ScarletCeylonRN

I started nursing school at 21 and graduated earlier this year with my BSN at 23. Considering my circumstances, it was easiest to go for the goal right after high school. I was one of the youngest in my class of 130.

I rolled into the TEAS right after taking my science prereqs, so my experience may not be completely comparable to yours, but I do seem to recall them being more difficult than I'd expected, given that I was still fresh! Hang in there. I think the bi...

I would recommend buying the practice tests from ATI and getting a study guide. You could go with the official ATI guide for TEAS, or you could get a cheaper generic guide for nursing school entrance exams (just be sure to look at reviews and do your...

Unfortunately, this seems to be pretty cut and dry. If you did not meet the acceptable standards set forth by your institution (usually given to you at the beginning of every course), then you did not pass. How close you were to passing won't likely ...

Some people are stuck in the habit of oversharing on social media sites-- even if that information is not theirs to share. A good rule of thumb is to always assume that privacy filters are meaningless. Because they are. And simply hitting delete or h...

As was I! I will just say that you need to be careful with this line of thought. In nursing school and out in the field you're going to encounter people from a wide variety of backgrounds, so you will need to be careful with how you treat your cowork...

Once upon a time, I was caring for a patient during one of my school rotations. This was around the time of the election, and his family were having a very heated political discussion amongst themselves. This is always a red flag for me, as I never g...

It's good policy. People tend to run at the mouth when they start talking about personal issues or beliefs, and situations can easily get out of hand. It's best not to blur the professional lines and keep the relationship strictly about care. You nev...

Keep pace with the readings and be realistic about timelines. Don't wait until 10pm to do the care plan that's due at 11:59pm. DO NOT let classmates flake on group assignments! Hold them accountable to the same standards as you are being held. Even i...

Do what you need to do. Don't worry about conforming to a specific schedule, because now is the time you need to focus on shoring up your weaknesses. It takes as long as it takes to be successful. Talk to your instructors and see if your school has ...

My hardest prerequisite course was physiology, which I took at a CC. I was in a class with a tough instructor (I sought her out on purpose because I'd had her the prior semester for nutrition and she was incredible), but she was very thorough, very k...

Thanks, Saoirse. I agree, a firm footing in some situations will be required. If they're just not getting the hint, you shouldn't dance around the issue and be frank about addressing the unacceptable behavior. The relationship might change after that...

I use that that tactic as much as possible and find that it works very well in most cases. But some of the more insistent/intrusive people refuse to be redirected. I'm not as sure what to do about them, because they're aware of the tactic and activel...

Nursing school really is different than other educational programs. Our practice is about interpreting and applying our knowledge actively in the care of our patients, so questions will be asked with a different focus, (i.e. "What does this mean?" as...

My school used burnt orange scrub tops and black bottoms to match the school colors. They were nice-looking, even though we began casually referring to ourselves as pumpkins. Memories, memories!

I graduated my nursing program at the end of May and took the NCLEX-RN on June 25th. Unlike many of my classmates, I did not have the money for the Kaplan or Hurst reviews. I used the ATI resources I was required to purchase for my school, my drug bo...

That's what I did when my grandmother gifted me with an RN charm for my necklace. I didn't want to wear it before I legally gained the title. But immediately after I got confirmation that I passed NCLEX and my license was posted on the BON, I put it ...

Hello! I didn't do VATI-- I just used the stuff I was required to purchase through the school. I took some of the practice tests, but I didn't go crazy with them. I don't know how different any additional packages from ATI are, but I only had access...

In all honesty, I found the ATI books much more helpful than the online component. The books are pretty generous in the teaching component which was easily 60% of my test (75q).