Question for current nursing students:

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I have applied to an ADN program for Fall 2010. (Still waiting...)

I was wondering if there was anything you wish you would have brushed up on or reviewed before starting your program? Should I go ahead and jump into studying NCLEX questions? Review old A&P/Microbiology? Psyc?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Make sure you have a good grasp of A&P. Review some dosage calculations and basic math. Don't worry with the NCLEX questions because they really won't be much help to you until you start going over the material in class (at least that was my experience). I haven't seen much of microbiology or psych except the developmental aspect of psychology (developmental stages and milestones). I have med/surg next semester so I might see more of my pre-reqs coming into play then (especially pathophysiology).

Good luck!

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I've only finished 1 quarter of nursing school. The only thing that I wished I had brushed up on was physiology. They don't really review that stuff, so it would have helped to be more familiar with where everything is.

Some of the NCLEX review books might be too overwhelming without the content knowledge. You can get books on test-taking, to become familiar with NCLEX questions. They'll help you understand how the questions are worded and how develop critical thinking skills to answer them.

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Specializes in Urgent Care NP, Emergency Nursing, Camp Nursing.

Micro - I never formally took the course, and it helps when you need to remember what antibiotics kill what nasties in pharmacology.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

The only things I would look at are dosage calculations and maybe a brief review of anatomy.

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Thanks for all the responses, I appreciate it!

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Read a nursing test success book. They are really thin, a fast read and have a lot of useful information, IMO. I did start reading NCLEX questions the summer before I started the nursing program and could answer the most basic of questions.

Make sure your house is in order and you have a quiet place to read, have a great bookshelf (or 2), and plenty of space to write.

Math Calcs are a great thing to review because they popped that test on us the first two weeks of the first semester and we had to pass with 100%.

Good luck in your program!!!

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I went to the library today and checked out three books-

How to Survive and Maybe Even Love Nursing School, Tour Guide to Nursing School, and Test Success Test Taking Techniques for Beginning Nursing Students.

I already feel 1,000 times more prepared! The three books are all pretty different and offer a lot of insight on what nursing school, clinicals, and tests will be like. I didn't even know there were books out there like this.

Thanks to everyone so much!!!:redpinkhe

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Specializes in Cardiac Care.

Much luck on your acceptance to your program!

I completely agree that, while waiting, a review of basic A&P won't hurt you. Also, when I was waiting for admission, I bought a Fluids and Electrolytes Made Incredibly Easy book from Barnes & Noble (LOVE that store!!!). I still have it, and I still read it. That stuff will be invaluable to you in school, and it can't hurt to get a head start on it. That information will be important to you throughout your program.

Congratulations, and continued good luck and success!

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I would start with the basics of chemistry if you haven't already. They flew through it in my course (A&P) and many people had trouble with that portion. It is usually in the beginning of the course and that's a bad time to start getting confused. My instructor assumed everyone knew, and they didn't.

Basic math skills are essential as is dosage and calculation, I would get a grasp on that and become comfortable with it.

You could also skim through an NCLEX book, it shows you what kind of questions are asked and my classes reviewed this every week. They also incorporated parts of it into their exams so that you begin thinking critically in relation to the material.

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I would definitely brush up on basic math, and review the metric system!! Surprisingly, this is what most people in my program are struggling with. We had several people already fail the first exam :rolleyes:

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What's the name of the nursing school your attending? I'm currently taking pre req's for nursing program at Los Angeles Harbor College. I found this post interesting and wanted to know if we were in the same school. Good luck with everything!:nurse:

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