jala

I haven't started school yet, but rzyzzy, your post is very uplifting. I'll have to remember this when I go through school. (Hang in there pty86. You're on your way, you just started med surg, give it time, you don't want regrets later, give it all you've got before thinking of quitting. You're very lucky to have strong support.)

Thanks again for the replies, these are SO helpful. (For any of you wanting to get an introduction to general human anatomy, I found some great videos on youtube. They are a series of lectures, 40 of them, from the University of California, Berkely. They are all tapings of Professor Marion Diamond's general human anatomy class. These are GREAT! It's like taking a college course, at home, for free. She is awesome.)

Good luck to all of you! I'll turn 50 a few weeks after I start the LPN program next fall. (Menopause and nursing school, are we crazy?!.....naaah.)

Thanks to all of you! I have noted everything, this will help SO much. Another question (I have hundreds). I have received a book that I ordered from Ebay, Davis's Drug Guide for Nurses, Tenth Edition. I want to review the drug classifications to get familiar with studying for Pharmacology. What is a LPN expected to know? The first drug classification, for example, is Anti-Alzheimer's Agents. PHARMACOLOGIC PROFILE General Use...... General Action and Information...... Contraindications...... Precautions..... Interactions....... NURSING IMPLICATIONS Assessment...... Potential Nursing Diagnosis..... Patient/Family Teaching...... Evaluation/Desired Outcomes Then a list of the drugs given for this disease: donepezil galantamine memantine rivastigmine tacrine Do you have to memorize ALL of this?

If you could go back to 11 months before you started school, what would you do to get ready, to make the experience easier? I have started studying A&P, and I"m up to the skeletal system. I'm recognizing some of the terminology now, which is making it a little bit easier to understand. So...what do I get started with next? I feel like I need to learn what I could and not let a day go by without learning something. And by the way, all of the nursing subjects are included with the program, we have no prereqs to take, such as A&P, med terminology, etc.

To all of you starting out the LPN program, please come back and let us know how things are going. What was your first day, first week, first month.....like. I don't start until next fall, but would love to hear all about it!

Thanks Anne. I was told to just study the anatomy, so I can focus on the physiology when the class starts. A&P is not a pre req. In fact, the only pre req I have to take is Allied Science, (and intro to computers and freshman orientation). I'm excempt from english/reading/math. I read so much about how fast the program moves and how hard it is to keep up, I feel like I want to study everything before next fall. I can definitely see how easy it would be to forget alot of this, there is so much info to learn!

No Anne36, this is all very new to me. Which is why I want to get a head start. :)

I am familiarlizing myself with anatomy and physiology right now to be ready for the LPN program when I start next fall. Below is a random outline I wrote for example. Should I study this in detail (go much further that what I outlined), or just in general. I have no clue how far the studies go in LPN. TISSUES Epithelial --function --cell junctions ----tight junction ----desmonsome ----gap junction -Types of Epithelial tissues --squamous --cuboidal cells --columnar cells ----simple ----stratified ----pseudostratified ----transitional -Types of glands --endocrine --exocrine ----merocrine ----aprocrine ----holocrine --unicellular --multicellular (simple) ----tubular ----coiled tubular ----branched tubular ----branched acinar --multicellular (compound) ----tubular ----acinar ----tubuloacinar --types of secretions ----mucus ----serous ----seromucous -types of membranes --mucous membrane ----epithelium ----lamina propia ----muscularis mucosae --serous membrane

Thanks so much for the replies, they are good suggestions. (And thanks to whoever moved my question to the appropriate forum.) I am taking the intro to computers (online) and freshman orientation classes this semester. Next semester, I am scheduled to take Allied Science. (I scored well on the Compass Test, so am excempt on taking the allied math/reading/writing classes.) This is what the school told me to take for now. I talked to the LPN instructor, she said to buy the anatomy color book at Books a Million. If I learn the anatomy, I can concentrate more on the physiology. That's all she said to do. But I have a whole year, and I can learn so much to be better prepared. Now someone I talked to at the orientation class, told me she is taking a medical terminology class right now, and A&P starting in October. No one told me about taking these classes, and when I questioned, was told they don't know why she is taking them now. I don't know if I should inquire about taking these, even though they will be covered when the actual program starts Fall 2011. Or study on my own as much as I can since I don't work and I have alot of time to study. I bought two of the Barron's EZ books--Biology and Anotomy & Psysiology, for now. Just wish I knew how in depth into the subjects we will get.

New to allnurses.com. I will start the LPN program at my local technical college in the fall of 2011, Louisiana. I want to take advantage of this coming year before I start, by reading/studying/reviewing as much as I can to make this a little easier. I'm 48 years old and need to get practice at studying again! Would love to find out from people who have been through this program, what topics should I study, what are your favorite internet sites, etc. Thanks so much for any help! I'm sure I'll have other questions along the way. :)