Just got accepted, what now?

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Hi, I just received my acceptance letter into the nursing program and I am super excited, but nervous as well. Any advice on ANYTHING would be great; what should I expect, care plan advice, etc. Like I said anything and everything please, don't hold back. Thanks!

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

Congratulations!

For now, spend time with family and friends, and try to clear your calendar for the next 2-3 years. Save up money for the unexpected stuff that comes up. Don't buy a bunch of stuff before you start- uniforms, shoes, and stethoscope are really the big things, aside from textbooks and other required materials. The rest, buy as you need it, otherwise you'll buy a bunch of stuff you don't need.

Be open-minded and humble, study hard, and work together with your classmates and instructors, and you'll do great.

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party now, you can't later :p

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Here's my seasoned advice

1. Buy an alarm clock if you don't have one, and don't count on your phone. 2 people in my program overslept and missed class/clinicals over and over again, they bought a back up clock just in time to be kicked out of the program. I always set a back up clock in case my phone dies or I miss-set an alarm.

2. Skim through some nurse test taking skill books. It's so frustrating to study for hours only to fail a test because you stink at select all that apply questions or critical thinking.

3. It never hurts to get ahead on drug-classes and common drugs familiarize yourself if you feel you absolutely need to study something and get ahead. When I started school teachers would mention drugs that they thought were so common everyone would recognize them like Digoxin, dilauded, heparin, etc and a lot of people really were not familiar.

4. Buy some nursing pneumonics books, and nursing made easy books and skim through fun things that catch your eye, it will get you pumped up for what you're about to learn and the books will come in handy later. Buy them from half .com to save cash!

Most of all enjoy your free time before nursing school and relax. Take your car to get its oil changed, clean your house top to bottom, do all your laundry, get any annual doctors appointments done now while you're available, cook and freeze a bunch of meals. Once the stress kicks in when you're in school dishes pile up, you start eating pizza for dinner way too often, laundry piles up, and you don't have the time or desire to do any chores. Start off with things in tip top shape so you wont be living in a pig stye instantly.

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.
Here's my seasoned advice

1. Buy an alarm clock if you don't have one, and don't count on your phone. 2 people in my program overslept and missed class/clinicals over and over again, they bought a back up clock just in time to be kicked out of the program. I always set a back up clock in case my phone dies or I miss-set an alarm.

2. Skim through some nurse test taking skill books. It's so frustrating to study for hours only to fail a test because you stink at select all that apply questions or critical thinking.

3. It never hurts to get ahead on drug-classes and common drugs familiarize yourself if you feel you absolutely need to study something and get ahead. When I started school teachers would mention drugs that they thought were so common everyone would recognize them like Digoxin, dilauded, heparin, etc and a lot of people really were not familiar.

4. Buy some nursing pneumonics books, and nursing made easy books and skim through fun things that catch your eye, it will get you pumped up for what you're about to learn and the books will come in handy later. Buy them from half .com to save cash!

Most of all enjoy your free time before nursing school and relax. Take your car to get its oil changed, clean your house top to bottom, do all your laundry, get any annual doctors appointments done now while you're available, cook and freeze a bunch of meals. Once the stress kicks in when you're in school dishes pile up, you start eating pizza for dinner way too often, laundry piles up, and you don't have the time or desire to do any chores. Start off with things in tip top shape so you wont be living in a pig stye instantly.

Good call about the test-taking books! Nursing exams are VERY different from any exam you've ever taken, and it takes a few tries to get used to them. You'll learn the meaning of "more right"!

Agreed about meds. In general, you'll need to know mechanism of action, class, side effects, indications, nursing considerations/patient education, and generic/trade names (I'm sure I'm missing something here...). Dosages, maybe. Insulin- know your insulins, onset, duration. Different patients have different dosages based on blood sugars (and the dosage related to blood sugar varies from patient to patient), so don't bother with dosages on that.

Meal planning might be good as well. List some easy things you can take with you to school or the library (find out if you have microwave access at school). Things like carrots and hummus can be nice while you're at school, or Greek yogurt with sliced berries. I make big dinners and portion them out and freeze them, so it's like homemade TV dinners (with far less sodium and fat).

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Thank you all

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I was looking at stethoscopes and not sure what to get, I was looking at a littman classic II.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

The Classic II SE is an excellent mid-range stethoscope. Personally, I have a Littmann Cardiology III that I've used for the past 14 years. They're very durable. I'm not saying that you should get one. I got mine because I had learned to hear what I needed to and wanted something better. What I learned with was a Littmann Classic II Lightweight. They don't make it any more. What I'm going to recommend instead is that you pick a stethoscope between about $25 and $70 and go with it. In that price range, there are some fantastic stethoscopes and it's hard to go wrong. Also, if your stethoscope gets lost or stolen, you won't be out a whole lot of money. Don't buy a really good stethoscope until you know what you're listening for. Could I get by with a seriously cheap $4.50 single head stethoscope? Sure! I can because I know what I'm listening for.

Now that I think about it, I'm reasonably sure I actually have a couple of those cheap steths around... they're the backups to my backup.

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

I love my Littmanns. I have two, a Master Classic and a Cardiology III (they were gifts, otherwise I'd just have one). I see a lot of people with the Classic, and they're all happy with it. Depending on what kind of nursing you want to get into, you may want to upgrade at some point, but a Classic would definitely get you through school and beyond.

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Wow this is great advice. I also just got accepted into a nursing program. I'm happy I came across this post you guys are awesome!!!

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I heard compression socks also are a must once you start clinicals

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I heard compression socks also are a must once you start clinicals

Ahaha well this made my day.

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