I am reading several posts about how dificult NS is and how high drop rates are. This is really scaring me. I am pretty anal about studying and do well with keeping on track and focusing on my school work. I have an average GPA of 3.6.
I am really psyching myself out. I am beyond excited to start NS in August. It's my dream, I wouldn't want anything more for myself and my son!
But when I read how high the drop rates are and how hard it is, I wonder if I'll be a part of the drop rate!
I read about those "trick question" exams that will have 3-4 right answers, but which is the "most right." I read about all these horror stories.
Is NS "hard", time consuming, or both? Have you heard of people failing out for paying attention and putting their all into it?
I also am very anal about my schoolwork, and did quite well in classes previous to nursing school. Nursing school is both difficult and time consuming. Honestly the info isn't confusing, I always feel like I know it so well, but it takes practice figuring out the N-Clex style questions. Like you said, there are usually 3-4 right answers and you have to pick the best answer, it can be very confusing, especially since most of us look way too much into the question:) The time consuming work, from my experience, was care plans, drug cards, group projects and keeping up with the reading.
With that said, it is totally doable. Don't get too psyched out, just do your work and you will be fine. If you feel that you are not grasping something well enough then get help, don't wait. I would suggest doing NCLEX questions from day 1.
It's hard and time consuming, but there are ways to make it "do-able". I'm going on my second semester. My first semester was an eye opener; I didn't know what to expect and I spent most of the time playing catch-up. Don't fall behind. Don't put off things that you can do now, and don't be afraid to ask questions. If you want it to be easier, you're going to have to spend a lot more time styling tan you probably planned on. If you don't want to spend that much time studying, than it'll be hell and you will just cram and not retain anything. I think during orientation they suggested studying 30+ hours a week. I thought that they were just saying that hoping we would do at least like 20. Nope, and even when I did study at least 30 hours a week, I felt like I needed to study more. For me, I seemed to learn something new every time I studied, but since the material is interesting and something that I am looking to begin a career in, it held my attention. You have to want to learn and be interested in what you're doing otherwise it'll feel like a chore. That being said, NCLEX questions are the hardest for me and I'm shopping around for materials now to try to practice those types of questions.
You sound a lot more organized and better at studying than I am. Just try not to procrastinate, if anything stay ahead. Also, just because going to class may be "optional", it never hurts to go. You'll do fine.
Being succcessful at answering NCLEX style questions requires a high level of reading comprehension. You need to understand what the question is asking and then pick the most correct answer.
Get an NCLEX review book such as Saunders at the beginning of the first semester and practice the questions in it for each exam you take.
My first nursing instructor told us that we need to practice 100 NCLEX review questions a week. He was right.
Listen to me, I've got 9 months left in nursing school- I heard the same things about nursing school and was scared to death. I have made it through 12 years of school without ever having to open a book at home and making As and Bs. If you are smart and have a GPA of 3.6, you will do fine. You will learn to study if you never have before and you will make a habit of it. It becomes fun and fulfilling to "finish" studying what you know will be on the test. Study hard and answer the questions with the best answer. Trust your gut instinct. Cover up the distractors (answers) and answer the question before seeing them. Then remove your hand and find the answer! You will learn what your teachers test on. You will get a feel for how the questions are written. My teachers test on not WHAT I know, but HOW I use it. For example: with lasix what are you most concerned with? Rather than, what does lasix do? Catch my drift? Also just remember with Lasix you want to check BP, lung sounds, and lytes.
Just remember: study. Study smart. As in, study what they want you to study. When you are tested on 18 chapters it doesn't mean you have to read the 18 chapters through and through. Like my professors say, pull the exemplars from the text. Usually the syllabus will have exemplars that go with a concept. For example, sexuality as a concept. The exemplars are STIs, preconceptual counseling, and birth control methods. You don't want to just study the birth control methods but WHAT THE BCMS DO, SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS, AND WHAT THEY INTERACT WITH AND WHAT IS CONTRAINDICATED. Just really wanted to stress that, some people don't get it...
The people who I know that failed out were either not 100% committed and focused or just didn't get it. It requires a lot of sacrifice of your time with friends and family that some people were not prepared to give up. Others who dropped out usually just realized that it wasn't for them. One of my best friends failed out the 2nd semester and she swore up and down that it was because she was a single parent with no one to help her with the kids so she could study etc. etc. but boy was she in denial. She was out partying every night, having "sleepovers" the night before a test instead of studying. Being a single mother had nothing to do with it. If you really want it bad enough and work hard enough you can make this happen!
The biggest part is to get an NCLEX review book and do questions! Do them from your first semester and don't stop. What I did was use Saunders Comprehensive Review of the NCLEX-RN because it's broken into content (ex. cardiac, neuro, etc) and had both questions and a written review. I read it before each class (if possible), then I read the textbook, and then I went back and did the questions. Once I started doing that my grades started improving, and I started really understanding how the questions were. I wish I would have started that system at the beginning, I would have "gotten" nursing questions sooner.
The people who I know that failed out were either not 100% committed and focused or just didn't get it. It requires a lot of sacrifice of your time with friends and family that some people were not prepared to give up. Others who dropped out usually just realized that it wasn't for them. One of my best friends failed out the 2nd semester and she swore up and down that it was because she was a single parent with no one to help her with the kids so she could study etc. etc. but boy was she in denial. She was out partying every night, having "sleepovers" the night before a test instead of studying. Being a single mother had nothing to do with it. If you really want it bad enough and work hard enough you can make this happen!
Thank you ladies so much for your input, I'll look for an nclex review book from now so I can practice starting on day 1!
I too am a single mom of a 1-yr old. I worry I will fall behind in being a good mom or being a good NS student! I hear so many single moms of 3+ children! I am sure that shouldn't be a problem as SuperStarLPN said! =]
I made awesome grades before nursing school. All A's in A&P and Micro. But nursing school is NOTHING like this classes. I was confident that with my study ethic and determination all would be ok. Then. I hit nursing school! I made a C my first semester. My first C in school! At the end of the semester, 14 people remained out of a class of 32! This is the grim reality of nursing school. The bright side is when I hit second semester I studied more (25-30 hrs a week) and got more organized. I concentrated on really understanding the material and understanding my nursing interventions. I took tons of practice tests to understand how to answer nclex questions and joined a study group. Guess what? I made an A second semester and will start 3rd in the fall!! It can be done but, it won't be easy. You really won't know until you are in nursing school. I am a wife, a mother of 4 and work part time. You can do it, you just have to get past the learning curve!!
kaydensmom01
475 Posts
I also am very anal about my schoolwork, and did quite well in classes previous to nursing school. Nursing school is both difficult and time consuming. Honestly the info isn't confusing, I always feel like I know it so well, but it takes practice figuring out the N-Clex style questions. Like you said, there are usually 3-4 right answers and you have to pick the best answer, it can be very confusing, especially since most of us look way too much into the question:) The time consuming work, from my experience, was care plans, drug cards, group projects and keeping up with the reading.
With that said, it is totally doable. Don't get too psyched out, just do your work and you will be fine. If you feel that you are not grasping something well enough then get help, don't wait. I would suggest doing NCLEX questions from day 1.