Preparing for Nursing School?

[luvnhim]

hello everyone!!

i am applying for the nursing program for fall 2011 at my local community college & was wondering what are some good things that i should start studying before i get into the program (and let's hope i do lol)? i am going to purchase the teas test study guide, but i want to be prepared bc i am very worried how difficult the actual nursing classes are going to be. i have done good in my pre-reqs but i feel like i have forgotten things from a&p that i took this summer.

this program is so competitive & i just want to make sure i succeed when i get into nursing school.

any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

[clemoi]

The best thing to study on your own is reactions to disease process and how to respond. What would you do for a patient experiencing X,Y,Z? That's the main point of nursing school and the information is out there and available. Look up common diseases, research how to approach and deal with them, and if you want to complicate things, think about how to approach a patient with more than one (ex. diabetes and heart failure combined). Good luck :)

[luvnhim]

Thank you for the info, I will def. do that. Merry Christmas!! :)

[tainted1972, ASN, RN]

In the beginning of nursing school you learn the basics which will set the stage for everything else along the way.

Understand that nursing classes are like a pyramid. You must be able to start at the bottom to get to/understand the top. If you start at the top you are going to fall. Focus on the basics such as simple medical terminology, basic anatomy and math. If you spend a lot of time trying to understand complex issues you are going to be left with more questions than answers.

Get yourself organized not only for school but for life as well. For example if you have a family it would be a good idea to start making out menus and shopping lists, make out a chore list and begin following it. Get into a good routine.

The more organized you are, the more time you will have for studying. And it will be less stressful for you. Nursing school will consume you if you let it :)

[taalyn_1, CNA]

Studying the TEAS will help you a lot on the test. As for what to do to prepare for the classes, I would agree with studying disease processes, but also studying basic skills (bed making, transferring, body mechanics, etc.) That may sound silly but thats what you are going to be doing a lot of in your first semester. Another thing would be your math skills for your drug calculations class. Good luck and try not to stress too much about getting in the program. If you have the scores, you'll get in.

[luvnhim]

Thanks for the info. I loved nursing math and made an "A" in that course, but I feel like I have forgotten how to doit, but everyone that was in my class that was already in nursing said that when we actually get into the nursing classes that they teach us a complete different way then my teacher taught us how to do medical dosage calculations. So I will prob look back through my back on this again. I am currently in Medical Terminology and it is a really easy class for me and I wish I would have taken it before I took A&P. Thank you all for the information, this has really helped me to stop worrying ( alittle haha). Hope you all have a great Christmas