Pre-Nursing Student Help

Published

Good evening guys! I currently taking my prerequisites for nursing school. I was just overlooking all the classes I need to take and was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. Whether it has to do with memorizing nursing terminology or learning body parts, I really want to prepare myself and be the best that I can be. If there's anything that I should teach myself that would be helpful, please let me know. I get the worst anxiety, but it helps keep me motivated and focused. What can I do or learn to make myself better prepared for my journey ahead? Or prepare myself overall for this journey. Thank you. Xoxo

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ED.

Best advice I can give is to focus on the task at hand. Focus all of your energy and brain power on the classes you are taking now. Use the courses you have now to really learn organization and time management.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Get a planner and use it. Master time management, and find out how you learn/study best. Eyes on the prize.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Good day, m_n_b_96:

You are not alone with dealing with anxiety; and, yet, at the same time using those feelings to help you push through it. In addition to the excellent advice provided so far, I found https://allnurses.com/pre-nursing-student/how-get-any-846733.html to be extremely helpful. On the medical terminology, learn over time the prefix, root, and suffix. Every so often Coursera runs https://www.coursera.org/course/clinicalterminology which is free, and a very well run class. https://class.coursera.org/vitalsigns-001 is another great class of theirs as well (btw, you probably know this, but always put free et al classes last on the priority compared to paid classes -- they are a great tool as you can fit them in).

Some medical terminology basics:

]

  1. Root -- gives the essential meaning of the term.
  2. Suffix -- is the word ending.
  3. Prefix -- is the small part added to the beginning of a term
  4. Combining vowel -- connects root to suffixes and roots to other roots.
  5. Combining form -- is the combination of root and the combining vowel.

]

]Some important rules to remember are:

]

  1. Read the meaning of medical terms from the suffix, back to the beginning of the term, and then across.
  2. Drop the combining vowel before a suffix that starts with a vowel.
  3. Keep the combining vowel between word roots, even if the second root begins with a vowel.

Some common prefixes:

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]Prefix[/TD]

[TD]Meaning[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]a, an[/TD]

[TD]No, not[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]aut[/TD]

[TD]Self[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]dia[/TD]

[TD]Complete, trough[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]dys[/TD]

[TD]Bad, painful, difficult, abnormal[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]endo[/TD]

[TD]Within[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]exo[/TD]

[TD]Outside[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]hyper[/TD]

[TD]Excessive, more than normal, too much[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]hypo[/TD]

[TD]Below, less than normal, under[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]peri[/TD]

[TD]Surrounding[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]pro[/TD]

[TD]Before, forward[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]re[/TD]

[TD]Back[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]retro[/TD]

[TD]Behind[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]sub[/TD]

[TD]below, under[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]trans[/TD]

[TD]across, through[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Some common suffixes:

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]Suffix[/TD]

[TD]Meaning[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]al[/TD]

[TD]Pertaining to[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]algia[/TD]

[TD]Pain[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]ar[/TD]

[TD]Pertaining to[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]ase[/TD]

[TD]Enzyme[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]cyte[/TD]

[TD]Cell[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]eal[/TD]

[TD]Pertaining to[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]ectomy[/TD]

[TD]Cutting out; removal; excision[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]emia[/TD]

[TD]Blood condition[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]globin[/TD]

[TD]Protein[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]gram[/TD]

[TD]Record[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]ia[/TD]

[TD]Condition[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]ian[/TD]

[TD]Specialist in a field of study[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]iatrics[/TD]

[TD]Medical specialty[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]iatry[/TD]

[TD]Medical specialty[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]ic[/TD]

[TD]Pertaining to[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]ics[/TD]

[TD]Medical specialty[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]ior[/TD]

[TD]Pertaining to[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]ism[/TD]

[TD]Condition, process[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]ist[/TD]

[TD]Specialist in a field of study[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]itis[/TD]

[TD]Inflammation[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]logist[/TD]

[TD]Specialist in the study of[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]logy[/TD]

[TD]Study of[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]meter[/TD]

[TD]Measurment[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]oma[/TD]

[TD]Tumor, mass[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]opsy[/TD]

[TD]To view[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]ose[/TD]

[TD]Sugar[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]osis[/TD]

[TD]Abnormal condition[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]scope[/TD]

[TD]Instrument to visually examine[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]scopy[/TD]

[TD]Process of visual examination[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]sis[/TD]

[TD]State of[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]tomy[/TD]

[TD]Process of cutting into; incision[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]um[/TD]

[TD]A structure[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]y[/TD]

[TD]Condition or process[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

]

Common medical abbreviations. bid, tid, qd, hs, stat, NGT... is a good site for this stuff as well.

Thank you.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I think you have great suggestions so far.....Focus on the prereqs....make the highest grades possible....study for the entrance exam that your schools you are applying for require studying in chunks over the semester makes it less intimidating when testing day comes. get a planner.....USE IT DAILY....time management is key....

and honestly THE MOST IMPORTANT in my opinion.....figure out how you learn. You can study for hours on end but if you don't figure out what helps YOU retain/apply the information then it won't matter one bit. Knowing how to study effectively takes trial and error but is so important!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion