Lake Sumter State College Nursing Program - 1ST SEMESTER TIPS

Hannah96, ASN, BSN · Jul 31, 2018

First semester of nursing school began Fall 2017 for me. First day: make nametags for your desk. Icebreakers. Very Grey's Anatomy Episode 1 Season 1 feel that goes sorta something like Webers speech: "Each of you comes here today hopeful, wanting in on the game. A month ago, you were in med school being taught by doctors. Today, you are the doctors. The seven years you spend here as a surgical resident will be the best and worst of your life. You will be pushed to the breaking point. Look around you. Say hello to your competition. Eight of you will switch to an easier specialty. Five of you will crack under the pressure. Two of you will be asked to leave. This is your starting line. This is your arena. How well you play...That's up to you".

Expect group projects. Discussions. Longer lectures than you're used to (9am-12pm/9am-5pm). Bring your YETI cup full with ice, something comfy, your laptop (don't forget your powercord!), and why not go to Hobby Lobby for one of those rolling carts. They are super nice. Methods of Care (MOC) is a 1 credit hour class you will be required to take your first semester, it is a lot of writing, participation in class, and learning the legalities of nursing. Do not take this class lightly. It is a big chunk of the NCLEX that can easily be overlooked.

CLINICAL: there is no possible way to be the perfect nursing student in clinical. You are not going to be going to the hospital until 2nd semester. You will be learning how to take vital signs though, and doing it on others in the lobby of the library. They will try and scare you will check-offs. DO NOT FREAK OUT. Pay attention to wound care and foley labs. It is so easy to cross your sterile zone, and if you do, you will fail that check off. Oh, and you will fail a check-off. That's ok. Respect your clinical instructor. You are NOT supposed to know everything semester 1, but you are expected to give it your all. This is the time to ask questions, get to know your clinical instructor, connect the pieces between what you read in your book to application.

EXAMS...Do not change your answer. It IS the most obvious, easiest one...No, they are not trying to trick you. Read carefully. Very...carefully. Usually the exams are 50 questions and you are given 1.5 hours. It is plenty of time. First semester is multiple choice, maybe 1 or 2 SATAs (select all that apply)...Use process of elimination. You can easily rule out 2 then you gotta 50/50 chance. The one you stick with is most related to the root of the question.

STUDYING FOR EXAMS...Quizlet! A lot of people write their notes, I choose to make flashcards AS the teacher is speaking. It helps me put it in bullet points, I get the most important info out of it, and when lecture is over, bam. I've got all my flaschards on me, and I can take them on the go.

Overall: Try to look for your textbooks on e-bay, because most of them can be purchased in the PDF format for like $3.99. The PDF format of the textbook looks identical to the e-book, you can press Control+F to search keyterms in the file. It's great, and you can take it with you anywhere. If there are a few pages you want to print out from it, you can do that too.

ADDITIONAL TIPS-

The most important thing you will do your first semester is NOT sign a contract with a hospital and NOT go to CNA school over Christmas break and try to get a job. People the first semester that signed a contract with SLH or HC (Southlake Hospital/Health Central) for Med-Surg are stuck with that now. When 2nd semester came and they did their actual med-surg rotations, they realized they hated it. You won't know what you want to specialize in until after 3rd semester or even during 4th. If you don't know what kind of nurse you wanna be, that is perfectly OKAY. It is ok to not know. You will find your niche along the way. For now, focus on learning the material, passing the exams, and taking it one day at a time. As for getting a job. Instructors like noobs. Let's put it that way. This is just simple advice for a nurisng student to not water down your vision of what it means to be a Registered Nurse, to work in a hospital, to work with a great team of people and technology. Instructors LOVE it when you do not have any prior medical experience, because that means you are moldable, they can teach you as a baby and raise you fresh, and organically. realize some CNAs are respectful, kind, and love to learn...But some (no longer in my class anymore) always tried to talk over the instructors, give attitude because things are done differently, etc. So as a disclaimer I am not neautralizing the hard work CNAs do or who they are.

That's it for Semester 1. Read next for Semester 2!

A month ago, you were in med school being taught by doctors.Today you are the doctors.The seven years you spend here as a surgical resident will be the best and worst of your life.You will be pushed to the breaking point.Look around you.Say hello to your competition.Eight of you will switch to an easier specialty.Five will crack under the pressure.Two of you will be asked to leave.This is your starting line.This is your arena.How well you play, that's up to you.Clinic