Organization and shoe question for new nursing student..

2bNurseCai · Aug 26, 2012

I had a pair of New Balance sneakers that I finally got rid of today after two years of working in a nursing home full time, school full time, and generally beating the crap out of then constantly. I loved them. If you tried them on and they made you happy, then go for it! There's no "right shoe" :)

onfireforGod · Aug 26, 2012

I had two herniated discs on my lumbar spine that I had surgery on. I wear sketcher shape UPS for extra support and cushion. So far when I wear them I'm good aka can get out of bed the next day with minimal pain. Just my two cents

weavers · Aug 26, 2012

Spend money on good shoes. I like running shoes. dr scholls inserts help. be sure to run/walk 1-2 miles before buying shoes. wear them in the store for +15mins. if there is any discomfort/hotspots don't get them. for my school it is all white shoes, we use white out on logos, there weren't to man choices for white mens shoes.

origination. I use a laptop. I type my lecture notes and email everything to myself and often times to my classmates as well. I keep a theory binder(2-3"). to be honest I don't use it much. i tend to take it to school with me. all of my text books are on my laptop(page burst). Some people keep everyone in 1 or 2 binders and take them to school every day, or keep in car, so incase you want to do homework for that class. color coding is really good, especially if you can do that with highlighting notes.

my clip board for clinical I use the one linked below. It is nice to put things inside that won't just fall off. I also use those clear binder pockets and use one for meds. I look up common meds use on the floor and make a spread sheet, class, side effects, nursing considerations, teaching, ect. I have another for diabetes(education for newly dx). one for extra clinical paper work. one for scrap paper, ect.

clip board

http://www.amazon.com/Saunders-Recycled-Aluminum-9-5-Inches-10007/dp/B000FTPE48

pocket binders

http://www.amazon.com/Vinyl-Ring-Binder-Pocket-Clear/dp/B0017TKYVS/ref=sr_1_3?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1345951136&sr=1-3

tots24 · Aug 26, 2012

I love my New Balance shoes! Never once left the hospital with sore feet!

KatieJ91 · Aug 26, 2012

Shoes: I have a pair of Dansko (or Sanita) clogs for clinical. I work in the hospital as a nurse extern and have a pair of Alegria Seville and love them. Either I would recommend. However, make sure you try them on before ordering online. Both have tricky sizing.

Organization: I personally do not like to type notes on my laptop. I find that I get distracted too easily and can't abbreviate and draw pictures like I want to. The way I pull A's in nursing school is by taking notes by hand in lecture then I go home and copy the powerpoint outline into a word document. I then go through and reread the outline while adding in my own notes. I print out the outline as my official study guide for the test. Everyone is different. This is my own personal method.

I have one binder for clinical and one binder for theory. I only need a one inch binder because after I move on from a unit I put the outlines and powerpoints into a big storage binder to refer back to. My clinical binder consist of tables/charts to refer back to, assignments to hand in that day, and extra papers such as brains, journal entries, etc.

I have folders on my computer broken down into Quarters (Semesters), Class, and Unit so that the information is able to be found easily again. Every once in a while I just stick a thumb drive in my computer and copy over my folders to have as back up. This came in handy last quarter as we had a skills review from all skills learned during the 1st year. I was able to go to each quarter and pull up all my notes and power points.

One tool I love is my laminator :) I bought it for $20 at Costco (Purple Cow brand). I find or make charts that I can easily flip to at clinical to look up information such as lab values, assessment findings, etc.

Hope this helps.

Abigail612 · Aug 26, 2012

I wouldn't bother having two messanger bags I would just switch out the books you don't need the night before, plus by haveing two bags you always run the risk of grabing the wroung one (I so can see myself doing that! ). Definitely get the New Balance. Their factory is in my town so literaly everyone one has them at work including myself. I always get the white leather ones, they are very comfortable and durable. When I first became a CNA I thought that they were to expensive and so I bought shoes from walmart, I was buying new shoes every three months. Then NB had their tent sale and I bought a pair of their white leather ones for a good price and they lasted me a year and a half. The only reason that they needed to be thrown out was because they were stained beyound all hope (which is expected when you have to wear white).

runforfun · Aug 26, 2012

The organization method you have in mind sounds like it is going to work. Just make sure you have pencils, pens, hi-liters, chapstick, hand sanitizer, whatever you need either in both bags so you don't forget it, or in a separate small bag or pencil case that you can easily move between the two.

