How's Nursing School Going So Far?

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Well it's been about four weeks since I started nursing school. So far we have learned the basics;Bedmaking, Bedbaths, ROM Exercises, Dry to Dry and Dry to Wet Sterile Dressing Change, and Vital Signs. We've learned the Nursing Process, Therapeutic Communication, the History of Nursing and how to do Pain assessments. We had our first exam last week and all but one person in our study group passed. (Pass rate on exams is 75%) We've all rallied behind her to try and get her grade up on the next exam. All in all..so far so good. It's not at all what I expected. So far our instructors have been extremely nice and supportive. We have one really strict one but she even manages a smile here and there. The reading assignments are killer but so far I've been able to keep up. It kills me to hear about someone not reading the textbooks but making an A on the exam. :) Must be nice not to have to read 5 chapters a night. We start clinicals Oct 16 and I've already got butterflies in my stomache. I'm still excited about becoming a nurse even though it's going to be a lot of hard work. I can't wait to get these next 3 semesters over with!!!! How is nursing school going for you?

Loving it, but trying to get over my germ-phobia/paranoia. Any suggestions? :chuckle

Not sure what week this is for us, I think arond #4. We learned all about hygiene (bedmaking, baths), VS, elimination, etc over the summer, so this term we've been going full-steam. We have one whole class designated for assessment. Med Surg is the other main class, along with Pharm. We've had four exams and two calculations modules so far, and we have a calculations mastery exam on Friday. Next week we have quizzes/labs on NGs, IVs, med administration, and a few other things that I can't seem to remember at the moment.

Today was our first clinical day, and we'll be in clinical all week (except Friday).

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In week 5 now, had 2 exams and one pop quiz. I'm expecting another pop quiz tomorrow. We've covered about the same, bedmaking, full assesments, vitals, no baths yet, from what I was told the video we watched was all that we're gonna get. Fine with me. The class is ok, a lot of information, so little time. I love my A&P class though, I'm wizing through it no problem. But all in all I like it, I can't wait to start clinicals in a real hospital...October 14th. Good Luck to everyone.

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Specializes in Cardiology.

It's been a little rough for me. We went to school for 1.5 weeks, then class got cancelled for the next 1.5 weeks due to the Hurricanes. So today was my 1st day back. In the lab, all we've done so far is hand washing, vital signs, and head to toe assessment. Tomorrow we start in with injections. There is so much information, it's kind of overwhelming. I failed BP today during evaluations. Why? Because the cuff wasn't tight enough. So next week I get to retest again after remediation. I'm kinda bummed about that so my mood isn't as perky as everyone else here. Hopefully I get back into the swing of things soon. Hope everyone else is off to a good start.

...Jennifer...

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It's been a week and a half for me. I've had 2 lecture sessions so far...and I have to admit it's hard staying awake for 3 hrs....but I'll guess used to it. Laboratory is fun, we've done bed bath, bed making, vital signs, head to toe assessment. We had our return demonstrations and test-off today for bed bath and bed making....and I passed!!!!! Tomorrow we're having a mock test in the tutorial portion of our course...it's not going to count against our grade...they just want to see where our heads are at....lol. I have my first clinical next Friday....I still have to get my nursing shoes.... :)

Fatima

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Specializes in LTC, med-surg, critial care.

This is my 5th week of school, we just took our endocrine final today. I needed an A on the final to get an A in the class. I barely made that A. Sadly, three people failed and basically they have to come back next year. :o

The second half of the day we started GI with an instructor who also happens to be our clinical instructor. He's the nicest guy on the planet but dear God he's boring to listen to. I was doing the I'm-going-to-fall-asleep-right-here head nod during his lecture.

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Specializes in Gynecology/Oncology.

It's awesome! My teachers are great, too, I love them! I took my first fundamentals test this morning, didn't feel too good about it. BUT- I got a 92 and the class average was 82! It's still not an A, would've needed 93, but I can deal with that. :) I'm a little worried about pharm. because there's so much info.- but I just LOVE everything. A quarter of the way done with the first semester. Wow!

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We had our first Pharmacology exam today. I'm optimistic. There were six questions out of 50 I wasnt sure about so I'm praying for a high B....Maybe just any B. I was shooting for an A..but got stumped on those 6 questions. Still loving school though. I was at school today from 8-5 and my last class ended at 2. (just think how long I studied today) My study group and I went to eat after we left. It's so nice having optimistic people around you who are going through the same thing you are!!!!!!!:)

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i just finished my 3rd week of my first semester.. the first 2 weeks i was petrified of doing the skill check-offs in front of my instructor. but they seem to be getting easier now that i feel more confident. i actually enjoy going to class everyday :) a year ago when i was doing general education classes, i dreaded going to school and tended to wake up late.. now i stay up late at night studying just to get my work done , and i wake up every morning hoping to get an hour to study before my class starts. hehe, i love studying for these classes, except that the reading is a bit much for my nursing concepts class. plus, i also have a metrology test next week and i need like a 84 or 86% to pass :eek: hmm i guess that means i should go start studying now.. wish me luck!

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hey guys

So far so good. we have a test every week so that takes time getting used to. all of our test are on the computer so we get used to it before we take the boards. so far i have a 93%. missed 4 on the first test and 3 on the second. hope i can keep it up.

good luck to all

kris

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[so far everything is going pretty good. it seems like everyone is learning about the same stuff....but i got my first test grade back today and I got a 100!!!!! is this even possible? or is it some horrible mistake!?!? I am soooo excited...I have been so stressed, 3 tests this week and 2 next week, and it is just nice to see that the hours i am studying is actually paying off...at least for this once.... :rolleyes: Hope everyone is doing good...

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.

Fourth week of Semester 2. Week one was chaotic. There were lots of scheduling conflicts and were we surprised to see skills labs scheduled on Fridays and Saturdays for some students (school is Monday through Friday). We had the addition of PE to the second semester curriculum and will have it throughout the remaining two semesters. This is supposed to decrease our stress level? We have to write a paper every week as homework for PE.

Hurricane Francis came in and destroyed part of week 2 and all of week 3. We're all on notice that some of our holidays are now cancelled. Some students were still without power, water and phone when classes recommenced this past Monday. A few are withdrawing because the stress of the hurricane put them over the edge. Anyone who missed any of this past week's clinical days has to withdraw. Because of the hurricane, we have had zero tests but we did have one quiz. I got a 92 on it which tells me to keep on doing what I'm doing.

I love my OB clinical. So far, I have only worked postpartum. Many of the women do not speak English and it's a real challenge to communicate. My few words of Spanish are just enough to get me in trouble. All my maternal instincts come out teaching these younger women how to breastfeed and to make them as comfortable as possible. The meds on PP are easy and there isn't a lot of pathophysiology to worry about. Next week we're moving into labor and delivery.

The difference between first and second semester is dramatic. We don't have things spelled out for us as much as we had in first semester. We're supposed to know what is required of us without being told. We used to get assigned readings with page numbers. Now we're just supposed to know that Intrapartum lecture corresponds to chapter ____ in the text. The instructors are not as personable and the material has doubled. Skills demonstrations are now on our own time and not on class time. The focus of our clinical has transitioned from CNA work to nursing. We move right into VS, assessment, teaching and meds. Yes, still have to make the bed though:o

I expect that this semester will weed out a larger percentage than first did.

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Class has been great here. I am enjoying every minute of it. We had our first dosage calc test and I only missed 1 ques. We also had our first Fundamentals test and it was easy. I hope I get an A, but we can't miss more than 3 to get an A because our A is a 93 and above. We start clinicals on 10/11. I can't wait to get a real patient.

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