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Discussion

learning for your own benefit

Hey!

I just wanted to start off by saying, I discovered this website way back when I was a junior in high school and only considering going into the nursing field. Even after I made an account (in 2013 I think?) I still do more lurking around than anything - now, I'm entering the last year and a half of my BSN program.

I'm posing this question to people already RN's because I'm hoping to get some good insight here. While you were in school, did you ever do extra studying on top of your schoolwork? I'm talking reviewing medications even after completing your pharmacology course, as an example. I'm asking because I see so many resources out there, and myself being a bookworm found an ACLS pocket guide at Barnes and Noble today that looked appealing, so I went ahead and bought it :cheeky: I guess now I'll know what to expect when I actually take an ACLS course!!

Did doing studying/learning on your own time help you when it came to the NCLEX? Do you still find yourself studying to keep up on your nursing skills? Any insight is helpful - or maybe you guys can tell me I'm just a nerd.

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    Yes I did in arrears of interest cardiology and critical care

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    Focus on your curriculum.

    You are getting way ahead of yourself. It's not necessary and could hurt you in the long run.

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    It paid off as I was immediately hired in CCU

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    But as "Been There done There"...said focus on your program....I was just interested in critical care, but only did extra focus on that area last six months of my program

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    Yes. I read many evidence based guidelines during Christmas and summer breaks. Extra research will benefit you in practice.

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    Yes! I read articles from journals of specialties that interest me. Don't let it consume your time but it can't hurt to read during your "off" time

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    I also try to answer 5 nclex questions a day, usually on current lecture content.

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    Yes. But I am also a nerd:) If you it's something you're interested in, though, and it's not detracting from your school work, why not? But, as one of my teachers told me in my first semester of school, "don't lose the forest through the trees."

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    • Author
    Focus on your curriculum.

    You are getting way ahead of yourself. It's not necessary and could hurt you in the long run.

    I get what you're saying! But I've never done it to the extent that it would hurt my studies. Sometimes I feel that my program glossed over pharmacology and we didn't really learn much - now in my classes my professors get mad when on exams we all perform poorly on the pharmacology questions. Go figure.

    I mostly do little things, at my PCA job if my patient has a diagnosis I don't recognize I'll look it up (in my down time of course!). I also look up any meds they're taking that I don't recognize.

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    Prepare for NCLEX right along side with your courses. Read extra pharmacology as related to your coursework. But, as others have mentioned, put first priority on required schoolwork. Read the textbooks. --It's best to do this before lecture (whether in-person or online), so you get maximum impact from the lecture. ---Steady and diligent studying early on will help the knowledge stay with you and make it easier when you take your finals and the NCLEX.

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    I didn't then, but I do now. At the time I was building my knowledge base and primarily focused on current coursework/classes.

    Now I am often reading information on topics that interest me or that I feel I need to know more about. Nursing is constant learning.

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    • Experts

    I did -- and still do. But rarely has the learning been directly about patients, physiology, etc. It's been about a lot of other (sometimes related, but not always) stuff. I enjoy broadening my horizons more than going deeper into the work I do all day.

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