Stuff to study before you start Nursing School

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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I am at Athens Tech. Currently I need to finish A&P 2 to have all my prerequisites for the ADN program.

Unfortunately I could not get it all completed by the deadline to start fall 2010 and have to Wait until Fall 2011 to start the program.

Would anyone have any suggestions on things I could study on my own to make things easier for me when I do start the program?

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I'm starting nursing school in August. I don't intend to study ANYTHING beforehand. I figure there will be enough studying once the program begins!

Good luck!

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I hear it's good to start reading math for nurses, specially if you are not that good with math.

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Someone told me it's good to start reading math for nurses.

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I'm interested in this also. I've been waiting 5 years to start nursing school (already have a non-nursing bachelors degree). I've finished my prerequisites and math is a strong suit of mine so I've found dosage calculations to be quite easy. What can I study up on? I'm so anxious to start but have to wait until March 2011.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

If you want to study, it can never hurt to review some dosage math ( try Math for Meds by Curren) and some of the basics of anatomy/physiology. But, to be honest, I didn't study anything before nursing school (graduating in May) and I've done great. There will be plenty of studying and stressing once you enter the program. Enjoy yourself now and try to relax. :smokin: Good luck!

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I'm not any good at relaxing. I get bored at work and there is literally nothing to do and studying up on nursing would make time go faster and make me happy.

I did a bunch of dosage math and found it painfully easy and got bored rather quick when I aced the practice tests. I've already taken anatomy, physiology, microbiology, genetics, pathophysiology, medical terminology, nutrition, pharmacology, have a degree in psych.... I've seriously thought about buying a med/surg book although after having worked on a med/surg floor... *YAWN*. Maybe I'll buy an acute care book...

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
I'm not any good at relaxing. I get bored at work and there is literally nothing to do and studying up on nursing would make time go faster and make me happy.

I did a bunch of dosage math and found it painfully easy and got bored rather quick when I aced the practice tests. I've already taken anatomy, physiology, microbiology, genetics, pathophysiology, medical terminology, nutrition, pharmacology, have a degree in psych.... I've seriously thought about buying a med/surg book although after having worked on a med/surg floor... *YAWN*. Maybe I'll buy an acute care book...

Well, it is pretty difficult to study nursing when you're not immersed into the nursing curriculum yet. There is a great book called "Test Success for Beginning Nursing Students" by Nugent & Vitale. It teaches you how to answer nursing style test questions and is a great review/study tool.

Yes, dosage math is pretty simple, but practice never hurts. In my program (and most others), we have to pass dosage exams with a 90% or greater to continue the semester. Keep acing the practice tests and it will make your transition through nursing school much less stressful.

There is really no need to buy an "acute care" book unless you honestly have nothing to do. I can tell you that it will be difficult to understand what the heck the author is talking about, since that is senior nursing student material (and you haven't begun a program yet). Going back to your anatomy book for a refresher is a good idea, though.

"Yawning" at med/surg -- sure, it's not for everyone, but it is the basis of your nursing practice. My class lost several people last semester due to the intensity of the course. Med/Surg is the foundation of nursing that is applied to every area in the field.

As a senior BSN nursing student (and intern at the VA hospital) I can tell you that the "better than you" attitude your post exudes will not get you very far in nursing school (with teachers, nurses, patients or classmates). You might "yawn" and call things "painfully easy"... but nursing school is one of the most stressful, difficult things that many of us have done, and having that disposition could cost you relationships (both professional, academic, and social) Until you are in it, you have no idea. I'm not saying these things to be harsh, but to help you.

Good luck to you as you prepare to begin nursing school. Once you start, head over to the nursing student forums if you need help/have questions.

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For the op: dosage calculations, anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, nutrition, pathophysiology, pharmacology.

As for ForeverLaur's yawns, how odd, since there is no end to most of the topics in her list - one can always go deeper into them or broader.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

If you're not good at math, definitely brush up on that. Nursing math is basic math, (adding/subtracting/multiplying/dividing) and dealing with decimals/some percentages. Start learning your conversions - such as how many mL are in 1 L, how many mL are in 1 tablespoon (tbs)/teaspoon (tsp), grams --> milligrams --> micrograms, how many lbs are in a kg, how many mL are in 1oz (it's 30)...stuff like that.

Brush up on your A&P, especially your physiology. That help a lot when you get to patho.

Other than that, I wouldn't read much because once nursing school starts you won't have a lot of free time. I also wouldn't necessarily suggest doing NCLEX questions now because at this point you won't really understand the material/rationales - that makes more sense once you're in nursing school.

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I was just simply stating that I'm unaware of any courses left I could take that would be beneficial to my nursing career. I've been on a long waitlist for quite a while so I've taken a lot of courses to pass the time (including anatomy twice as I find it interesting).

I in no way indicated that I was better than anyone else or was making nursing sound easy. I'm quite aware that nursing is extremely difficult and time consuming. I simply stated I've been waiting for a long time and have taken a fair amount of coursework (over 200 semester hours) and math has always been a strong suit of mine. For the first time since I was 16, all I'm doing is working 40 hours a week - no school! I'm used to being a full-time student with a full-time job and I don't know what to do with all my free time. I work out, take my dog to the park, shop, clean, and still find endless hours with nothing to fill the time so I'm looking to get a head start on nursing school as I really don't have anything better to do... especially when I'm at work because we're not allowed to do sidework as I work at a pharmacy and it could result in errors. No patients calling in = nothing to do.

I've heard med/surg is really rough - I looked through a friend's book once and was shocked at the volume she had to learn. I'm aware that med/surg is a very valuable course - I just know that the field is not for me. I think the acute care book would fascinate me - I may not understand most of it but that's what I like the most... I could spend hours researching everything I didn't understand and learn. I'm a bit of a nerd :)

So, yes, I'm really bored and really anxious to start nursing school (I have known this is what I wanted to do since early 2008 and won't get to start until late 2011) and I really don't have anything better to do!

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I start my nursing program this August. Right now, I'm taking Nutrition and Medical Terminology.

I strongly suggest both of them. Nutrition is a great review on vitamins, minerals, bones, blood, oxidation, etc.... Stuff you forget from A&P!! Get any used nutrition book, it will be good to have on your bookshelf come nursing school anyways.

The Med Term class is also excellent. I was getting nervous about hearing unfamiliar terms during clinicals, and this class will help you decipher a word's meaning even if you've never heard of it before. You could definitely teach yourself these courses. The Language of Medicine by Chabner 8th Ed. is wonderful, and has tons of workbook type pages to help you practice.

And, as everyone else said, Med Math. I have Henke's med-math: Dosage Calculation, Preparation, & Administration 6th Ed.

I'd love to just take off the entire summer since the next 2 years i'll be a slave to my books, but I want to keep my routine going and keep my brain working too, lol! I fear that if I don't use it, I'll lose it!

Good Luck!

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