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.
I believe that so far in nursing school the best thing for me is to have somebody to vent to that won't judge you for what you say or try to give you advice. You never realize how nice it is to have somebody that listens until you are in nursing school!
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.
I just began the nursing program and it already stressing me out. I have two jobs and I am a full time nursing student. I do not know how I will survive, but I will take your advice and use some of it. Thank you.
lindylou88
45 Posts
I believe that so far in nursing school the best thing for me is to have somebody to vent to that won't judge you for what you say or try to give you advice. You never realize how nice it is to have somebody that listens until you are in nursing school!