NIU Nursing Students

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Anyone here start classes in the Fall???

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hi Kristen3g3tp8

i start in the fall 06 at NIU. i am really excited i have only heard good things about NIU. How are you doing?

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I am going back for my third semester. Any questions in particular?

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Hi Joy

I am starting my first semester at NIU this fall, do you have any advice for me? I am interested in knowing things like what you wished you had known in your first semester, what are the instructors like etc etc

I am really nervous about patho! If you can give me some advice about passing the class and how to approach studying for that class, i would appreciate it....

thank you and the best of luck in your 3rd semester

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the first six weeks are the hardest. You're kind of in shock. Our patho was very straight forward about what would be on the test. The best thing to do is know the material forward, backwards, inside out. Use any study guides you can get your hands on, including the ones on the Internet site that corresponds with the books. You can use the CD that comes with, but sometimes the web site has a different set of questions.

Fortunately for you, little chickadee, the dreaded Basic nursing course instructor has retired. I guess her role was to scare the pants off of new students and she did quite well at it. Do you know where your clinical site is and who the instructor is?

As you know, NIU is quite competitive in admissions. Therefore you will be in class with a bunch of anal, driven, straight-A students like yourself. Cultivate an attitude of helping each other early on vs. competing for the best test score. There will be quite a few freaked out students when those first C's come out on the tests.

The NCLEX format-critical thinking thing quite blew my mind. It seemed like all four answers were equally as rational and I thought I would never get it, but by the second semester you are getting the hang of critically thinking your way through the questions.

Keep up on your reading no matter what. Find out what works for you in terms of studying. I actually go through the chapters again before tests and write out an outline... but I'm an older, (non-traditional - they call us) student and my short term recall isn't what it used to be. Helluva lot of work to rewrite the chapters but hey, that's how I get straight A's. ;)

The first tests are the hardest as you don't know what level to expect out of your instructors. Just go with the flow. Overstudy for test 1 and after that you can gauge accordingly. Good luck. Let me know if you have any other specific questions.

Jo

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Jo

thank you for answering my questions. My clinicals are at kindered hospital, i dont know who my instructor is, i did call the SON to find out but they too didnt know who it would be at the time i called, so i am just going to wait and see.

my next question is: do you have a study group and if you do how did you go about deciding who would be in the group?

thanks

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Kindred used to be THE Clinical to have, because its a long term care facility for head injury, etc. patients. Lots of patients on vents, almost all unconscious, lots of Foleys, etc. Also it used to be mean Judy's clinical, so along with her pushing you to do nearly every clinical skill, you also might be lucky enough to experience some verbal abuse as well LOL! So I do not know who will replace her there.

your first clinical, everybody is stressed out. We had ours at Delnor and we buddied up as pairs which was helpful in getting over that initial bump. By the following week, we were ready to go it alone, and after that, we were quite ready to wander into patients' rooms and tackle whatever we could. So try to relax about that.

As far as a study group, I do not live on campus and I study well alone. I did sometimes meet up with people an hour before the test to go over some concepts but invariably it was me quizzing them. Still beneficial as the best way to learn material is to formulate answers but...there is some good material on this board about study groups. Stay loose with your choices until you get to know people better. You don't want to "offend" any one by changing groups because you find your group is unproductive.

Another issue is where to sit in class. You will find your seat ends up being kind of permanent after the first two weeks. If you want to listen to other people talking, sit in the back. If you don't want to miss a thing, sit in the front. If you are undecided, sit in the middle. I sit in row 3-4 because I need the lights on to see while the PowerPoint presentations are going.

printing notes is another issue. Classes have power point presentations which you can print off in advance in the computer lab at the SON. You are not supposed to print the notes right before class because 150 other people are also printing and the printers burn out...but some instructors do not get the notes posted until a few days before. If you live on campus, fine, but I ain't driving there to print notes...

hope this is helpful

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thanks jov you have been very helpful.

I was wondering about how you deal with rude instructors and whether you have ever had to confront an instuctor about the way she talked to you? or is respect etc a thing of the past in nursing school?

i have heard horror stories about instructors humiliating students, have you had or seen such behaviour by instructors at NIU and how was it handled?

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Overall, I have been satisfied with the instructors respecting students as learners. Again, mean-Judy was the one I took issue with. I remember one day in class, she (after reaming out the entire class for poor performance by a few) demanded we all hold up our hands for fingernail inspection. She wanted to make sure our nails were short enough. If you turn your hands palm up, you should not be seeing your nails over the tips of your fingers - or so they say. Now, I'm all for educating nurses about the pathogens that can lurk under fingernails, and for that matter, also under rings - but excuse me, I'm 47 years old, own a home, pay my taxes, and run a business. I **think** I can decide if my nails are short enough?!? But that tends to be my beef. I guess there are some 20-something's that need a kick in the A*$ - but I profess the "model behavior you want others to emulate" teaching mode.

So I will say it has been my pleasure to interact respectfully (both ways) with 99% of my instructors in nursing school and the one instructor was the only one I felt was out of line. But then again, I come to class prepared, I ask pertinent questions, I demonstrate self-directed learning, I contribute to class discussion, so I guess I also show I'm a person worth respecting anyway. That's just the way I approach life.

What are your classes and who are your instructors, if I might ask?

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Jov

thanks for sharing all these details with me, i really appreciate it.

these are my classess this semester:Prof nursing (Koren M), Patho (Lash A), Clin develop 1, Hlth Asse lrng lab (Rosenberg K), Health assessment (Rosenberg K) and Fundamental Nursing. I still dont know who the instructors are for some of the classess.

do you still get nervous when you start a new semester?

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I did not have any of those teachers except Rosenberg. I believe Lash has quite an accent. That's all I know. Rosenberg is wonderful. She is a younger NP and quite fun to have as an instructor. The Assessment class was great!

No, I don't get nervous starting a semester any more. I think I welcome the challenge...

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Hi NIU Students,

I am in the process of applying for NIU next fall and was wondering if 3.79overall and 4.0nursing pre-reqs is competitive for entrance to NIU. I am also wondering if you have to take a set schedule each semester or if the classes are more flexible. What is an example of your week first semester and does it vary from student to student? TIA for your help!!

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