Reflections of your first semester?

HisKids37 · Dec 17, 2014

Ahh - that waiting period is so tough! You're doing the right thing by researching all that you can and being prepared. Try looking around on Youtube too - there are lots of nurses and nursing students who make videos about nursing school and nursing. They are very inspirational and helpful!

My first semester went great. I got 2 As and a B. I think the only thing I would change is to have better time management, and that has been a struggle my entire life. I've read lots of posts on good study habits, but I think you have to work with what your personal strengths are and what your program demands. For me, I think spending an hour a day (besides class and completing assignments) would totally keep my head above water. You'll figure out pretty quickly what your challenge areas are - for me, it's pharm. Your first semester will be a great time to experiment with study habits and see what works for you. Good luck!

__patiently_waiting · Dec 17, 2014

I just completed my first semester of nursing school. To sum it up, it was good, stressful. I won't complain. I got all B's. It's not what I was aiming for, but it could have been a lot worse. I found that the most challenging thing for me was the skills check-offs. Had I done better on those, I would have gotten an A in two classes. When it comes to paper/pencil tests I did well, but with the check-offs my anxiety got the best of me. I always made simple mistakes because of it. I have definitely learned to relax more when it comes to those because the more anxious I get and work myself up, the more simple mistakes I make.

Class wise, I'd have to say Fundamentals was one of the harder ones for me. It was hard for me to figure out how to best study for that class. I didn't do as good as I would have liked on the exams, but for the final, I did very well. I also took a end of the semester Fundamentals Hesi Exit Exam and got a 1038. Although the class was hard throughout the semester, at the end I did very well and I got a chance to see how much my knowledge base had grown from the start of the semester to the end.

Looking back, I see the problems I had and the mistakes I made, so next semester I won't make those mistakes. I'll definitely be making straight A's.. or close to it :)

Rest up, you'll be wishing for it once you start your program. Lol. I wish I would have taken that advice and ran with it. But I'm sure you'll do fine. Good luck!

RunBabyRN · Dec 17, 2014

I think it was just a big shock. As ready as I felt I was for nursing school, nothing can prepare you for what you really face. Getting an understanding of just how much nurses are really expected to know and how much nurses are responsible for is very humbling.

Then there was the shock of the sheer volume of reading. Whoa. I made myself crazy trying to stay on top of it all.

I had fundamentals and maternal child. I earn an A- and an A respectively.

One thing that helped keep me sane was my running. Finding a way to keep it going, or at least SOME kind of workout, helped immensely.

I wouldn't say that anything was easy, per se. It was all a new way of learning, a constantly challenging myself. Maybe the easiest part was the maternal child class, in that it's something I've learned a lot about on my own and in other careers, plus, being a mom myself, some of it was really easy for me. Other students, not so much. We all have our areas of ease and struggle, and it's going to vary from student to student.

BertG77 · Dec 17, 2014

I finish the 1st semester of my BSN program tomorrow and the only final grade I am certain of having so far is a B, which I am fine with. Prior to the finals tomorrow I have an A and another B. The classes we had were Fundamentals, Research, and Health Assessment. Fundamentals required the most work, and was multifaceted with written exams, skill check offs, and medical math. It was tough, but totally manageable. And though I am not very good at managing work and my time, I figured out what worked for me, and fast. First, the sheer amount of required reading felt ridiculous. I am so used to actually reading everything and after 2 weeks realized that was not sustainable. I had to force myself to learn to skim, and to read faster. It was weird, by the end of the semester I felt like I'd acquired some strange new ability to absorb information faster, that I didn't have before. This was apparent at simulations and at clinical orientation when Nurses would give report. I was amazed at how much I could retain while someone is racing through report about a patient. Of course, I had to write stuff down, but it was all in shorthand, with some gibberish.

