I created this post in the hopes that all applicants applying for the nursing program at Miami dade submit their experience they have had so far and also submit any questions they might have. I'm currently applying for the accelerated option but would like to hear what others are doing in the part time and generic option. A little about me is that I have a BSN in health science (2014) and have taken all the prerequisites with the exception of A&P 2 (which I am retaking in summer b June 22).
Right now my biggest concern is the hesi a2 exam we have to take and making sure i ace it because my science gpa is not so hot right now. I have read prior posts and it seems like A&P is the most challenging section. Has anyone taken it as yet? Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Also I'm worried that after they evaluate my degree they might not take my science subjects and make me re do them ?? . Has any one's transcript been evaluated yet?
Alright guys I just passed my first semester All A's one B, so I'm going to write it down before the euphoria makes me forget completely. Is nursing school impossible? Hell no! But does it require all/most of your attention to do good? Hell yes! Now mind you this is for the generic, imagine this applies more to the accelerated and less for the part time.
What First semester Nursing is like - Ultimate guide
Fundamentals: A class that teaches you the basics on how to think like a nurse, how to prioritize your decision making, an introduction on everything that has to do with well, being a nurse. It will also have an end of semester exam called HESI that's 15% of your grade which they recommend you use this thing called Evolve which you'll be given. It's helpful, you do a bunch of questions but also use the Saunders NCLEX review, about $60 new (you'll use it for the rest of the prog).Study for HESI from day 1 because if not you could be like one of the few that desperately needed that full 15 pts to JUST PASS THE CLASS with a 77. If you've done so bad in lecture that your last hope is a third party exam, I've got news for you, good luck. Do well in class from the beginning so HESI does not become an obstacle. Some people actually try to get an A in the class so they can "fail" the HESI and still pass with a B or C (100-15= 85). With that said it's hard to get an A in the lecture but you can try.
You WILL be assigned like, let me count exactly... 87 pages or 7 chapters before you even start, an email will be sent approximately 1-2 weeks before with the syllabus urging you to read these chps before class. I didn't cause I'm dumb, how bad could they be right, I have a previous degree bla bla. Take this opportunity to get a head start. Pace yourself because you'll have an exam about 3 weeks after starting on all those chapters which like plenty of time ,... until you factor that you have 4 more classes with tests too. I tried to read them cover to cover and OMG it was exhausting because the book we were assigned likes to take up half a page explaining a bold word concept over and over, and it gets so wordy... something that could have easily been condensed to like 2 sentences stretches on and on that you end up confused about what the hell they mean. Read the first 4 sentences after a bold word, write down an example or better yet make one up yourself and MOVE ON. No you don't need to read the whole damn thing. Look at the charts, tables especially the ones with labs values (you know the ones that look like a nurse would need to know).Read for comprehension not completion. Also please try to read the chapter before class. You'll go into it actually following along instead of deer in the headlights look O_O this also means you're not behind on reading if you're following the class schedule. Better yet record the classes, sit in the front,you'll be less pressured by not taking notes knowing you have a copy of what went on and now you can actually pay attention.
What should you be paying attention to?
Anything they emphasize or spend a lot of time on!
This is usually what will be on the test but don't think that just because they fly through a chapter that it's not going to be on the test, it will, they just ran out of time and you're still responsible for that content. Welcome to college!
You'll feel overwhelmed like you can't do this, it's too much. It is but part of the training to become a nurse is focusing on what's important and ignoring the fluff. The problem is everything feels important at first and your professors will tell you to read everything but ignore them they've been out of school for a while and many are nurses 1st teachers 2nd. So everything is just a game on managing your time, the assigned workload, the upcoming tests and performances. Here are some specific tips for specific classes.
Skills: VIDEOTAPE THAT MOFO. Do it don't be shy, ask 1st though. It will save your butt when you've only seen a skill once and practiced once. It's not enough to go into testing and ace it. Having a copy of how your prof does it is imperative. Sure you can find on YouTube videos but everyone does it a little different and in the end it's your professor who's grading you. Go on with your classmates to practice in the lab. For the first exam practice your overriders which is a little script you say every damn time for any procedure (hence it overrides).
It goes something like: knock knock, open curtain, close curtain, sanitize hands "hello my name is MissPichu, and I'll be your student nurse today. Can you please state your name and DOB for me please? Thank you. How are you feeling today? (Bla bla) Alright. Today I'll be(for ex. taking your BP). If it's alright with you I'm going to go wash my hands and gather my supplies."
You'll be hella nervous that 1st exam, it's because you're being watched and unsure of your competence. You solve this by practicing every single little thing you'll do over and over again. From the way you'll enter the room and move the dummy etc.Do it in your head, write down the steps to a procedure, explain in to your cat until he knows how do it LOL. But remember to breathe and stay calm during your exam. You'll get used to it but some teachers can be really intimidating. Don't take it personal. Don't take anything personal actually. Don't waste time whining it'll just bring you down.
Pharm/Math: Practice makes perfect. Do the exercises in the book until you can do them in 2 minutes. If you can get prof T. count your lucky stars you just got an amazing prof. Follow her method, it has a way of verifying you set up the problem correctly which is a huge confidence booster when you'rerunning against the clock, trust me you don't have time to second guess which numbers to use in a problem. I'm not so great at math but it's doable. It's not hard math, very much like the kind you needed to use in your pre-req chemistry class.
