Nursing School Must Haves??

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I am potentially starting Nursing school Fall2010 (God willing) and was wondering what are essentials that you all have that you would reccomend to others?? Things for organization, or whatever...Thanks!! :)

I am currently in nursing school and this is the list of things i CANNOT succeed without::

-Clinical calculations: a unified approach... makes all the math you are going to learn A LOT EASIER

-Saunder's NCLEX book.. Absolutely love it.. i have a few and that is my favorite

-Planner- always always write in pencil so you can erase it when your teacher changes tests dates!

-Recorder- If you have an ipod (or iphone) you can get what is called the italk... it's about $30 unless you have an iphone or ipod touch. then you can just get the app...

-Index Cards- for terms,lists, anything you need to study!

-LOTS OF HIGHLIGHTERS- i stick with one color and highlight as i read, and then i have a second color that i use to highlight things my teacher really hits on

-Memory Notebooks of Nursing- there are 3, Vol.1 Vol. 2 and Pharmacology.. these are a LIFESAVER, they really help you remember Signs and Symptoms of disease processes, and the pictures really stick in your mind!

-Colored pens- i use the Bic Mark Its- the thin ones.. and i use them to study, i find that writing in a different color or drawing my own picture, or creating my own "memory page" really helps me remember it. studying ust black and white notes gets old and you eyes get tired and your brain doesn't grasp the info as well.

-Markers- same reason as above.. they also help when you color in the pages of the WONDERFUL memory notebooks of nursing

-LOTS OF PAPER- you should rewrite your notes to help you study, that way you have to reprocess the information.

-the made incredibly easy series- ESPECIALLY the fluid an electrolyte book... it is a lifesaver for when you are learning F&Es.

-good stethoscope- I have a Littman Classic II.. i LOVE it.. i can hear clearly and when i have used others cheaper versions of stethoscopes it was more dificult for me to tell what i was hearing. it takes time and practice yo recognize normal and abnormal sounds in the body, a good stethoscope makes it slightly easier

-GOOD SHOES- you will wear them down! i personally replace mine every semester but i wear them more than just for clinicals.. you can look for ones that are good for waitresses, or nurses because both careers are always on their feet

-sleep pattern- have a sleep pattern and stick to it.. dont stay up just because you feel like you have to study.. when you sleep you recharge, and do better.

-the ability to say no- your friends who aren't in nursing school are going to ask you to go out and party, or something, but you need to be able to say no not this time whenever you really need to not go out.. doesn't mean you have to say no EVERY time or that you have to study when you say no, but you need to be able to say no do that you dont wear yourself down physically

-something you enjoy- this also needs to be something that can take your mind off of things.. i have a few, i like to watch series on DVD, such as friends house sex and th city scrubs boy meets world, etc. it helps me relax, i also like to play my super nintendo or wii because i get so into it that my mind goes blank about everything else

-a trusting and supportive person- mine is my mom. i call her when i get a bad grade, am frustrated with school, am just worn down mentally, or for anything else... you need someone you can turn to and remind you of why you are putting yourseld through so much stress and pain (yes i think nursing school is painful), you need someone who you can breakdown to and wont try to turn the convo onto their latest crisis...

GOOD LUCK! if you need ANY other advice/help let me know!

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

The Mnemonic Memory Nursing books I have found good too. Because of those I have done well on determining The different Acid Base Balances. ROME always sticks in my head!

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Finally got my letter!!! I got accepted for August.

Guess I'll be lying in the sun with my Saunders Review all summer!! I can hardly wait!!

I have a question that I don't think anybody has mentioned. What kind of Littmann do you all suggest? lightweight, cardiac . . .?

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Finally got my letter!!! I got accepted for August.

Guess I'll be lying in the sun with my Saunders Review all summer!! I can hardly wait!!

I have a question that I don't think anybody has mentioned. What kind of Littmann do you all suggest? lightweight, cardiac . . .?

are you talking about saunders NCLEX review?

