New Nursing Student Must Haves and Advice From Current Nursing Students

dtronti703 · May 2, 2017

I am currently half way into my final semester right now so I can definitely give you some good advise I wish I had.

clinical:

don't worry too much about shoes. a good pair of nurse shoes are well over $100. when you become a nurse those are great to have, but for the few hours a day, one day a week you're in clinical a comfy pair of cheap sneakers are fine. As for a stethoscope, amazon has a $40 littman that works great. And definitely invest in a sturdy backpack, you'll be carrying a lot of books... oh and a pen light, you never know when a doctor who should be carrying their own will ask you for one.

School:

if your program is anything like mine it will rely heavily on exams. these are everything. if your teachers give you power points, print them, take notes on them, and bring them everywhere with you. I also know how easy it is to fall off track with studying. keep up with your readings, you need atleast 25-30 hours a week of studying (sometimes more). I know that seems like a lot but it's doable, try breaking it up to 3 or 4 hours a day. time management is key! when I started falling behind in my second semester, I joined a study group and it helped so much and we all became great friends. now we rely on each other before every exam. do nclex style practice questions as much as you can. lippincott and saunders is good. nclex mastery is a good app to take practice questions in the go.

..oh and if your schools makes you buy suddarth and brunner for med-surg, make sure you buy it in 2 sections instead of one big book. you'll thank me later.

everything else:

last but not least, don't give up!! nursing school is hard and it can be discouraging. my gpa going in was a 3.9... now it's.. well.. very low, but you get the point. the exams that weigh so heavily on your grade are not like any exam you've had before. they are all about critical thinking, which is something that is learned. i now finally understand how to think critically in my final semester, but it took a lot of studying and understanding to get there.

Good luck!

Megmarluc · May 2, 2017

Almost everyone in my class uses a littmann classic III. I really enjoy mine and hear easily through it.

i definitely would recommend buying comprehensive review books that have practice questions in them. Nursing test questions are like no other and these books train your brain to answer appropriately. I used one for fundamentals and it covered every topic we discussed in the semester. I loved it so much I felt it was necessary for my upcoming Med Surg semester.

OliverElio87, BSN, RN · May 2, 2017

Looking back I would purchase Saunders NCLEX-RN Review Book right from the start. (Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN® Examination, 7e (Saunders Comprehensive Review for Nclex-Rn): 978

C0SM0 · May 2, 2017

Apologies if someone has already said this, but Khan Academy videos did me wonders in my pathophysiology course. It really dumbs things down to help you understand those things that the text talks about.

TraumaICUqueen · May 3, 2017

I am almost done with 7th semester,hoping to pass my finals to start my final semester. I still get excited whenever I find cool items for nursing school (after losing my sleep and browsing amazon at 3 am). I have seen this cool foldable clipboard, a little expensive but it fits your scrubs, has some references (labs) and keeps your paperwork in place.

I do agree with wearing compression socks to clinicals, especially if you are not used to walk/work for long periods of time. My advice is to practices as many skills in the hospital as the nurse and patient allows you. I always picked the hardest patients, with the most meds and the most chronic or acute conditions. I felt confident when I get to clinicals because evenif I was sleep deprived, I was prepared. I almost always did more than my classmates and by the end of my critical care rotation, I had two informal job offers from charge nurses, staff was more than willing to teach because I was more than willing to learn. Attitude comes a long way.

A planner is a MUST. You have no idea (or maybe you do) how many things are due sometimes the same day. I bought a pocket planner because I carry it everywhere and wanted something big enough to write the necessary task to do, but small enough to put in in my scrubs. I purchased the Davis drug guide, and it had a code where you can access all meds on line. This saved me a lot of time when I was doing drug cards.

I like color code my slides (yes, i print them all), and when i study, colors help me remember things, drawings help a lot too, I found it life-saving in my med-surg class.

Get together with people that actually studies, or the ones that study like you. SLEEP at least 6-8 hours, sometimes it cannot be done, but besides completing paperwork before clinicals, I didn't sacrificed sleep over study and thankfully i haven't fail a test.

I also recommend you to buy the nclex review, i have the green one from saunders, it helped me to read the rationales. Oh and the pocket nursing diagnoses is great too for clinicals.

good luck, it is doable, hard but you are IN!!!!

missprnqday · May 3, 2017

Here's the following things that I recommend having for your nursing program:

Nursing bag/tote/backpack (personally, I am more of a tote bag chick bc I like to be able carry and accomodate whatever all I need)

Clipboard with the compartment thingy to secure pens, pencils, markers, notes, cheat sheets, care plans

Additional paper to use to take down quick notes

Nursing brain sheets which help you keep your patients and their scheduled tasks straight

Stethescope. You can shop on allheart the online store which sells the littmans and other high-quality brands at an afforable price. I had to get one bc the ones provided my school were cheap and all I would hear is tubes rubbing together and friction.

COMFORTABLE SHOES! Yes this is a MUST as you will be up and about on your feet. Invest in a good pair that comes with memory foam. I wasn't a fan of clogs until starting my program. I wear the Grey Anatomys softwalk clogs and its the best money spent!

