Second Week and I am Very frightened

invisigoth · Sep 8, 2009

Get a really good organizer like Franklin Covey or Day-Timer. Or make a hipster pda and get into some serious time management. Seeing everything organized helped me to remain sane through nursing school.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Sep 8, 2009

First - don't panic. You can't know everything, regardless of what your professor says. I've completed school and been doing this just shy of two years and I can assure you I don't know everything in the book either.

No one on this board does, really....

You have to learn what your professors think is important, and sometimes that's by trial and error. You have to learn your own techniques for memorization - think back to A&P, I consider that a class where we all had to do a bit of adjusting to learn everything we were expected to know. What worked for you then?

Find the chapter highlights - this was why I used and bought the book study guide; it helped me weed out the most important facts and things to know. Pay attention to what the professor emphasizes in class. I don't know what NCLEX book you have, but if you have the Saunders one, it's broken down by system and is a wonderful tool for studying and to help you integrate concepts.

Take a deep breath - all of us here with RN behind our name survived it, and so will you. Just remember YOU CAN'T KNOW EVERYTHING (and at some point you'll realize you can't always read everything either, but that will come with time).

(And to put it in perspective - not even your professor knows everything...seriously...)

retiredlady · Sep 8, 2009

Organize!!! Take a deep breath and break it down and do some reading every night. Read your notes every day. Don't wait until the night before class. This also helps in writing papers. Do a little each night. My son is in college right now and he panicked with the amount of work with a sociology class and this is how I worked with him and he made an A in it. Good Luck, you can do it. Envision that diploma.

jackie85 · Sep 8, 2009

Like the previous post say "Breathe!" I recently graduated nursing school and felt the same way when I first started. I would first look at the syllabus and figure out when everything is due. Make a game plan of what takes priority and plan on studying each day for a certain period of time. Remember it's better to do a little a lot, than a lot a little.... What also helped me is using the Saunders NCLEX-RN or an ATI book after reading or skimming through the chapters. It leaves out all the extra fluff in med/surg books and really helps you focus on what you need to know. ALSO, if you're a visual learner, they have this book at Barnes&Noble that has pictures that help you remember signs and symptoms of medications, hypo/hyperglycemia, potassium and many other things. Really cool!! Nursing school wont be easy, it's not meant to be, we have peoples lives in our hands. Enjoy nursing school and try to learn as much as possible, during clinical track down all the nurses and ask them what they need help with. Good Luck!