queserasera

I'd brush up on medical terminology on a site like quizlet or studyblue - there is a lot of content there for free. Other than that, just chill for now. When it comes to doing well in nursing school my advice is this: read the assigned material before your lecture so that lecture is more of a review of the highlights. Focus on identifying the most important information. Remember, you're in nursings school to be a nurse, not a pharmacist, not a diagnostician - a nurse so approach the material from a nursing perspective. Assessments, nursing interventions, and patient teaching. Don't over think it. Honestly, nursing school has turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. People make it out to be such a gigantic deal. But with some discipline and scheduling you'll be fine.

If I were you I'd buy Fundamentals Reviews and Rationales by Mary Hogan and if your school uses ATI for benchmark exams, I'd get a copy of the Fundamentals book for that as well. NCLEX questions would be good if you read through all the rationales, but most of the content wouldn't make sense yet to you anyways without the info from lecture.

Protip: always allow yourself to fail your first exam. I learned early on the first exam is a benchmark for how the tests here on out will be and how you prepared for it. I'm in second semester now and I promise you if you use this failure as an opportunity to reevaluate how you're studying, you can only improve from here! Read the assigned chapters BEFORE lecture and use lecture to clarify anything you didn't full get is the reading. Make note of what your professor spend a lot of time on, and keywords that are repeated throughout the lecture - write them down and study them! Nursing is all about prioritizing for your patient so it's about what is most important vs. What could be the right answer. Good luck - look up "how to get an a in any class" on this website - it's how i've been an honor roll student throughout my studies.

Congratulations!!! This is my next big hurdle. It's a huge one especially since so many hospitals are NOT hiring smokers around me.

Finish your undergrad and then look into entry to practice master's programs OR second bachelors programs. I know University of Maryland has a entry-to-practice Master's option for those that already hold an undergrad, I am sure other schools have similar programs! Good luck!

I see that everyone has already dragged you, but I just have to say this is the stupidest thing I have ever read. "I was doing grunt work." Pssh, did you think you'd be handing out lollipops?!

In my clinical group of 8 we were split in half (4/4) to take a 30 minute lunch and would have to leave our patients with one of the other student nurses. In that 30 min we could do whatever for lunch, eat a lunch we brought or go purchase one from cafe or outside hospital. My instructor rarely came with us to lunch, but when they did it was a great opportunity to ask questions, discuss what has gone wrong/right in the day, and get good feedback. I will note that though I was always "guaranteed" a lunch break, I would often choose to work through it if that was allowed. With my luck I know something exciting will happen if I go to lunch and I didn't want to miss any opportunities to learn something different.

I mean, I have nothing to compare current nursing school to past nursing school but I really don't think it's hard. We have a lot of stuff to do, but I will never say "it's hard". I study no more than I did for my pre-reqs and get good grades. I am ready for it to be over though.

Hi there! I am in my first semester of nursing school now and wanted to share my experience with you. First of all "hard" is so subjective! It totally depends on you! If hard means difficult to learn and retain the info, no. If hard means having to study and read more than I was used to then yes! Already being a pharmacy tech will at least give you a huge advantage when it comes to phatmacology :) The science pre-reqs were not as bad as I thought they would be, though they certainly required more time than my other college classes. My best suggestion is start small if you can. Take just an a&p class and nothing else that semester if you're really nervous about it. Test the waters if you will. Luckily, we live in the great age of information and anything you have trouble with you can get more help online. If you are diligent with your time managemnet and stay on top of your studies (don't try to cram!) Chances are you will succeed. Good luck to you feel free to pm me with any other questions!

I get everything I need to do (Attending Lecture, Lab, reading & studying) done between 8am-5pm Monday-Friday so I don't have to think about school at night or on the weekends. It's really hard work because I have to get a lot done in only 45 hours a week. But it is a glorious feeling knowing the weekend before a big exam I don't have to freak out and cram. In that free time I love playing with my dog, video gaming, reading and running.

Imitation is the biggest form of flattery. Also... that most annoying. Just don't tell anyone anything anymore. Unless you move away you'll probably still be running into the same people though

Protip: Get a septum retainer. They are small and look like the shape of a long staple. That way you can keep it open and still have it flipped up without so much jewelry in your nose.

Hi there! I had similar concerns with starting clinicals. My fiancée is a professional tattoo artist, and needless to say, with free tattoos at my disposal, I have become quite covered. A full sleeve on both my left arm and both legs as well as a small one behind my ear. My school is strict. No visible tattoos is the policy. That being said, I knew early on I would have to find ways to cover them. Tattoos, at this point in time, are not considered "professional" and I strive to be as professional as possible when it comes to my career. In fact, my goal is to never let anyone at nursing school see my tattoos. period. I don't want people's closed-minded ideas about tattoos to ever affect my learning opportunities. I would hate to, for example, be working at a nursing home, and offend a patient with my choice of body art. I understand it's not everyones cup of tea. By far the best product out there, in my opinion, is the tat2x sleeves. They are similar to tatjackets, but way more comfortable & lightweight. They cover from armpit to wrist in my case, or they also make ones that are specifically for half sleeves. They come in skin tones and colors. I like this option more than long sleeves because I get hot and having the added weight of a long sleeve shirt didn't seem appealing to me. Also for the tattoo behind my ear I purchased some "Amazing Cosmetics" brand concealer. It goes on thick and holds up to heat and movement if you set it with a light finishing powder. I think that is way better option for me than the band-aid one. Good luck to you in your program. Tattooed nursing students, unite!