Compression socks

Extra change of scrubs

A watch

Utilize a nursing app/additional resources. I use the NCLEXPN Mastery and epocrates (free version only, paid app is like 170 plus dollars)

Your care plan book

Hand sanitizer ( i carry this because the facility i do clinicals at doesn't have sanitizer pumps)

Extra hair ties

These are my must haves for clinical, but I'm sure there's more. Oh and I like to carry two bags, one for classes and one for clinical. This is to avoid forgetting something important and saves time from switching bag to bag. Hope this helps!â˜º

missprnqday · May 3, 2017

I just also seen the other part of question, as far as advice is concerned (and I promise to keep this short). First, regarding the classroom. Make sure you pay attention to and know your school's policies inside and out. Very important so that way you will avoid running into unnecessary issues. Also, if you have test anxiety, get a hold of that ASAP because, unfortunately, that will not hold up as an excuse for poor performance in classes, lab, or clinical at all. See a doctor or speak with your school's counselors if need be to gain control over this.

Second, stay far far far way from drama and confusion that goes on within your class or at clinical, which leads me to my third point. Carry yourself in a professional manner at all times, especially at your clinical sites. You are there for your patient care experience and learning. Do not get caught up in the employee drama. If something makes you uncomfortable, report it to your instructor in private. I say all this because you do not want be known as the classmate that's always caught up in some mess or just being plain messy/unprofessional because, then, no one will want to work with you or take you seriously.

Lastly, take good care of yourself and surround yourself with positive people and energy because the nursing program is so taxing and takes up lots of energy and time.

iburk12usa · May 3, 2017

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Apr 25 by LovelyInPink, CNA
I also HIGHLY recommend a good NCLEX style textbook and a planner. Start learning how to answer NCLEX style questions now so you are not at all shocked when you see your first test. I just finished my first semester of nursing school with a 4.0 (in addition to being married, raising 4 young kids including a set of infant twins, and working resource hours) and I contribute my high test scores to my NCLEX books. While I was on the waiting list, a lot of nurses that I work with gave me their NCLEX books and I read them over and over again to figure out how to answer nursing school tests. When we had our first test everyone was flipping out but I was able to remain calm and pass because I knew what to expect. So, I would definitely recommend you at least start to glance over some NCLEX material now before you start the program.

BookishBelle, PrnAdnST, Proverbs16:24, and 1 other like this.

Hello!

I read your response and I was wondering if you could, please, name the books you've read that was helpful to you. I am also starting Nursing School in September and would like to start to look into these type of questions.

Thanks!

iburk12usa · May 3, 2017

Hello there,

This is my first time using this website, so I hope you'll get this post. I was wondering, if you could, please name the books you read that helped learn how to answer the NCLEX style questions. Any help is appreciated!

Thanks!

missprnqday · May 4, 2017

I currently have the NCLEXPN Saunders book which has been super helpful in studying for tests and final exams. I also utilize the NCLEXPN Mastery app as well in conjuction with the book.

Emjay274 · May 5, 2017

For stethoscopes: even though a cardiology stethoscope sounds amazing because you'd be able to hear EVERYTHING, don't get it!!! As a nurse, you don't need to hear EVERYTHING and they just end up weighing you down and hurting your neck! Get a light stethoscope with a bell and you're good.

I don't understand this statement. I had the Cardiology III and it was no problem at all. It actually weighs like 2 ounces more. I can't see how that would weigh anyone down, or hurt your neck. It's not an issue. You will kick yourself if you can't hear, so if you can afford it, get it. It's like 150.

studentbear, CNA · May 5, 2017

I am nearly wrapping up my first semester as a nursing student, so I'm certainly no expert but I've included some recommendations for items from your OP. I included links because I always found it helpful when people include specifically what they use.

Shoes: I had the worst time finding good shoes for school! Ours are required to be white and leather, so I couldn't wear my beloved Nike Frees which served me so well as a CNA. I had to go through the process of buying and trying different pairs of shoes before I finally settled on these Asics.

Nursing bag/Totes/Backpacks: I have this North Face backpack which is perfect for me. I can fit a binder, planner, my laptop, and lunch bag easily in it along with all the various odds and ends I always keep in it (pens, pencils, steth, pen light, etc.) I don't find myself ever needing to lug textbooks to and from campus, but I certainly could if I so desired. The extra straps/padding really help. For clinical, I have this bag. Honestly, the clinical bag is way overzealous size-wise (I wasn't thinking about how HUGE it would be when I ordered it-- it's truly like a large beach tote and it really looks much smaller online) but it does fit everything I could ever need (tools clipboard, folder, drug guide, diagnosis book, lunch, water bottle, shoes, extra scrubs, etc.)

Binders/Planners: I bought a 4 pack of 2" binders at Costco at the beginning of the semester. I have one "main" one and then have one for each class. I use my main one daily and have a tab for each class in, so that way I only need to lug the powerpoints/notes I need for each week. At the end of the week, I empty all the notes and power points for each class in to their respective binders. I have a similar planner to this one where I have every class, exam, and any other commitments. I also use my iCal that is on my Apple products with all the same info. For keeping track of details, I typed up a weekly "snap shot" on Word using tables and included every class, the lecture topic, what's being covered in lab that week, assignments, readings, etc. and kept it in my daily binder.

Pens/pencils: I have a million of these pencils.

Apps: Focus Keeper on my phone and iPad for staying on track with studying (it uses the Pomodoro studying technique) and Self Control on my laptop for the same reason (it's a website blocker.) Also, you'll probably want a recording app (I dislike the one that comes with the iPhone) to record lectures unless they are already recorded by the professor.

Study Guides/Cheat sheets/Videos: RegisteredNurseRN.com was really helpful for fluid and electrolytes.

Stethoscopes: I have the Littman Classic III and it has served me well so far! Can hear respiratory, bowel, and heart sounds easily and it's pretty lightweight. I believe it's a pretty popular stethoscope-- basically all of our cohort has the same one!

Hope this helps :)