Im accepted! What do I need??

sproeber89 · Jun 25, 2009

Spend this time getting organized, make sure you have all the supplies you need, back up if you need it for childcare etc. Also, just relax, you are going to be so busy during the first semester, look over the calculations and practice a bit. Also review anatomy a bit, but don't work too hard on it. I just finished my first semester of NS, it's a crazy time but I love it!!!

My biggest struggle has been balancing work, school, and taking care of the house (since I'm 19 and live at home its my 'rent' to maintain the house). But I'm finding with organization its all doable. Any other questions let me know!

megalin · Jun 25, 2009

Congratulations! i just got my acceptance letter too ( Santa Fe College in Florida) ! I can't wait for the fun to begin:D I am also wondering what else I need! I did just purchase the iPod Touch. It seems like a frivolous expense, but the applications are endless. Every nurse i know has a PDA of some sort to manage all of the crazyness. The Touch manages as both PDA and music/stress relief ( and its a really cool toy to play with).

Ummm.... I keep reading about comfortable shoes. I have no idea what kind to buy. I hope more people respond to this because I am in the same boat as you!

Good Luck in school!

byrd262, BSN, RN · Jun 25, 2009

1. Don't spend $100 on shoes for clinical until you try them on and walk around in them.

2. Stethoscope

3. Blood pressure cuff

4. A GOOD care plan book as a supplement (Sometimes the one the school recommends is crap)

5. Talk to other students before buying books (i.e. Medical Dictionary, APA guide). A lot of them you don't NEED. So if money is an issue talk to others first. If you can get to the school book store now to see what books are on the shelf and purchase them used on "Amazon Marketplace" at Amazon. Again, only if you want to save about $300 a semester.

6. Make sure that all your financial aid documents have been received by the deadline.

7. Start trying to figure how your schedule will be if you will need to modify it to fit work in.

Hope this helps.

JulesRN10 · Jun 25, 2009

my school didn't tell us about the "incidental" stuff, like the subscriptions they wanted us to have. the t-shirts we would wear to class functions/clinics in our first semester. the background checks, the photos required. i would start a piggy bank of all the money i could to help with that the first few weeks. i used several hundred dollars i wasn't expecting. as for supplies, i used the biggest 3 ring binder i could find, tons of loose leaf paper, dividers, and i should have bought stock in highlighters. and one very good planner--to write each of my assignments in every day. i've never been so organized, but i could tell you what was due when at any given time. saved lots of time that way, i was organized and ready to go at any given time. plenty of black pens, pencils too! good luck all!

booty911 · Jun 25, 2009

Don't forget about uniforms!!! Most schools will have a specific uniform or style/color they want students to wear, my school wanted all white. This was annoying for most students since our first day of classes everyone had to go out and buy all white underwear, bras, socks, everything!

For clinical days, make sure you have a stethoscope and put your name on it somewhere because doctors like to use them and then disappear with your $100 prize lol, dressing scissors, pen light, tons of pens and pencils (you'll end up losing them probably so make sure you buy a lot), excellent sneakers...something with bounce in them.

For lectures, lots of paper, highlighters, pens, pensils, binders, dividers, post-its. I bought a medical dictionary in my first year and to be honest I didn't use it because most of the terms you learned in class and from reading other material. Buy a book related to your school's preferred format for referencing papers....such as APA or MLA or Chicago style, they're a great help for paper writing.

Best of luck! Try not to let the first semester totally freak you out!

scrublifenurse10, LPN · Jun 25, 2009

The best nursing shoes I've found is the Cherokee/Harmony (brand/style). They are very comfortable, and our school does not allow tennis shoes/sneakers; only "real" nursing shoes.

Also, get organized now (home life, school life, etc.). Make a plan and stick to it, then you will be ready for what is to come in NS.

intuition · Jun 28, 2009

Here is what I used throughout nursing school-

-huge 3 in. binders, for each semester. Teachers handed out power points and other misc. papers.

-many highlighters

-many pens and pencils

-flag post it's to keep track of what chapters I needed to study for a test

-dollar store calculator

-Taber's

-drug guide

-APA cheat sheet/guide for all the paper's that we had to write

-calendar- kept track of tests, clinicals, work schedule, major project due dates, and other life stuff

Clinicals-

-comfortable pair of shoes, don't buy until u get your dress code. I didn't buy fancy nurse shoes, went to Kohl's and bought a comfortable pair of sneakers

-stethescope- asked family to all pitch in for a christmas gift, so that I could get a nice one

-pen light

-trauma scissors

-watch with a second hand

-lunch box, so i didn't have to pay for lunches every day during clinical

-3.5x5 notebook, to write vitals or odd notes i.e. how to use the computer system at each clinical site.

* if you are going to order books off the internet, make sure to give ample time for order processing and shipping. I was burned once by this, so as soon as I was able to get a book list, I went on-line and ordered used books.

caliotter3 · Jun 28, 2009

If you will be using a PDA, research the one you want to get, as well as the applications that you will want to put on it. If you get a PDA, you will put a drug reference and medical dictionary on it, so you don't need those. But if you don't get a PDA, you can buy a drug reference and medical dictionary now. Check them out at a bookstore, then buy used copies on the internet.

ErinJane · Jun 28, 2009

Relax! Enjoy the end of your summer and the last bit of downtime you can get!

Also, figure out if you are a single/huge binder or several/smaller binder kind of person. Both work, but one always works better for each person.

Buy a good bookbag.

Keep checking websites like this (allnurses.com has been an awesome resource for me).

Start checking prices on books/supplies. I would suggest allheart.com for supplies and bigwords.com for books. No need to spend thousands when you can spend hundreds :).

allnurses Guide · Jun 28, 2009

Don't bother with a BP cuff unless you know it will be required. Most facilities don't want you bringing in one, that may not be calibrated properly ( we had that happen, elderly pt was treated all night for hypotension she didn't have).

The very basics: good stethescope, marked with your name (I use a pet store tag with my name engraved on it).

Good penlight, bandage scissors, pocket notebook to keep running notes in.

I bought a lot of books on Amazon.com, ecampus.com, and even ebay. Make sure you get the current edition! Tabers is useful for a long time, not just in school.

guiltysins · Jun 28, 2009

I could pretty much restate everything everyone else said but I won't lol. Personally I hate binders, probably because I'm left handed and it causes my hand to push up against the rings. Guess I'll be using notebooks lol.