Rn Student Preparation

live4today, RN · Oct 14, 2003

Whoaaaaaaa partner. Slow down, take a long deep silent breath in...blow it out ever so slowly. Repeat that sequence of breathing a couple more times.

Are we done now?

If we're done, let's start from scratch here.

First, Welcome aboard Allnurses.com where the nurses are gradually being weaned from "eating one another". We've decided to stick to eating food instead.

Second, congrats on getting selected into a RN program! :balloons:

Third, the best preparation for nursing school is to learn to take one course at a time, day by day, moment by moment so you don't lose out on the important stuff you'll need to know. You are all over the place with wanting to buy this, and buy that, and........

Slow your roll....relax and go into that program excited and with an open mind, calm, and ready to learn new things. Don't rush the process. Don't boggle your mind with things that money is good for buying and then confusing you even more. Follow your lessons according to what the professors want from each student. Don't waste your money buying anything that is NOT on your school check list of MUST haves. Best of everything to you. :kiss

LilRedRN1973 · Oct 14, 2003

I bought a very inexpensive PDA to load my drug program onto so I dont' have to carry around the book. It's a Palm m130 and it's great. Not too fancy and it holds what I need. I downloaded a program called Epocrates that is very cheap...in fact, it's FREE!!! And when my nursing instructor saw it, she remarked that it's the same PDA she has and she used the Epocrates. She's a NP and says that many of the doctors and nurses on the floor use the same program. Poke around online and you will find inexpensive or even free software for your PDA. I'm not too sure about software for your computer.

sunnyside · Oct 14, 2003

Follow your lessons according to what the professors want from each student. Don't waste your money buying anything that is NOT on your school check list of MUST haves. Best of everything to you. :kiss [/b]

I totally agree with EVERYTHING cheerful said here....:) I remind myself to slow down everyday, sometimes multiple times a day. It seems like every Prof. wnat something different from us, and no matter how prepared I think I am, there's someone else who shows up with a prettier binder with way more tabs:chuckle Know what I mean....bottom line is ONE DAY AT A TIME, ONE CLASS AT A TIME.

I don't know if those software programs really give you any kind of an edge over all of us other students who are doin' it the "old fashioned" way of textbooks and workbooks. Anyone else with two cents jump in here...

carz · Oct 14, 2003

Hi Joe wow you sound like you are going into this program no holds barred. I have to ask you what kind of background you have , because the way you talk about computers leads me to believe you have a IT history. Just curious .

EyesForward · Oct 21, 2003

Joe, you're cool for wanting to get a jump on your new life, and I am approaching things in a similar manner as I anticipate starting an ADN program in Jan. You sound excited, motivated, and ready to jump in with gusto.

I ordered a pda last night, and can't WAIT to get it, plus I'm studying ratios and proportions again, math calculations, and I ordered an NCLEX study guide. Anyhyow, I had a Palm once before, replaced it with a Pocket PC Windows handheld, and that sat in the junk pile for the longest time, because I thought it was a pain in the butt compared to the ease of use of the Palm.

I now bought an M505, and the new Palm OS is more compatible with Outlook and MS applications, like Word, than they used to be years ago. I totally understand why you want to have information at your fingertips, and if you browse with the search utility, others have posted good info about Palm applications to get you started.

BTW, if you are a retired IT person, so am I!