1. Turn off your mobile phone, if it absolutely must be on, let the lecturer know and keep it on the lowest possible volume or on silent (it is a rule at my school if your phone goes off you owe the lecturer chocolate or alcohol depending on the lecturers preference)
2. If you are a new student don't act like you know more than the students who have been there for longer (unless of course you do)
3. If the course has an online group and you can read previous questions, do not ask the same question again and again, the lecturer and other people will get sick of answering the same question 5 or 6 or even 7 times (you will be notified if the answer is different)
4. If you tell someone something it's bound to get around to other people so be careful what you tell people (Rumours spread extremely fast)
5. Be polite to your lecturers and respect them for who they are (They are the ones marking your assignments, and I'm afraid they know a lot more than you do presently)
6. If you have a story you are willing to share related to the current topic by all means share it but if it's not related forget it
7. Don't constantly complain about the number of hours you have to attend campus or how long it takes to do your assignments or how much study you need to do or how many readings you have, everyone is in the same boat and if you keep doing that you are likely to get offside with other students.
Get used to the idea of not being the 'A' student anymore.
All 130 people in our class were 3.8-4.0 students, but after the first few tests we were HOPING for a B, and many were praying for a C.
This may be true only for our nursing program, because it was so hard that we graduated only with 47 people out of 130! But the NCLEX passing rate is great.
Wooo. I just read through all the thread. I'll third this, and add....in addition to gaining a sense of humor, lose the self-righteous indignation. I can get bent out of shape occasionally and get pissy, too; but try to keep it all in perspective.
Don't get in a pissing match (on line or in real life), no matter if you "win" and show us all how awesome/smart/sensitive/funny/well read/whatever you are, you still end up smelling like urine, you know?
Let the irritating things go, learn to laugh at the absurd and at yourself, and remember that it's not all about you all the time. Don't take things personally.
Keep gum, a toothbrush and toothpaste, a couple of nice smelling facial cleansing pads, a pair of clean underwear, five bucks, and a tampon in your bag at all times. Nothing cannot be solved with one or a combination of these items.
You forgot $2 in quarters, a pen, a couple of index cards and Tylenol.
I don't care about the boob tubes. My pet peeve is the low-rider pants. One gal in our class wears her sweats rolled down so low on the top you'd see pubic hair if she wasn't showing off her wax job.
In all of this, I find much that is very helpful, very entertaining, and a few conversations that have been outright inspiring. I start nursing school this fall: I am taking some of your advice to heart! Be warned!
Just another note about group projects: Remember you may be with this group for quite a few semesters. If you slack off and don't do your part of the project you may find yourself out in the cold when people are allowed to choose their own groups.
As far as sharing your notes or study guides that you worked so hard on...
What goes around, comes around. It may not come from exactly the same person that you feel you are constantly bailing out, but you WILL need help eventually and someone will be there for you. It really all works out in the end.
My advice is to make sure you are aware of everything you need to get through your courses. Keep better track of your scores, attendance, etc. than the instructor. Listen a lot, talk a little.
Cell phones are a no,no. But if you have children or its a must have, keep them on vibrate. Every school I have ever went to has the cell phone rule.
Study, study and study some more. This is not a profession for slacker, we do have peoples lives to consider. One wrong medication to the wrong patient and you may now have one dead patient.
If nursing isn't your thing and you are in it for the money, get out now!!!!
Shellbell makes an excellent point, stay organized, find a system that works for you. When you get to work as a nurse, organization can be a challenge so I think getting used to organizing in school will help a bit.
that 's one of my pet peeves too why should the slackers get the good grade when the people who actually did the hard work and showed up there the ones who deserve the good grade.
Get this I had a research Prof for my Micro Lab and at the end of the semester she told the whole class that everyone who did all assigned work would get 100 and everyone who didn't would get 90. An "A" or an "A"!? Crazy!!
1) Get organized from day one. Have separate binders for fundamentals, lab and clinical information. As soon as you get a stack of paper dropped on you in class, organize into the binders as soon as you can. It helps.
2) Guard your study time. Don't answer the phone while you are studying. If it is important they will call back.
3) Help your classmates. Explaining something to someone else helps you understand it better. One day you will need their help and they'll be there for you.
4) Study a little bit each day (or a lot depending on the project) and get plenty of sleep at night. Staying up late to finish projects or study for a test will give you crap results.
5) Hang out with your classmates even if it kills you. I'm a loner by nature and this was hard for me to do, but it helped me form bonds with them.
6) Don't share during lecture. We, your fellow classmates, are very focused on learning new information. Your story about your aunt's, best friend's, cousin's sister-in-law will not help us prepare for the next test. If you MUST share, do it as a way of clarification.
7) During clinicals shut up and listen. No one cares what you already know or how they do it at your school or anything else about you. They are already under a lot of pressure. Be prompt. Be courteous. Be helpful. Use your time wisely and learn as much as you can.
8) Pick your battles. Your instructors have the power to pass or fail you. If there is a rule you think is petty or stupid, too bad. It's only 2 years. Focus on your studies and you will soon find you are much to busy to sweat the details about the dress code or attendance policy.
9) Take time off for fun, family and relaxation. Organize yourself so that you can have one day a week (or every other week) where you do nothing related to nursing school. It will keep you from burning out........as fast.
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NurseLatteDNP, MSN, DNP, RN
825 Posts
Get used to the idea of not being the 'A' student anymore.
All 130 people in our class were 3.8-4.0 students, but after the first few tests we were HOPING for a B, and many were praying for a C.
This may be true only for our nursing program, because it was so hard that we graduated only with 47 people out of 130! But the NCLEX passing rate is great.