Some tips for (Calhoun) nursing freshmen

[Jedi of Zen]

Hey everyone,

I noticed we have a couple of freshman at Calhoun here on the board. Being a sophomore student myself, I just wanted to share a couple of tips for those people. This is all said in the context of Calhoun's program, but this may help freshman at other schools too. And this is just based purely on my own personal experiences; I certainly don't claim to have all the straight answers. However, I wish that someone had pulled me aside at the beginning of my freshman year to elaborate on a few things, because I think it might have made that first year go a little bit more smoothly.

So, here goes:

One of the greatest challenges of nursing school is acquiring an appreciation for the nursing discipline as not just a science, but an art as well. That may sound like an easy, flaky concept to grasp, but what I am trying to say is that you will find that different textbooks and different teachers may give you what seems like ambiguous and even conflicting answers to the same question. This is primarily true with things like lab values, vital sign ranges for certain conditions, and even the specifics of certain nursing interventions. This can quickly become very frustrating, because it may seem like you just can't seem to pinpoint what the final, right answer for the test is going to be. You may have already experienced some of this now that we're a few weeks into the semester (or maybe not). In any event, if/when you find this happening, be patient, and try not to get too frustrated. Your teachers will guide you through it all. You may have to speak up a little and ask them to really clarify at times (esp when you're trying to nail down what to know for the test), but try not to flip out too much just because certain things differ slightly between different textbooks and different teachers.

Might not seem like a big deal to some people, but this was a huge challenge for me personally.

The next thing is that your teachers are not omniscient. They don't know everything, and they can and do make mistakes. Be prepared for the fact that when you ask them certain questions, they may well reply "I don't know". I don't say this to belittle our instuctors, but just to say that with all the world of information that is contained within nursing, there are times when even your instructor with a master's degree and 30+ years of experience may forget something and still need to go look it up. So try not to let that color your opinion of your instructor too badly if/when that happens. Just be patient, and just know that just because your instructor doesn't recall the answer right of hand, doesn't mean that the answer is not there (nor does it mean that your instructor is necessarily a bad nurse).

With assessment skills: Do not expect to become perfect at everything overnight. Even as a 2nd year student, there are a lot of things that I personally am still having to work on. Too, you only get so much experience from a clinical that happens merely one day a week. I have heard experienced nurses say that your "real" learning doesn't begin until after you start working, and I think I'm starting to see the truth of that more and more now.

General things to know well for your first year: Erickson's lifespan stages, fluid and hydration assessment, fluid and electrolyte imbalances (more 2nd semester, but it never hurts to be aware that this will eventually become very important), medical asepsis vs. surgical asepsis, isolation precautions, and overall assessment. You'll probably get sick and tired of hearing that "A" word, and there will be times when it seems like your assessment skills feel clumsy or pointless. But just know that in time (second semester and further on) you will gradually be able to take what you learned in first semester and be able to put it in the context of a disease process, in such a way that it will eventually begin to make a little more sense for you. So be persistent with developing your assessment skills. Be patient with yourself, but be persistent as well.

Also: When your teachers are demonstrating the procedures that you will need to know for skills check-offs, make sure you pay attention. It might not hurt to take good notes during these times as well. This is partly because sometimes they will demonstrate a procedure, and then it won't be until 2 or 3 weeks later that you will get tested on it. During that period of time, you may forget certain things, and/or find that the book might tell you a slightly different way of doing the procedure than the way you thought the teacher had done it, and now you can't remember what exactly the teacher had said, etc. So when they do demonstrations, listen and watch well.

Finally: Make the sacrifices you need to make to find time to study. A lot of friends, family, etc. won't understand why you're having to cut back on your social life in order to study. Just be prepared for some of that, if you haven't encountered it already.

There are probably other things that I could think of, but I just wanted to throw that all out there. (Maybe Jamie can help me out and add anything I've missed! ) Hope this helps. Good luck with everything, and feel free to PM me if you have any questions (esp Calhoun people).

- the Jedi.

[coffeefix]

Jedi of Zen,

I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to post these suggestions!! We're only 2 wks into this and I feel SOOOO overwhelmed. Anyway, I felt much better after reading yoor post!!

Thanks again

[Jedi of Zen]

Jedi of Zen,

I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to post these suggestions!! We're only 2 wks into this and I feel SOOOO overwhelmed. Anyway, I felt much better after reading yoor post!!

Thanks again

You're welcome! Good luck, and let me know if you ever have any questions about anything.

[beach_bride514]

quick question...

I'm graduating this May. Would it be pointless for me to apply for the Fall 2009 semester?? I don't know the odds of a freshly out of high school person getting accepted to a nursing school.

i've talked with a few people who are either in the program, or have graduated already. they have told me that I should be fine.

My ACT score is not terrific, but the english and math scores are okay. I've already taken History 201 and 202 & Chemistry 111 and 112 classes at Calhoun through my high school already and I am now working on English 101 & 102.

I have spoken with the Dean of Health at Calhoun before and he informed me that basically the Chemistry and History classes won't help me any. However, the english will...

anyway.. I just really want to know if there is a chance that an 18 year old could be accepted. and what all i need to be working on this summer.