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Definitely try it. I’ve worked in a nursing home and now at a hospital. The best things I’ve learned are how to communicate effectively with patients and how to manage my time. I think the experience can provide a more realistic view of healthcare as well.

I made flashcards, lists, and practiced problems in the math textbook that is required for my program. Flashcards helped me the most for the household/metric conversions. I think of military time, temperature, and my preferred dosage calculation method as formulas that I memorize so I’m never lost. When answering a problem I just remember the formula and plug in the values, then do the calculations. I know some of my classmates made visuals to better understand the household conversions and military time. If the actual calculations are the challenging part, I would suggest specifically practicing the division, multiplication, etc. to master that first. Remembering that the metric system is just multiples of 10 helps when converting between units. When going from a bigger unit (ex: grams) to a smaller unit (ex: milligrams), you move the decimal point 3 places to the right. When going from small to big, it’s 3 places to the left. Hopefully you’ll find what works for you!

Hello, Brushing up on A&P is a good idea, I would also suggest figuring out your preferred learning style now. Take advantage of any learning resources available to you once you start the program and see if they will be helpful. From my own experience as a student, clinicals can be challenging, but improving your interpersonal skills and managing stress is critical. You need to be able to work in a team and advocate for your patients. I believe it is the same in real practice. However, at school, you should be able to practice skills in lab, and you will have an instructor with you while you’re performing skills in clinical. You shouldn’t feel completely alone or lost. If you do, ask for help! As for whether or not you can handle it, I think that is really up to you. It’s good that you take care of your mental health! Try to practice positive self-talk as much as possible, and try to be patient with yourself. You may come to rely on your classmates and professors for some support, too. I wish you well!