juniper583

Thank you for this. Really. To the OP: I knit and crochet. Bake. Sew. Normal hobbyist type stuff. It's good to make sure you include things you enjoy in your life. I could not work a second job because I have a family, I know single nurses that work more than one job though.

80% for both my PN program and now my ADN program. It's an average of all graded assignments/exams but it's weighted, exams are generally 70-80% of your grade.

I wear one of these... Amazon.com: Nurses Lapel Watch - 1 Watch + Dark Blue, Light Blue, Pink Holders - Silicone (Infection Control): Wave Creations: Watches It works great and I turn the clock upside down so all I have to do is look down and I can see the second hand.

The PVT worked for me!! Took NCLEX-PN at 8am Friday 8/15, tried the trick at about 2pm that afternoon and got the good pop-up, quick results this morning confirmed that I passed!

Congrats!!!

I can't imagine 16 students to 1 instructor! Seems like that it asking for trouble! We have a max ratio of 8:1. Our instructors have to be present for almost everything we do outside of basic patient care. It would be a nightmare waiting to do med pass with that many students.

I do not spend a lot of time studying but I know it's a full time job for many in my class. Planning for that much now will serve you well and if you don't need it then consider that time a bonus. I've found that if you have a good grasp of anatomy and physiology you will have a good start. Learning to apply that knowledge to prioritize and delegate just takes practice.

I kept my Anatomy & Physiology textbook and really wish I had kept my Microbiology book.

Small long term care facility in the Midwest and I make $11.50/hr.

I am a CNA and almost done with the PN program. I didn't have a choice. The school I chose is a ladder program. Meaning you have to be a CNA to get into the PN program and then you have to be an LPN to get into the ADN program. I'll be 31 in a couple of weeks and I would like to hurry the process along but I'm glad I've had to do it in stages.

I am almost always one of the first done and I generally receive very good grades. I have a "system" that works for me. I read the question and answers and then go with my first instinct, I skip over questions that take me more than a minute or two so that I don't get distracted, and at the end of the test I go back to the ones that I skipped and spend a little more time on those.

Critical thinking takes some practice. I would really pay attention to the rationales given in the practice questions if they are available. It can help you understand the "best answer" reasoning.

Our program requires it for clinical purposes. All the facilities that are used for clinicals require it of their employees and we are held to the same health standards. I am 30 years old and this year was the first time I have *ever* had a flu shot.

I started when I was 17 but wasn't mature enough so I dropped out. I'm now 30 and in my first semester of the nursing program (after doing a year of pre-requisites). Married with three kids.

I suppose it depends on how selections are made. If it is based on academic performance then you would want that 4.0 GPA. At my school it is first come-first serve. If you have a 2.7 cumulative GPA in the pre-reqs and have all your other (health, CPR, etc) requirements met then they take students in the order their admissions folders are completed.

Our A&P I class dropped by almost half by the time the semester was over. A&PII wasn't quite as bad. Read over your notes everyday. Make flashcards. I ended both I&II with over 100% and my instructor was proud of that fact that those were the two hardest courses (excluding nursing specific classes) on campus. You can do it! edited to add- for admission to the nursing program both A&P classes had to be passed with an 80% or better.

I think it really depends on each individual program. We had to have 4 out of 5 pre-reqs completed before admission and the 5th had to be taken in the first semester of the PN program. They were very specific about the order in which the classes were taken and what that 5th class could be if you were taking it in conjunction with the nursing classes.

I would guess that my entire class was shocked when we got our first exams back. There is a definite learning curve to critical thinking. We are coming up on our 4th unit exam and I'm starting to feel like I have the hang of it. Kind of. Doing the practice questions in the back of the chapters and in the study guide are really helpful. BTW, anything below 80 is failing for me :/

I bought almost all of my books used from Amazon this semester and was highly impressed. I bought by ISBN to ensure that it was the edition that I needed.

It just takes practice. I'm a new nursing student as well but have been in the healthcare field in some role or another for quite a while. Just remember that you are all doing the same thing and the rest of your class is probably just as nervous as you are.