starting LPN school in the fall- tips?

i am excited to start school for my lpn in the fall- could anyone give me any advice/suggestions?

• treat patients as you would want yourself or a family member to be cared for. this should cover not only the technical aspects of health care but also the quality and nature of your interpersonal interactions.
  
  
• do the right thing. this applies to patient care and your dealings with colleagues and other health care workers. if something feels wrong, it probably is! the rules which govern your behavior in the world outside of medicine still apply, regardless of what others say or how they might act! this can be challenging, particularly when you are fatigued, in a subordinate position or working with others who don't have the same interests.
  
  
• mistakes will happen. the oft referred to: "primum non nocere (first do no harm)" probably sets an unreasonable expectation. you will all do harm to someone at various points in your careers. those who claim otherwise have either not taken care of enough patients or are not being truthful. we are all human and thus all fallible. when errors occur, acknowledge them, discuss them with colleagues and the patient, make efforts to correct the fall out, and move on. above all, try to learn from what happened and don't allow yourself to forget any relevant lessons (without at the same time torturing yourself unnecessarily). this should help you to maintain a healthy dose of humility and become a better doctor. remember also that anyone can be a genius in retrospect. using this information in a manner that promotes education and growth requires a sensitive touch.
  
  
• never be afraid to ask questions. if those that you are currently working with are unreceptive, make use of other resources (e.g. house staff, students, nurses, health care technicians, staff physicians). you can learn something from anyone.
  
  
• learn from your patients. in particular, those with chronic or unusual diseases will likely know more about their illnesses then you. find out how their diagnosis was made, therapies that have worked or failed, disease progression, reasons for frustration or gratitude with the health care system, etc. realize also that patients and their stories are frequently more interesting then the diseases that inhabit their bodies.
  
  
• become involved (within reason) in all aspects of patient care. look at the x-ray, examine the sputum, talk with the radiologist, watch the echo being performed. this will allow you to learn more and gain insight into a particular illness/disease state that would not be well conveyed by simply reading the formal report. it will also give you an appreciation for tests and their limitations. caring for patients is not a spectator sport. as an active participant in the health care process (rather then simply a scribe who documents events as they occur) you will not only help deliver better medical care but will also find the process to be more rewarding and enjoyable.
  
  
• follow up on patients that you care for in the er, are transferred to other services, seen by sub-specialists or discharged from the hospital. this should give you a better sense of the natural history of some disease processes and allow you to confirm (or adjust) your clinical suspicions. this is particularly relevant today as patients are shuttled through the system with great speed, affording us only snap shot views of what may be complex clinical courses.
  
  
• keep your eyes open for other interesting things that might be going on elsewhere in the hospital/clinic. if there is a patient on another service with an interesting finding, go over and investigate, assuming it doesn't interfere with your other responsibilities and is ok with the patient and their providers. this will give you the opportunity to expand your internal library of what is both
  normal and abnormal
  .
  
  
• pay particular attention when things don't seem to add up. chances are someone (you, the patient, the consultant) is missing something, a clue that the matter needs further investigation.
  challenge yourself and those around you by continually asking "why... ?"
  
  
• before deciding that another provider is an "idiot" for adopting what seems an unorthodox or inappropriate clinical approach, assume that it is you that are short some important historical data. give others the benefit of the doubt until you've had an opportunity to fully explore all the relevant information. and in those instances when it becomes apparent that mismanagement has occurred, focus on communication and education rather then derision and condescension.
  
  
• become comfortable with the phrases, "i don't know" and "i need help."
  
  
• every once in a while, push yourself to become an expert in something. first hand knowledge is a powerful tool, one that is available to anyone willing to take the time to read through the primary data. become informed by delving into the original literature pertaining to a particular subject. you may find that the data is robust and the rationale for a clinical approach or treatment well grounded. as frequently, i suspect you'll find instances where the data is rather shaky, and the best path not as clear as guidelines or expert opinion might suggest.
  
  
• be kind to others and yourself.
  
  
• there is magic in medicine. it does not, however, derive solely from technology, testing, or diagnostic aptitude. rather it more often comes from your interactions with patients, a touch on the sleeve, sitting at the bedside and treating them (if only for a few minutes) as a fellow human being and not as, "that guy with lupus."
  
  

also i am unsure about what type of nursing i want to do- any tips?

• whether these behaviors were present:
  
  
  • initiative - autonomy
    
    
  • dynamism - energy
    
    
  • positive outlook - not targeting lpns, but some of the most negative people with the most negative attitudes i have had to work with have been cnas and lpns. some of that, i realize, is due to the way others treat them, but many carried the chip on their shoulder
    all the time
    .
    
    
  • responsibility
    
    
  • orientation to the client and co-workers (ability to provide customer service)
    
    
  • learning capacity
    
    
  • productivity
    
    
  • high adaptability - flexibility
    
    
  • leadership
    
    
  • team work
    
    
  • tolerance to pressure
    
    
  • analytic ability
    
    
  • professional development
    
    
    
    
  • oral communication - speaks clearly with precision and accuracy
    
    
  • written communication-precise, accurate, grammatically correct
    
    
  • intellectual ability - aptitude for pharmacy school
    
    
  • leadership - takes initiative and motivates others
    
    
  • ethics - honest, integrity, ethical behavior - unethical people = mistakes and incident reports = problems
    
    
  • empathy - considerate sensitive and tactful in response to others
    
    
  • reliability - dependable, responsible, prompt and thorough - we particularly asked about the student's attendance record. we did not want to hire someone who had a history of calling off all the time and having to make up days. to an employer that translates into having an employee who is unreliable, calls off of work, who we have to pay out sick time too, find replacement staff for and end up paying unbudgeted dollars that could have been spent on something else.
    
    
  • judgment - displays critical thinking skills, common sense and decisiveness
    
    
  • interpersonal relations - able to get along well with peers and superior
    
    
  • adaptability - reacts well to stress, posed and controlled
    
    
  • professional appearance - maintains good personal hygiene, appropriate attire, well-groomed
    
    

congratulations on starting your journey as a nurse. don't hesitate to ask questions if there is something you are having difficulty understanding. we've all been there. best wishes to you! :redbeathe