rules for student nurses

lilypad2424 · Jan 12, 2007

4. In clinicals, you MUST assert yourself. Sitting at the nurses station looking through charts for hours isn't going to benefit you as much as doing something will.

CaLLaCoDe, BSN, RN · Jan 12, 2007

2. changing schools won't help. no, the teachers aren't mean. see rule 1.

on changing the schools rule...well, i beg to differ. i went to a cal state in town and was treated absolutely horrendously (some of the teachers are mean) twice after spending a year out of the loop (after failing a class) and coming back and having harsh treatment again and not doing well again. i started from scratch at the community college and found the system very uplifting and genuinely a better school...no doubt in my mind.

so, if you are a student and you're unhappy with the school you're attending...definitely change the school!!! :paw: :paw: :paw:

ps. under no circumstances question the knowledge of an instructor (so you may be right) not worth the consequences lol

mamason · Jan 12, 2007

When practicing for NCLEX on the computer simulated questions, don't spend 90% of your time arguing with your boyfriend via instant messageing. This happened to a girl I went to school with. We were required, as a class, to go to computer lab and practice/study for NCLEX about 1 hour a day during class time. She spent most of her time instant messaging. Then, couldn't figure out "why" she didn't pass boards after taking it 2 times. DUh!........

squeakykitty · Jan 12, 2007

on changing the schools rule...well, i beg to differ. i went to a cal state in town and was treated absolutely horrendously (some of the teachers are mean) twice after spending a year out of the loop (after failing a class) and coming back and having harsh treatment again and not doing well again. i started from scratch at the community college and found the system very uplifting and genuinely a better school...no doubt in my mind.
so, if you are a student and you're unhappy with the school you're attending...definitely change the school!!! :paw: :paw: :paw:
ps. under no circumstances question the knowledge of an instructor (so you may be right) not worth the consequences lol

i agree, there are some bad instructors out there, and it does help to change schools if you have one.

the student in this case didn't study, didn't do well, and thought the instructor was mean and against her. (the instructor was nice, helpful, and didn't have a mean bone in her body.) i think it was because she was advised against lvn school by her cna instructor. she went on to lvn school anyway and flunked out royally before the first semester was over.

she also talked about going to lvn school in a different city and college. i think that she thought things would be different, she'd get better grades, etc. but--- her attitude and study skills are going to hitch a ride on the u-haul truck she uses to move with, and she'll have the same trouble at her new school.

squeakykitty · Jan 12, 2007

She could also find all kinds of reasons for not studying.

( fill in the blank )kept me from studying.

She also said "Well, I guess I'm just lazy."

Columnist · Jan 12, 2007

1. If you didn't study, taking extra time on the test won't make the answers fall into your head.

Beg to differ.

No, carefully considering questions I'm unsure about won't make the answers "fall into my head," but it may allow me to reason out the correct answer. Our teachers mainly use NCLEX-style questions, and I often do take extra time on the test to go back and ponder the questions I was unsure of. Very often, this helps me derive the correct response.

Not that I don't study before tests....

samaletta · Jan 12, 2007

5. Don't sit at the front of the class and answer all the questions the instructor asks before they even get a chance to finish the question. your classmates might start to get annoyed by you

6. If you don't study much, don't make up a billion excuses blaming everything / everyone you can think of for failing the semester.

7. Don't cook oodles & noodles in the microwave set for 5 minutes when there is an actual line of 5 or more people waiting to use it.

8. Do NOT miss lecture for 2 or more weeks in a row (yet make it to clinical) and ask to borrow someone's notes.

9. Do not pronounce Nclex "new-clay-ix", people will laugh at you.... along with heparin "heff-er-in"

10. ALWAYS, and I repeat, ALWAYS, have your ducks in a row. And if that means not sleeping more than 2 hours the night before clinical, then so be it. You have to be prepared.

Julie_Bean · Jan 13, 2007

11 any free time you have, use it to study because chances are something else will come up that will require your attention and you don't want to be stuck cramming or missing info for a test.

nurse4theplanet, RN · Jan 13, 2007

12. It's your job to plan your life around the program's schedule, it's not the program's job (nor the other students) to plan the schedule around your life and all the problems you are having at the moment

RNfromMN, BSN, RN · Jan 13, 2007

12. It's your job to plan your life around the program's schedule, it's not the program's job (nor the other students) to plan the schedule around your life and all the problems you are having at the moment

Amen to that. It is still absolutely beyond me how some people don't get this.

13. When I take the time & effort to drag myself to school, it's not to hear about your kids...or your boyfriend...or how your husband doesn't understand you...or how your mom's being a total b****...I don't want to be part of any sort of "movement" to get someone on the staff fired because you don't like the way she teaches class...no, I don't want to go out for drinks after class...your typical NS student whining:bluecry1: will not change my mind. I could care less that either you or a member in your family have been stricken with absolutely every single disease process we cover. Every time, before you raise your hand in class, ask yourself, "Will this be on the test?" If the answer is no, why would anyone else want to to hear about it?

14. When you're at clinical, having only 1 or maybe 2 pts to take care of, give the CNAs (caring for probably 3x that many pts) a break; empty the laundry bags...change the bedding...feed your pts their supper...don't ask the CNA to feed your pt for your because it's "their job," & don't expect a big thank you for it afterwards. You have one patient!

Julie_Bean · Jan 13, 2007

lol ^ at leat they are learning delegation ...... j/k