort. I get so weary of being chased down the hall by some overreacting student on the verge of hyperventilation because student A got a better score than they did on an exam.
I'm like a broken record..."The only opportunity you had to get the grade you'd hoped for was BEFORE the test, not after it. Take a deep breath and remember that for next time."
If you are an A student do not be surprised if you are now a B student. Test questions can be pretty general and the fact that there is usually one answer that is considered correct but an additional one or two that could be correct was the most frustrating part of my first semester. They ask you to use critical thinking but do not always give you enough info to make the "correct" decision.
I just finished my first year as well... I didn't actually find it too bad. Even in February when we had 2-3 due/tests/exams per week it wasn't too bad - a bit stressful but not so stressful you lose it.
Specializes in Electrophysiology, Medical-Surgical ICU.
I just completed my 1st year or my AND program with B's in all of my nursing classes which is normal for me. I agree with everything that the OP said...just remember to get things completed on time....and take it one day @ a time no matter how hard that seems! #nursingstudentsrock! #justsayin
I just finished my first year as well... I didn't actually find it too bad. Even in February when we had 2-3 due/tests/exams per week it wasn't too bad - a bit stressful but not so stressful you lose it.
Is this normal lol?
I didn't find it very bad either. A&P started getting on my nerves eventually just because of the sheer volume of information we were expected to know but then again, it isn't called a weeder course for nothing. I'm very excited to be done with all the gen eds and base level nursing courses though because from here on I can focus solely on nursing courses and clinicals
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Remember that Nursing school is a part in your life, Nursing school doesn't have to BE your life. IMO at my school at least, second year was a lot better then first. Even though the material and testing got harder, it overall seemed to be easier. Especially 4th semester.
.thumb.jpg.5aa4d55557c0228e31b94de19666bbbb.jpg){kind=small}
metal_m0nk, BSN, RN
920 Posts
Most programs are only 2 years. I don't know where you're getting "the rest of the years" from. Unless you're talking about prereqs, which I am not.