If you find your system isn't working, adjust it a little bit at a time. It is best to start with what has worked in the past, then modify for your new situation.

binary · Aug 28, 2012

the first 2 semesters i colour coded my courses with different coloured binders. i gradually transitioned from handwriting lecture notes to bringing my laptop and taking notes that way. (for me this was so much better and i focused on the lectures better...i also recorded lectures on my laptop and if i wanted to review something, i typed the time stamp right into my notes so i could find it quickly.)

when an exam or quiz came up, i would print my notes and put them in colour coded duotangs based on the course. made it nice when archiving my notes in bankers boxes at the end of each semester and quick to pull them up when i needed to review.

essentially, all my notes are on computer also hard copy. i always emailed myself my notes each day as an additional backup and (shortcut for saving a doc) became my best friend. i also learned lots of other shortcuts along the way.

our curriculum expected us to do our "packages" before we came to class so a group of us 6 girls (we stuck out the whole program together for the most part) would each be assigned a package to type out for the week and complete and email to the rest of the group members via a deadline. then it was a matter of filling in the blanks and fleshing out the notes on laptops during lecture.

this worked great for me and i graduated with a 90% average. you will spend 1st semester finding out what works best for you and fine tuning in it throughout the rest of your program:)

good luck!

RachelZ0918 · Aug 28, 2012

I have found that recording lectures and writing in the time that something was said/lectured on right on the power point the teacher was going over VERY helpful. Sometimes its so much info, you cant keep up and going back to listen at that certain time helps you hear things you may have missed! I start on Thursday but I have a big trapper keeper type binder that I have divided between my 2 classes and also a binder and clipboard for clinicals. I also write in colored pens..it helps me to keep things organized better!

SE_BSN_RN, BSN · Aug 28, 2012

New Balance is the only shoe I wear. If you have a Good Feet store near you, they can help with proper shoes, too, by analyzing your feet and finding the right shoe to help with your back. And don't forget compression socks. Those will help immensly! (No, they are not just for the elderly!) I discovered those by accident, while in nursing school.

Ginnym1981 · Aug 28, 2012

For shoes, get whatever are comfortable for YOU. Everyone's feet are different but you want something that remains comfortable for at least 12 hours. (I know some people add inserts to increase their comfort level)

Also, compression socks help TREMENDOUSLY with circulating the blood flow in your legs and eases aches and leg fatigue. I highly recommend investing in a pair or two.

For organization, again it depends on what you like and how your teacher teaches the material.

For me, (we have 1 theory class & lab plus pharm or patho that was solely online)

A lot of people can follow the power points on their laptops but I prefer good old fashion paper so I print out the power points with 6 slides/page and add in notes or highlight key concepts while in class.

I keep all my power points in 1 binder and label with tabs (that I make with different color stickies depending on the unit).

If my binder gets too full or too heavy, I take out the power points that I've already been tested on and file away at home.

I do the same thing for lab. All important handouts go along with the power points because sometimes we get articles that better explain the content and could potentially get tested on.

I'm not condoning this (but it's worked for me), I haven't read my book since my first term.

I study solely from the power points and only refer to my book for things I don't understand. It is a good idea to skim the chapter but focus on knowing the boxes and tables. Tests are about you APPLYING what you know so trying to memorize everything you read is a waste of time and impossible.

To practice application, I do a TON of NCLEX style questions that I get from ATI (a program we use) and I've purchased 5 NCLEX books since I've started.

Doing this I get solid B's. Sure they aren't A's but I'm happy with B's on my tests for now because with all the other assignments we do, I generally end up with an A in the class.

I keep my lab bag in my car so I always have it with me (and I can't forget any equipment that we may need)

And I have a clinical bag that holds extra pens, stethoscope, goggles, mints, chap stick, pocket organizer thing that always has extra alcohol wipes, my pen light, more pens, sticky notes, mini notebook, measuring tape, etc so I can just grab it out of my bag and slap it on to get on the floor quickly.

You'll find what works for you but it may take some time so try not to sweat the small stuff! Good luck!!