Older Nursing Students

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Anyone out there who are older nursing students who work a part time job too? Any advice on how to study the material? Feedback would be helpful. I am in in fast paced 13 month program and have a medical background... it is administration.

thank you so much! I don't have a strong science background and that part scares me but I am giving it my best shot. Anatomy and Phys. I begins Monday.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

The only knowlege I have is from the two programs I applied to in Los Angeles. This is a national program, tho. The acronyms MEPN and MECN are both used, so you could search under them. There are also some threads on this website. The programs started about 3 years ago so a lot of people don't know about them. Here in S. Calif there are programs at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Long Beach, and UCLA. They are generally short ~2 year accelerated programs that lead to an MSN as a nurse generalist. Many people have B. degrees in non-scientific fields, so don't let that concern you. Good luck.

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:yeah: Deni in LA, thank you!!!! I will do some Googling of the info you told me about.
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I am 54, recently retired from teaching elementary grades and taking my first pre-req for nursing. I don't have a background in the sciences....I am "quaking" a bit but am determined to learn. I am in the Atlanta area and anxious to hear from those of you who may be in a similar situation. I feel pretty sure I am one of the OLDER ones in the groups.....doesn't bother me.....just thrilled and excited that I am having the opportunity to begin what I have dreamed for a long time. Thanks for all the great messages. I have been reading on this site each night and finally decided to join in on the forum.

lcamp99, I am 50. One year ago, I started my science prerequisites, telling everyone I was sure to be the class idiot. I had a Ph.D., but it was in a social science, so I was sure I would have a hard time of it in school. Boy, was I nervous. One year later, I have finished all of my prerequisites through and including Chem II, with all As, and I am *voluntarily* taking Organic Chemistry next semester because I love chemistry so much. How's that for a turn-around? I tell you this not to brag, but to say, if I can do it, so can you! And you can kick butt in class, too. :chuckle

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I am sitting here studying Saladin's Anatomy text and saw your e-mail notice pop up......thanks for the encouragement! I was getting a bit overwhelmed looking at the terms and terms and terms and terms to know! AtomicWoman, you are to be commended! I am planning on being successful with my nursing courses. Look forward to hearing of your path to becoming a nurse!!!! Thanks bunches! Lisa

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Specializes in med/surg, ER.

I started taking the nursing prereq's at 45...I will be 51 when I graduate with my BSN, June 2009:yeah: I worked full time and took the prereq's at night. Since my kids are grown and I have a very supportive husband, my path has been easier than some. Probably the most difficult thing has been dealing with my driven, Type A personality...the one that says I MUST do my best, but it always seems that I can do better. I am slowly learning not to beat myself up so much.

As far as study tips, we all need to find out what works for us. I need to study alone, study groups are too distracting for me. I need to read the material, not hear a discussion about it. It is what works for me:specs:

I love reading about all of us "more mature" students who are forging ahead to do something new. For me, this is where I was meant to be, but if I had tried any earlier in my life, it wouldn't have worked. Funny how that happens!

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

Wow, AnnIsMe, everything you wrote is me word for word. I, too, am trying to become more accepting of less than perfect achievement in my classwork. I know there is a hard road ahead of me for the next 2 years and this will be an important part of learning for me: allowing imperfection and taking care of myself so I can be there for my patients. It will also help my wonderful husband who has held everything together at home while I worked and put forth maximal effort in my pre-reqs. Study groups have never seemed very useful to me, but I will give them another chance in nursing school since I think the learning style is somewhat different from other academic classes. Thanks for reinforcing this message to me & good luck ahead.

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I need to study alone, study groups are too distracting for me. I need to read the material, not hear a discussion about it. It is what works for me:specs:

I feel the same way. Although I do like teaching material I've already learned to other students. It helps me get the big picture straight in my mind. :)

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I am sitting here studying Saladin's Anatomy text and saw your e-mail notice pop up......thanks for the encouragement! I was getting a bit overwhelmed looking at the terms and terms and terms and terms to know! AtomicWoman, you are to be commended! I am planning on being successful with my nursing courses. Look forward to hearing of your path to becoming a nurse!!!! Thanks bunches! Lisa

Yes, looking at the textbook ahead of time can be a bit overwhelming. I was just doing that this morning with my organic chemistry text. But I had to stop and remind myself that I will be learning the material a bit at a time, under the direction of a great teacher that has taught the class a jillion times. :)

With A&P, I found it helpful to bore my husband to death by talking about the material with him. Then I could see where I needed to study terms/ideas more, since he knows nothing about A&P. I did find flash cards very helpful in A&P. If it makes you feel better, you can start making some now... but don't get too crazy or obsessed about it just yet!

Best of luck. You're going to do just fine.

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Oh my goodness.....I think we all could have been delayed multiple births. Ditto, ditto, ditto on previous comments regarding reading and studying! Grateful for all the comments! Seems like reading, writing notes during reading and flashcards are my primary sources right now. Class begins Monday so I am a bit anxious but feeling prepared since I am reading the beginning chapters of text prior to classtime. Thanks everone! Lisa (lcamp99)

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Oh my goodness.....I think we all could have been delayed multiple births. Ditto, ditto, ditto on previous comments regarding reading and studying! Grateful for all the comments! Seems like reading, writing notes during reading and flashcards are my primary sources right now. Class begins Monday so I am a bit anxious but feeling prepared since I am reading the beginning chapters of text prior to classtime. Thanks everone! Lisa (lcamp99)

If you can continue to read ahead a bit, that will help you. I have found that even if I was totally foggy on the concepts when I was reading them, hearing them for the *second* time in class really helped things "click" into place. That goes for every science class, actually. One of my profs posted his notes on his website for us to download. I would read them ahead of class and work through the examples and then in class, he would clear up stuff I hadn't understood. I also made notes about questions I wanted to ask if he didn't cover them during lecture. I could see that students who were looking at the material for the first time in class were struggling with the concepts more.

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I appreciate your help very much. I have been reviewing and making more flashcards. I have subscribed to Mr. Ford's Class online and have watched some of his videos concerning Anatomy. He explains everything in very basic terms and using many visuals. I am finding this to be most helpful. The $30 subscription is well worth it. Anyone outthere who is considering taking anatomy might want to look into this. Tou can also go to Teacher Tube and look at some of the videos. On Mr. ford he has TONS of resources for every part of the class, practice test, podcasts, etc. Anyway, enough free advertisement for him. Class begins tomorrow. We are using Saladin's Anatomy and Physiology-Unity of Form and function. If anyone out there has used this particular text and has helpful info.Thanks again AtomicWoman! Lisa

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