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Yes. I got it on half.com last summer, then ended up taking two classes that semester, so didn't get too far into it. It has a CD with it, has 1100 or something practice questions.

When I went to my school's bookstore to get my CPR/BLS book, I saw the same Saunders Review books, so that made me feel better that my school uses it too. allnurses is where I heard about it, though.

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Finally got my letter!!! I got accepted for August.

Guess I'll be lying in the sun with my Saunders Review all summer!! I can hardly wait!!

I have a question that I don't think anybody has mentioned. What kind of Littmann do you all suggest? lightweight, cardiac . . .?

I start Fall 2010. I got the Littmann Classic II S.E., and I hear everything extremely loud and clear. That being said, my family always jokes that I have some type of satelite/antenna connection in my ears because I can hear them talking really quietly 3 floors down, even with the T.V. turned on :D Whichever you end up getting, I recommend getting your name monogrammed on it, either on the neck or the head of it. I just got my Sauders Review book in the mail from Barnes yesterday, I am still dying to know which will be my Fundamentals book, I find out at the end of this month!!

Good Luck!!

Me:nurse:

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I was thinking the same thing! thinking of asking before the bookstore closes for summer. But, I think the Saunders will be plenty for me to do. I'm taking one class this summer, work, and 2 kids. I think I'll be lucky to do some NCLEX questions every night! But I'm so excited.

I saw a Littmann lightweight at the medical store the other day and the lady was telling me to get a name tag. I think I can order one online with my initials, though? I can hardly wait to start getting all my stuff. But I know some students said their school gave them a bag of stuff, as far as scissors, penlight, that kind of thing, so I guess I might have to wait til orientation. Don't know what the uniform policy is, etc., yet either.

Congrats!!

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Specializes in NICU.

I have a Littman Master Classic. I can hear quite well with it (and I don't have to worry about making sure the right head is active)

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During my orientation (this month) they will give us our booklist, supplies we will need, uniform info etc. They only "equiment" I have purchase ahead of time is the steth and a penlight which was 3 bucks. My dad has an extra BP machine that he gave me to practice on. I'm holding out on anything else because I don't want to get stuff I am not required to have, or stuff that they may say you have to get "x" brand specifically. I have a big bin that I am starting to slowly fill up with pens, highlighter, index cards, pencils, white shoe polish (the kind in the bottle), notebooks etc. If I try to buy everything at once it will cost a fortune. At least this way I have 5 months to buy stuff little by little. I actually also have one of those attachable name tags for my steth, but I just wanted the extra security of having my name on it, in the end if it gets stolen or I lose it, there is nothing I can do about it, but I am pretty good with keeping track of where my stuff is at all times. I did get it online, and it was $15 for the engraving, so depending on your financial situation you can weigh how important paying for it actually is. Mine was a gift from my dad and he thought I should get my name on it anyway. He has "misplaced" a couple of steth's throughout his career :D. I also am sooooo excited. I've been out of a school for a while and started back last summer, and now I start Nursing School in August! It has all happened so fast, and it feels a bit scary at times, but most of all I am so excited to get my nursing career started!!

Best of luck to you!!!

Now back to studying :devil:

Me :nurse:

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Yeah, we can't use laptops in 2 of our 3 classes this year either. We are all so pi$$ed!!! They are saying that students in the past were playing on FB, games, etc so they don't allow them. Whatever. Their reason for not using recorders is that they feel that we don't "participate" or listen when using recorders. :uhoh3: Again, Whatever.

A lot of us are "older" students and we feel like we are being treated like high school kids now. I can type way faster than I can write too!

m

My program won't let us use recorders either. Their reasoning is HIPAA. But they never mention any identifying information when giving us examples of patients they had in the past.

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on Medisave .net you can buy the littman cheaper than other websites and get your name engraved for free.

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Thanks so much for the Medisave info! I didn't know they came in different colors, and with engraving, very cool. I see 28" -- that's the only length I see. Is that standard or is there a certain length I should have other than 28"?

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