Anyway, I'd say it was a serious challenge but feels very good to have gone through it. The medical math presented more of a psychological barrier for me, as I built up the tests in my head as being some huge obstacle but in the end I did fine. (I had to do more than fine on the final, which we were required to score 100% on before being advanced to next semester) As far as the skill check offs went, I am used to this from my experience as a CNA, so this was not an issue. I guess that was the easy part for me.

For me, the best study tools were my fundamentals textbook (perry and potter) and my drug book (davis). We had the benefit of having a very thorough orientation prior to the semester so we were adequately "warned" about what to expect. I guess what I wish I could've anticipated better (though am not sure how I wouldn't dealt with this better had I known) was the sense of loneliness or isolation caused by doing absolutely nothing but studying all the time, and sense of being under a microscope, or how much I scrutinized my own performance this semester. This was in despite the fact that our professors were profoundly encouraging and supportive, and tried to calm us by telling us we're doing great. Not sure how this compares to other 1st semester students, but just thought I'd share.

Backwardo · Dec 17, 2014

Fingers crossed for you!

First semester was exciting! The first few weeks I felt like I was consumed with stress 24/7. I would wake up feeling stressed. But I found my groove and ended up with a 90% in Fundamentals (it is just one class that incorporates pharmacology). The class was fairly easy for me, overall. I didn't struggle too much to get that grade. The most challenging part was keeping up with the busywork. I know it has it's purpose and I'm learning from it, but there were sooo many case studies and care plans. I spent many nights up working on those rather than studying for exams.

I also took A&P along with my nursing class. Now THAT was a challenge. It was so much more consuming than nursing, hands down. I got a low B. :***: But I made it and I'm onto my next semester.

I wish I had purchased my NCLEX books at the beginning. I bought Saunders, which was required, and eventually throughout the semester I added two more. My grades started climbing and really helped me out when I was preparing for my final. I never read assigned chapters fully. There just wasn't enough time. My NCLEX books did a really nice job breaking down the need-to-know information for me.

My biggest worry was that I wouldn't get enough quality time with my family. I seriously dislike the warning I got about saying goodbye to my kids, my spouse, my mother, etc. Time with my husband did decrease because we work around each other's schedules so our children don't have to go to daycare, but we had a date night every week. Time with my children did decrease because I was gone more during the day than I ever have been. But it made our time together so sweet. I was there every night to tuck them into bed. We had dinner each night at the table. We still hugged and kissed just as much. Husband and kids were more than willing to let me "practice" my skills on them. I didn't say "goodbye" to them and I would advise all nursing students to remember we need our families to help us succeed.

TLizS · Dec 17, 2014

My biggest worry was that I wouldn't get enough quality time with my family. I seriously dislike the warning I got about saying goodbye to my kids, my spouse, my mother, etc. Time with my husband did decrease because we work around each other's schedules so our children don't have to go to daycare, but we had a date night every week. Time with my children did decrease because I was gone more during the day than I ever have been. But it made our time together so sweet. I was there every night to tuck them into bed. We had dinner each night at the table. We still hugged and kissed just as much. Husband and kids were more than willing to let me "practice" my skills on them. I didn't say "goodbye" to them and I would advise all nursing students to remember we need our families to help us succeed.

This! ( I don't start my nursing program until January but.....) I won't be saying goodbye to my family and our quality time.....honestly it's just not an option....my husband has a job that is very unpredictable in hours and travel....he doesn't have a set schedule at all...soooo we are very used to winging it for plans and such.....yes I imagine I will be spending more time studying etc but My kids always are and always will be my top priority.....(and my husband...he's just much more independent than the kids lol). Those 3 are my support system....my stress relief (when they aren't being the cause of my stress anyway haha)....I HATE it when people say you have to say good bye to your family until you are finished...it's all time management. Find your support system....make sure you all have reasonable expectations (KNOW and make sure they know that while time could be more limited....it will be quality time and you will make sure it happens)

Find your sanity saver.....there is that something that helps you decompress.....keep that on the back burner for the times you feel like you are gunna lose it.....because I'm sure there will be times we need that

