Is there anything I can work on before starting NS?

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Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to start the RN program at my local community college this fall, and if I don't get it i'll have to wait until Spring. Either way, I know it's a bit early but if I happen to be accepted for fall...is there anything I can start working on over the summer to give me a head start? What did you wish you had done/known before you began NS?

Thanks for any advice! :)

is there anything I can start working on over the summer to give me a head start?

I see this question a lot. With any luck you already did the things you needed to do.

Did you work your tail off in A&P, Chemistry, Math, Composition and health science courses you have taken? That is probably the single best thing a student can do to prepare for nursing school.

My fellow students who are having problems are the ones who did not do as well in the prerequisite classes.

Do you think that things like math and chemistry are silly and are not important for nurses? You are going to have problems. Is dimensional analysis something you think nurses don't need? Did you think that ions, electrolytes, tonicity, and osmolarity were concepts you only needed to "know for the test" and then immediately forget? Bad news. Was the oxy-hemoglobin dissociation curve a silly concept that didn't apply to you? Oops.

Did you pay attention when you were told to write papers in MLA or APA style? Do you know the importance of having a writing style guide on hand for proper formatting of papers, citations, etc? Did you pay attention on how to use peer reviewed databases? if you did, you are preparing for nursing school.

The best advice I can give a prospective nursing student is to take their prereq coursework seriously. You will need this stuff later.

Best of luck.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I keep seeing pharmacology come up as something to go over before nursing school starts. I'm taking it right now (actually taking a break from it as I type this) as a prereq. Is it because this is something fundamental that you need to know that ties in with the rest of your classes or is it because it's a difficult class, or both?

I would say both, it's a difficult class for most and it comes up a lot in Clinicals and your nursing class. Often have Drug questions on my med/surge exams, or ob/peds exams.

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A really great book, Fundamentals Success (a part of Davis's success series)...you can read it now to learn the the testing styles, and you will also use it once you start as well because it has a lot of really great practice questions broken up into subjects that you learn in fundamentals. All the other nclex style books are more geared for med/surg and disease processes which aren't really covered a whole lot in fundamentals. Practicing the questions and getting used to that kind of testing is the most important thing to learn. So many people in my class are smart and study a bunch, but the tests are just really hard!

Others are recommending pharmacology, but honestly I don't know how beneficial it would be. Every program is different, but so far in my program they just aren't focusing a whole lot on pharmacology. It would be good to at least know the classifications and what they do maybe but that's about it. IMO. Maybe if you could talk to some other students in your same program they could give you more direct advice about how your program works.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
A really great book, Fundamentals Success (a part of Davis's success series)...you can read it now to learn the the testing styles, and you will also use it once you start as well because it has a lot of really great practice questions broken up into subjects that you learn in fundamentals. All the other nclex style books are more geared for med/surg and disease processes which aren't really covered a whole lot in fundamentals. Practicing the questions and getting used to that kind of testing is the most important thing to learn. So many people in my class are smart and study a bunch, but the tests are just really hard!

Others are recommending pharmacology, but honestly I don't know how beneficial it would be. Every program is different, but so far in my program they just aren't focusing a whole lot on pharmacology. It would be good to at least know the classifications and what they do maybe but that's about it. IMO. Maybe if you could talk to some other students in your same program they could give you more direct advice about how your program works.

Are you passing meds in clinicals yet?

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Yes I'm passing meds. We had a unit on med administration and had to read a bunch of chapters in the pharm. book, but we were barely tested on that information. We had our dosage calc test which you had to have a 90 or higher to continue the class. But that's about it. We had to make drug cards and get to keep those with us at clinicals and we have access to our drug guide book. But they aren't making us memorize the information. The only thing we had to do was pass the med admin practicum and when we pass drugs we have to know what they are for, the implications, and contraindications, but we can look all of that up while we are preparing the meds. That's why I think it wouldn't be beneficial to really cram on that information. But every school is different. I just think it would be helpful to know the classifications and the general information about the most common drugs and what they do....I spent so much time studying stuff out of the pharmacology book that was really useless to me in practice and then wasn't even on our test. But that's just my opinion...and like I said, every school different.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Yes I'm passing meds. We had a unit on med administration and had to read a bunch of chapters in the pharm. book, but we were barely tested on that information. We had our dosage calc test which you had to have a 90 or higher to continue the class. But that's about it. We had to make drug cards and get to keep those with us at clinicals and we have access to our drug guide book. But they aren't making us memorize the information. The only thing we had to do was pass the med admin practicum and when we pass drugs we have to know what they are for, the implications, and contraindications, but we can look all of that up while we are preparing the meds. That's why I think it wouldn't be beneficial to really cram on that information. But every school is different. I just think it would be helpful to know the classifications and the general information about the most common drugs and what they do....I spent so much time studying stuff out of the pharmacology book that was really useless to me in practice and then wasn't even on our test. But that's just my opinion...and like I said, every school different.

