I got in! What should I do now?

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I just found out yesterday that I got accepted to the Accelerated BSN program at my first choice! I am absolutely thrilled!

My program doesn't start for several months and I was hoping someone could give me advice on what I should do to prepare for the start of nursing school. Are there books I need to read, online courses I should take, lingo I should learn? Any info would be helpful!

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Specializes in LTC.

I'd go ahead and get the NCLEX-RN app for your phone, and go through the terminology, at least. Go through whatever interests you. Look things up. Absorb. Watch Khan Academy videos for anything you can find. Khan also has an entire NCLEX section, and it's all free. These two tools will be invaluable during nursing school. Preparing ahead of time will be highly beneficial.

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Depends on a few things. How strong are you in your AP knowledge, Medical terminology etc. For me I never worked in healthcare, so I took a med term class, reviewed my AP notes, review fluid/electrolytes, med abbreviations is a big one as well. The biggest is what the person above said, NCLEX style questions, questions that involve critical thinking and not straight definition etc.

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In the months before I started nursing school, I spent some time brushing up on my A&P and started teaching myself drug dosage calculations. If your school doesn't require a dosage calculations book, you may want to pick up a copy of Calculate with Confidence. It's a super helpful and easy to understand textbook that helped me pass my first dosage calculation exam.

I also read Nursing School Thrive Guide by Maureen Osuna and Oh Sh*t, I Almost Killed You: A Little Book of Big Things Nursing School Forgot to Teach You by Sonja Schwartzbach. Thrive Guide has some great organization and study tips, and Oh Sh*t has a lot of funny insights for new nurses.

The biggest piece of advice I can give is to relax and enjoy the free time that you have right now. Trust me, it will quickly disappear once you start your program. Also, take some time to get other areas of your life as organized as possible. Develop good routines and habits, especially for self-care.

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The hardest transition from my previous degree in Biology was the type of questions being asked. Definitely know your A&P backwards and forwards, but it's just as important to become familiar with NCLEX-style questions.

Also, med calc is super easy to teach yourself! There are a bunch of books out there, my school used Calculation of Drug Dosages by Ogden and Fluharty.

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Save $1000 for your graduation month.

$$$ photos, gown, NCLEX applications, NCLEX prep courses, etc.

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