I love these posts...I love having the opportunity to pick up tips from people who have "been there" it's so helpful in being prepared for what's to come.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Dec 17, 2014

I had a great time this first semester. I got 3 A's and 2 B's. The B's were in the lecture portion and my A's were in labs and clinical. I'm happy with my grades. I think if I had buckled down on the studying a little more I could have gotten the A's. Book studying is just not really my thing I guess. I do it when I have to, lol. But I did enjoy learning about disease processes in Med/Surg and learning about the basics in fundamentals. Next semester is going to be a rough one with Pharmacology, Med/Surg II, and Psych nursing. I'm going to relax until January 12th!!!

nitole12 · Dec 17, 2014

My first semester (BSN) was really overwhelming. My program tells us not to work more than 15 hours a week, but I have bills to pay and I ended up working around 33-35 hours a week. I'm a traditional student, so I don't have a family or a boyfriend or anything like that, but I still felt like I never had time for anything. I did make time for my friends and having fun, going out to eat, and things like that. I made it out with all B's, which I am happy with. I had pharmacology I, health assessment, fundamentals, and mental health. It's my worst semester that I've had in a really long time, but I'm proud of myself for working so much and getting decent grades. It's not impossible, I'm sure you'll do great!

To answer your questions...

I thought health assessment was the hardest because we had a head to toe assessment, and our tests were not anything like what we learned in class--they were what we did in lab. My head to toe assessment went really well, though. My pharmacology class was really difficult, too, but my professor was Korean and I couldn't understand a word she said.

My easiest class was mental health, I loved going to clinical and my professor was the sweetest lady.

I wish I would have had better time management, I would come home from having class for 8 hours, and then work for 6 hours, and I would be so exhausted so I would just sit there and go on facebook or something when I should have been studying.

I wish I would have been warned about trusting my instincts. When I went into my patients room, I would feel so uncomfortable because I thought they would judge me for being a student, but it turns out sometimes we actually know a lot more than we give ourselves credit for.

efda2rn · Dec 17, 2014

My school (3-year BSN program) operates differently from other schools in that our first term consists of a Health Promotions class, skills lab, and clinical. I feel very good for the A I earned in lecture. Clinical/skills for us were Pass/Fail and I passed.

Even with this lighter load, there was still a TON of reading required. I became quite skilled at skimming.I made notecards as I read and planned study groups. I learned that being home is distracting (hubby and too many things to do at the house) so next term when the school load grows, I plan on staying on campus for at least an hour before going home so I can study whatever we covered in lecture that day without interruptions.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your time off until school begins!

NotesUnderground · Dec 17, 2014

First semester of nursing school was tough. Our lecture was 8 weeks. Imagine being a new nursing student trying to get everything together only to have the semester end. On a positive note, the material is fresh in your head when taking the exams because they're scheduled so close together.

Out of a 4.0 grading scale, I earned a 3.5 for my first semester.

I found clinical to be the easiest because I finally got to practice what I learned from the classroom to the clinical setting. It helped that I'm naturally drawn to people. Having a clinical instructor from hell was the most challenging. My instructor didn't give timely feedback, played favoritism, a cynic, and behaved in a passive aggressive manner. I treated it as a learning experience: how not to be a future nursing instructor :-)

I am in my last semester. I wish I had more time for various clinical rotations but am relieved this journey is almost over for another.

Good luck!

AspiringNurseMW · Dec 18, 2014

These are all awesome. I'm so excited! I mean there are months between me and the program but after 4 years of thinking about it and 2 years of actively pursuing it I can't believe it's coming to fruition (hopefully, I'm trying not to think my acceptance is guaranteed but everyone keeps telling me it is).

I'm most worried about time management with my family. I did successfully finish a 6 class 17 credit semester without losing it completely (praise be to my planner!) so I think there is hope for me. More tell me more!