I also majored in "Pre-Nursing" studies and graduated with my AS degree in that in the spring. The community college I attended is a huge feeder school for the BSN schools in my area, which is why they have these options. Student do their freshman & sophomore year in pre-nursing and transfer to a BSN program. It actually makes a lot of sense in this area of the country w. huge nursing schools and huge urban hospitals making the switch to BSN preferred hires. The only other Bachelor's that my credits transferred to (other than the 6 nursing schools) was a Public Health Bachelors. I am in Maryland if you have an specific questions for me please feel free to message me.

Congratulations! I am also starting my program in Spring 2015. I bought all physical copies of my books. I don't know about you, but I can not read e-book versions of textbooks as I like to physically highlight, take notes in the margins and bookmark. I know you can do most of this in an e-book, but I guess I am just old school. One nice thing about the e-book option though is portability. Having about 200lbs of books on a tablet is certainly advantageous. I purchased all of my books used from a previous years nursing student. That's the other thing about e-books, you can't really sell them back afterwords, or sell them to someone else. (I personally will certainly keep my textbooks but just like to have the option!)

Several factors went into my decision to pursue this as a career. First of all, I am genuinely invested in the well-being of the human race both physically & emotionally. I really just want to make people's hard times suck less. There's an Emily Dickinson poem that begins, "If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain." It's a little sappy but at the core of it, it's what I feel would give my life the most meaning -- aiding the sick, dying and recovering. Secondly, I like blood and guts. It may come off as a bit macabre, but honestly I revel in things that gross most people out. Medical oddities, extreme pathophysiology, trauma. All of it. Love it. There was no doubt in my mind that "having the stomach for it" would ever be an issue. Third, I love learning and when I chose my major in school I wanted to be sure it was in a field that was growing. I never want to stop learning, I would be a professional student if I had the choice. I loved that Nurses are getting more professional recognition, that is more PhD's and Doctorate's Practioner's. I liked that even if I went through a full PhD program I would still be able to continue my education indefinitely as the healthcare field is constantly evolving. I'm interested to see what others say.

Here's the thing even if you do get in to a program do you feel like you'd be able to thrive in a program? The reason nursing schools have pre requisites is to ensure students accepted to the program have a solid knowledge of basic science concepts and can gauge how they will do in the nursing program. If I were you I'd retake my C's not even for my GPA but to have a solid foundation of knowledge for MUCH more difficult concepts.

I was able to find some e-copies of my text on torrent sites. Yes, it's illegal. But you know what else should be illegal. Making students pay $1165 for textbooks for a 2 year program.

Bio & Chem have a huge overlap so they are lovely courses to couple.

Don't give up. I'm really happy to tell everyone I attended my Orientation for Nursing School today! After 2 years of hard work in pre reqs followed by a year of being wait listed, today confirmed that this is what I want to do! I am so glad that I didn't jump ship when circumstances became uncertain. I want to encourage anyone who is waiting to be patient. If you know in your heart that this is where you want to spend the rest of you life, another year or two is not the end! Hearing the stories of the professors on what nursing is to them made me tear up. It's so important to be passionate about every aspect of this crazy career we've chosen to pursue. Don't be discouraged if you've been wait-listed or rejected, see where you can improve and be honest with yourself about why you want this. I was really motivated by others stories while I was waiting to get into a program, I hope I can motivate someone else!

Initially chemistry was a toughie for me. I over thought each concept until it drove me mad! I was sure within the first few weeks I'd made a huge mistake taking the accelerated course. However It ended up being one of my favorite subjects and I went on to take a O-chem & Biochem class. My advice: Use all the resources you can. If there is a supplemental instruction, study sessions with the professor, or even just reviewing the concepts on Khan Academy before class - do all those things! It is a very math heavy subject and there are so many equations to memorize and understand. Be proactive about your learning and take control of your studies by always reading ahead and having questions prepared for class (instead of trying to learn them in class). Be sure to positively encourage yourself too, you can do anything you put your heart and mind to!

Sounds like too much money to me. Contact Johns Hopkins hospital directly - I would hate to see you lose that money

They changed to rolling admission - so anyone who meets basic requirements (I think 2.5 GPA & passing TEAS score) gets in on a waitlist. The waitlist is full for a few semesters out. I had to wait a year. Basically it's non-competitive and making the ADN degree a joke. But Honestly, I see the ADN degree as a whole getting phased out in the coming years. Bachelor's will eventually be the minimum requirement in my opinion.

Just apply to as many programs as you can. If you're serious about making this your life's work - it doesn't matter what route you take. I applied to BSN and ADN programs. Was waitlisted for BSN (despite stellar grades and TEAS score!) and ended up getting accepted to several area ADN programs. In the long run I'll be spending a lot less to get the same education (I'll be bridging RN-BSN the moment I pass my NCLEX thanks to a consortium my CC has with local Uni). Just put yourself out there - If you make the minimum requirements for application, apply. But also know it's competitive out there and if you think getting into school is going to be tough, wait till you're looking for a job! BSN is 2 years at about 15-18 credits a semester focusing on all theory and practice of nursing. There are more research classes, management classes etc. ADN from what I understand is more practical nursing at about 9credits a semester. Of course every program is different this is just what the school around me are doing.

Definitely apply to your dream school, but take it from someone who only applied to one school and got waitlisted and was in academic limbo for a year, apply to as many schools as you can. Even if you have great grades, score, experiences etc. you never know what the applicant pool will be like and subsequently, what your chances of getting in are. Seriously - apply to a few schools!