Anxiously awaiting my first day of nursing school

ORNurseCOS · Aug 15, 2016

Ha. Hell, absolute hell :)

I saw your post and thought I would comment, I just finished nursing school at UTMB and have been home a week or so. Its such a blur. Don't bother trying to make friends or family understand what your going through. Say goodbye to your friends and family etc and tell them you'll see them in X amount of months.

This is key. Surround yourself with a few good people, at least one. Find someone that is different than you and supports you where you are weak. For me, that was organization. My study buddy was great at that and I brought other things to the table so we worked out great.

This is key. Stay ahead of the game. Plan and keep a calendar or have your study buddy do it. When you think you've done enough for the day do more.

This is key. Talk to the upper class-man at your school. Get feedback on the professors etc. My school had a mentor program and the mentors passed down useful reviews etc.

This is key. Don't be afraid to fail in clinical - speak up, go out of your way to DO THINGS - I was in my capstone with a classmate that didn't know how to program and IV pump...not okay. Really go out of your way to do things at clinical, even if they seems easy. Let your nurse/preceptor see your enthusiasm and offer to do EVERYTHING.

This is key. You can learn from EVERYONE in the clinical setting, even housekeeping. Be humble, you don't know anything, and when you start feeling like you do, realize you don't. UAP etc. have a wealth of knowledge to share, and will do so if they like you. Arrogance in the clinical setting is like skunk spray.

Try to stay health, both physically and mentally. This will be a rigorous time. Best thing I've ever done and this is my 2nd degree and I went to flight school.

I wish you the best!

Nicole2389 · Aug 15, 2016

Wow,thanks for the feedback. I know it's going to be alot. I plan to stay ahead of the game. I am apart of a strong study group, a few of us were in pre-reqs together and they were great to study with. I have a mentor who's working with me. She said some things that you shared on your comment. I guess I better buckle down and prepare for impact.