Health assessment: This is very much a combo of skills and fund. It has a test component that you have to read the chapters to differentiate between different diseases and an application performance part.This class is important for when you start clinicals and pretty much all of nursing. If cannot properly ascertain WHAT is wrong with your patient then you're useless as a nurse. This class teaches you the normal variations in healthy people and when something is abnormal (ex: moles, is that a cancerous mole? How do you know, through A,B,C,D,E's). Assessment is the first step of the nursing process. Makes this class your friend.Practice the questions/statements that you'll ask your "patient" asyou review each body part.
For example, at the head: I feel no contusions,depressions, see no bleeding, no signs of infestation, hair is well distributed and shiny. Mr. John do you have any history of headaches, seizures, dizziness,head injuries or surgery?
Clinicals: Oh boy. Okay I was super stressed at first. It's a little intimidating. I've never been to a hospital let alone a nursing home. Here is where you put all you've learned to practice. You'll clean butts, bathe patients, feed them. Talk to them. Maybe change a dressing,clothe them, take their vitals and practice your health assessment. You mostly work as nurse assistant because CNAs are the people that you delegate routine care to so you must first start there and work your way up. So how do I say this, don't despair so much about the "dirty" work. That's not what you're studying for. You need to know how to do it and do it from time to time but it's not your main job.
You won't start until a month into the program. By then you should know how to assess the lungs, the heart, take a BP. You'll be given a patient to take care of and write a "plan of care" for which you need to pass at least 2 to pass the class.
Basically you'll go through their medical chart gathering info on them, write down current medications, write their medical diagnoses, look them up in your books,formulate your nursing diagnosis, rank them by order of priority, then go on your fundamentals book/Ucentral app/Medsurg/Assessment books and scan them for interventions that you can implement based on whichever problem you chose to help them on.
For ex: if your patient has Impaired skin integrity from a pressure ulcer then one intervention would be to turn them every 2 hrs. Why every 2 hrs? Well that's where you go into your books looking for the rationale/reason for that. Nursing is evidence based, meaning we don't just make stuff up and do them. If that were the case we still be bleeding people out to get out the bad humors from the body LOL.
Work with your classmates, they'll be 8 of you. Partner up and help each other. It makes so much more bearable. The hardest part of clinical is how no one is holding your hand, you're independently spending 7 hrs there taking care of your patient. Don't wait for your prof to give you directions, think for yourself. Even if your patient is sleeping you can look into their chart, help your classmates, gain experience, volunteer to do glucose checks for all the diabetics. Practice your assessment on people. I recommend you buy the jarvis pocket book guide to take to Clinicals. You'll forget how to do a specific assessment and it will save your butt
Bring a big water bottle with you, you do not want to drink from the water fountains and invest in quality lotion because you're hands will be dry from all the handsanitizer.
FYI careplans take forever to do, I've gotten good enough to do them in like 6 hours but they can take days so do them little by little or you'll stay up the night b4 finishing it (No careplan=FAIL). Trust me you don't want to go sleep deprived to clinicals.
General school tips:
Exercise 30 mins everyday. You'll be stressed and you'll need some endurance for all the constant walking in clinicals.
Eat breakfast!! Yogurt and a banana ppl. Also Take snacks with you to class. They're long and you'll get hungry, I eat in class and I sit in the front. Maybe nothing too loud though.
Sleep!!! Please at least 7 hrs. I have a psych degree ppl, being sleep deprived is worst than being drunk. You will NOT learn or be motivated to study in that state. You're memory goes to hell too. Also you're immune system goes down and you'll get lovely colds. You don't have time to be sick in nursing school LOL
Go to your professors after every exam to review your answers. This way you'll know what you got wrong and understand how your professor writes tests.
Invest in a planner or a white board calendar. From the moment you have all your syllabi write down the assignments and how many chapters you'll read per week. Keep this somewhere visible so you know what you have to do everyday.
Buy your pants from Uniform Advantage in Westland mall for like $15 each especially if you're short. They match the color very well or try the store called Blue Angels across the school. I recommend the Always nursing shoes, very comfy and cheap $35. For the white clinical top, yeah I got the one at school ugg $40. In total I have 3 shirts and 2 pants. I'll need another shirt/pant for next semester for Clinicals. Classes are 3 times a week, clinical once. I rewear the pants. but don't like rewearing the stuff I wear to clinicals (you know some of those pts have infections right?) I don't wear my clinical shoes into my house/car for nothing so I have flipflops I change into after leaving the clinical.
Invest in a rolling bookbag. The school has elevators. Save your back.
Use Anki virtual flash cards. Put anything from concepts, bold keywords, anything on there. Install on your phone/pc and review everyday a couple.
I recommend OneNote for digital notes. It has a sharing function which is nice to give your classmates your notes, they can also edit them if you allow. I have my notes on my phone and it's great.
There are quizzes online for your classes. Study Blue is one website and so is Quizlet use them if you want
Rent your books from Chegg.com or in general rent them. The books are expensive and once you return them you can always go to the school library and look up a previous book if you need to clarify something.
Review Physiology!!! Anatomy hasn't really been a huge part so far, as long as you know where things are it's good. But the function of HOW things in the body work is hugely important. Especially tonicity, the sodium potassium pump, digestion, the cardiovascular system.
Alright guys that's all I have to say. Manage your time. Be positive. Good luck.
shireenk7
248 Posts
Who is Professor T? What's the full name?