how do you study AFTER you get your license?

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Feb 22, 2011

when you get a job there will be lots of things you do not know at first. at work i looked up protocols, talked to the pharmacist, and looked up ebp for procedures (there were manuals on my floor to use for almost every procedure). i also added certifications for my floor that were easy to obtain to help my nursing on that floor (some were required and some were not). on my off days, i geared my study sessions around the things that perplexed me the most about my week or questions from patients and family members. now, two years later, i do the same and it continues to help me to grow. btw, i still own all of my nursing school books. after my first year, i purchased more books specific to the floor i was working.

pinkynbd99 · Feb 22, 2011

well I think it depends where you work at. Your studying will revolve around that. I started out in ICU and really that was VERY, VERY overwhelming! and im the type to like challenges! At first learning all the policies & procedures of the unit, then hospital P&P, knowing your drugs, drips. having to know procedures that pt get and how as "the nurse" is knowing what you prepare for the Dr and why you'd need it and knowing some preferences of certain Drs. Then Vent settings, sedation titrations! Know the side effects of these sedations & drips! Plus on top of that wanting to know you're pt's disease process and how to plan your care & the nurse's documentation of everything, esp if like on this unit you have NO PCA to help you! I mean, it's ALOT!! time management is really a big issues as a new nurse! But to help me, I would still bring my drug book, a critical care book, etc! And at night after having this patient I would do a care plan like I would have done when I was in school.

Like I said, it depends where you go and work! I don't think working in a L&D/Newborn unit you would have to study these things, it would be related to that!

NoviceRN10 · Feb 22, 2011

If you have time and energy to study when you start your first job I will be impressed! Most of what you need to know is already in your head, your coworkers will tell you if you ask, or you learn as you go! You will learn from making mistakes too, of course :). Hopefully your first job will not be on such an intense unit that you need to go home and study stuff every day.

southernbelle08 · Feb 22, 2011

IMO "real life" is nothing like what you saw on tests all through school and on your NCLEX. As you begin your career, you'll see you have learning experience after learning experience. Often times they will come in the form of a mistake you made or in the form of something you could have done better. You won't know everything. My best advice to you is do not get discouraged. Yes, you passed the NCLEX, but the real work starts now. Take every experience for what it is and learn from it. You'll have tough days, but just remember one day you'll get to look back and see all the wonderful progress you made. If you make a mistake, ever feel like "I should have thought of that!", etc tuck that away and next time you will do better and you will think of that thing that totally slipped your mind before. Nursing is a field where the learning never stops and the drive to be better than the day before should never stop. Good luck to you!! :)

chuckz, BSN, RN · Feb 23, 2011

The majority of your learning will be on the floor. Find somebody each **** that you work and make them your "goto" person if you can. If you have a problem with a line, IV, whatever, ask them how they would do it and how they would see it. I used to keep a notebook and write down things I didn't understand completely and then wikipedia or look it up in a book or on the web. I still do this. I work in an MICU and if I don't understand something or a question, I make sure to know that same question I was stumped on totally. A day never goes by where I don't learn something. The curiosity will bode you well as a nurse.

blue heeler · Feb 24, 2011

i look up every single thing i don't know or remember, whether it is medications, procedures, or equipment. if i am doing a task with several steps (for example, a line draw or central line dressing change) i read through the policy first and have a second nurse watch me, if i haven't done it, or it has been a while. if i ever have a question i always get a second opinion.

TeleMeMore · Feb 27, 2011

I look through my ATI books from time to time; at least the ones r/t the unit in which I work so all cardiac diseases, procedures, meds. Just review it from time to time and go over hospital policies and protocols :) I go over ACLS stuff quite a lot.

Edited to add: Don't feel as if you are supposed to know and remember everything you learned while in nursing school. On the contrary, I have a hard time recalling A LOT; but you come to recall it when the time comes and you see the drug and something is triggered in your brain; it is near impossible to remember every little thing; sometimes a fresh New grad IS nice because they do have a fresher memory on things. I look up every little drug, procedure, disease, everything that I may be unsure about = if it perplexed me during my shift - i look it up at home. I definitely think it is important to review what you learned in nursing school, especially if you want to start/continue implementing evidenced based practice, etc.

MouseMichelle · Mar 5, 2011

I would subscribe to nursing magazines, in my speciality. However, after being in nursing for many years you learn new things all the time......so now I learn on the job

ibegyourpardon · Mar 5, 2011

I started my first nursing job about 1 month ago. I keep a piece of scrap paper in my pocket. Whenever I come across something I wish I knew more about, I write it down and look it up after I get home.