Our program has been a bit different and a little more involved, but I wouldn't suggest someone go in detail every drug before they start, I do think it would help and not hurt them to do have a good idea though about the most commonly prescribed ones, the ones you really have to watch for before or after giving. (like BP and meds that effect pulse). I know it would have helped me a lot if I had a better idea on that stuff before going into my program. We have 2 semesters of Pharm, our dosage calc tests we have to pass at 100% but knowing the drugs themselves hasn't really factored into those, that is pretty much just math. But a lot of our tests have had questions concerning drugs dependent on the unit we are working on.

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Our program has been a bit differently and a little more involved, but I would suggest someone go in detail every drug before they start, I do think it would help and not hurt them to do have a good idea though about the most commonly prescribed ones, the ones you really have to watch for before or after giving. (like BP and meds that affect pulse). I know it would have helped me a lot if I had a better idea on that stuff before going into my program. We have 2 semesters of Pharm, our dosage calc tests we have to pass at 100% but knowing the drugs themselves hasn't really factored into those, that is pretty much just math. But a lot of our tests have had questions concerning drugs dependent on the unit we are working on.

Yeah, you're probably right. It wouldn't hurt to know the information, it would only help. I guess I just got discouraged at how much I studied it and then they didn't even really test us on it. (affected my grade on that test because I should have studied other information instead). But I am also still only in my first semester. It might start getting more detailed with drugs as I go on. But my school seems kind of different than others. We don't take pharmacology at all. They just kind of integrate it into the material. Like right now we are doing fluid/electrolytes, urinary elimination, and wound care and there are ceratain drugs that the teacher has requested us to get familiar with, but there's just not a formal "pharmacology" class we have to take. Seems kind of wierd that they are not focusing on it more.

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I am at the end of my third year in a BSN program, so I have a little insight into what I wish I had done. Right now, look around and see what needs to be done. Do you need to see the dentist, have your Pap, get your car worked on, etc. Making time for these things when you are in nursing school may be next to impossible. Go visit your friends and family, they will see little of you except between semesters. The stress level and workload in my program is unbelievable, and I am sure most programs are the same. I would say just take it easy right now. Things will be coming at you fast and furious when you start nursing school.

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Specializes in NICU.

Yeah. Establish good sleep habits.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

You could start by getting an NCLEX review book and just thumbing through it to get an idea of the basics...

But to be honest, I'd take the time to enjoy the summer and relax, because once NS starts you are going to find that it takes up more of your time than you ever imagined :) I know this opinion goes against the popular opinion, but IMO, time off to recharge your batteries can do you as much good as preparing all summer, if not more--then when you start NS in the fall, you won't already be tired of all the reading and reviewing.

One thing I would suggest, however: if you need to complete any non-nursing classes for your degree, such as microbio, statistics, ethics, etc. do it in the summer before school starts. I had to take ethics and psych nursing together one semester, and I felt like I was chained to my textbooks.

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Specializes in Med Surg, ICU, home&pub health, pvt duty.

I tell the same thing to other pre nursing students. Take a CNA course. Some nursing schools require a CNA license before a student can apply. Get a nursing fundamentals book (find out what textbooks they are using at the facility you are hoping to get into and get a one used at amazon) and start reading, underlining the important aspects, and take notes--when you starting nursing school you will be doing the same thing but will have less time and more stress. Make some flash cards for import concepts. If you finish that, start reading med/surg, peds, etc. :twocents:

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Specializes in CVICU/ER.

Like a couple people have said, relax and enjoy your free time. For two years life will kind of stop and you will have to sacrifice time with family and doing things that you take for granted. It is a lot of work so from my perspective, I say don't rush it. You will do what you feel is best and that is cool, but I can't wait to spend time with my son now that this is coming to an end.

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