The First Days of Nursing School by the Fall 2009ers!!!

[lvloverRN]

hi im in the Associates-RN program and yes you are all totally right! the excitement is somewhat wearing off but its

because im always exhausted after clinicals. we had our first exam (4 more including finals to go!) last sept 21st and thankfully i got a B.. its a good start but i dont know how long i can keep up. so far clinicals is doing good.. its just the smell is killing me.. this is my biggest problem. i kept gagging the whole time my partner and I were changing the diapers. oh my... i felt so bad, but good thing my pt was asleep and he's an elderly. i have to find a way to get used to it . care plans are somewhat fun but takes a lot of time. all ive been doing is read read and read, we just have to get used to reading a tremendous amount of pages for the 2 years ! otherwise everything's good i guess... just gotta maintain it tho'.

goodluck to us all!!!

keep posting when you have extra time...

[citylights89, BSN, RN]

RN-BSN program.

I'm hanging in there. We've had 3 tests, 1 presentation, 1 check off, and 1 paper with more coming up. I made pretty good grades on the tests considering I didn't know what to expect: a B and an A. One I'm still not sure on. I made an A on my paper too. Presentation was ungraded and I passed my check off on the 2nd try (sadly I failed the first).

I'm taking a break here from organizing my group presentations and interviews. All while having bad allergies and rainy weather right now. Phew! I'm glad everyone else is getting along.

[CaptScrubs13]

Got an 89 and 90 on my first exams for health assessment and fundamentals, respectively. I am beyond happy !!

[SierraMoon, ADN, BSN, RN]

Hard to believe I'm doing my midterm tomorrow. Finally going to start real clinicals on Monday.

I'm still pretty thrilled to be here, even though my sterile technique is, well, let's call it a work in progress :chuckle

[craziechiq, BSN, RN]

i'm having a final on thursday. talk about freak out. i finally have a groove down in clinical but that will be changing in a couple weeks when we change floors. argh just when i start getting the hang of things.

[Rachelsoon2bRN]

Congratulations everyone! It is so great to hear everyone's stories. I am an RN student in my fourth week of the program. It is alot of work. I don't think you are ever really prepared for the amount of work in nursing school. It is such a great experience to be a part of a nursing program. This is something that I have wanted for a long time. It is so interesting to learn things that I know I will be able to use later with a patient. I hope everyone is enjoying their nursing program, and getting some sleep! It is great to be able to have a message board that is so encouraging. It really helps to be able to hear the experiences of other people in the same situation. I have my first test tomorrow and I am very nervous. Wish me luck, and good luck to all the future nurses on this site!!!

[acornell13]

Congratulations! I'm in my fourth week and I can assure you that it will become less overwhelming soon. I had 4 chapters to read my first night and it totally freaked me out. I couldn't believe it! But now, I'm into the swing of things and getting it all done with time to spare.

My advice would be to get a good planner and use it. My entire life is in mine now! I also keep a white board in my room with all the assignments and readings for the week, organized by class. I have a "life tasks" column too and it really helps me to get everything done. I never feel like I'm forgetting anything.

Another piece of advice would be to take time for yourself. My program can be so stressful it's totally exhausting. My first week in school, I let myself get totally stressed out. Now I've been giving myself solid study breaks and keeping fun and friends in the mix. I think that I would definitely go crazy if I didn't! Good luck!

[Apricot22]

Congrats to everyone for getting into a program! I started the program about a month ago and I am so happy to finally be here. The program is going to be quite intense as you all know but I'm so excited about it. The first day of class I got assigned about 5 chapters from my enormous fundies book and I got a little scared. But the readings ended being interesting and easy to read which was nice. As soon as I left class, I bought an agenda book which has been a savior. I've realized that organizing is a key aspect in getting through this program. I'm taking every day and assignment as it comes and not worrying about what difficult classes I will be in next semester right now and it really has helped. Good luck everyone!

[MombearNurse]

We're finishing up our 8th week now and boy has it been a "ride!" Clinicals start on the 26th and I am excited and nervous. We will be in a long term facility for this semester. I passed my final check off before clinicals today, and was stressing out for about two weeks. Now back to studying....

[HyperSaurus, RN, BSN]

Good luck. I've started doing med passes at my long term care facility. Good stuff. And for the most part, I've been getting A's on my tests. Monday, I have my make-it-or-break-it med calc exam. We can take it twice, but we must get an 80 or above. No pressure or anything..

[GabbsRN]

We just ended a class on Monday and we start a new one tomorrow (we work in mini-mesters, each class half a semester long). I finished my very first nursing class with a B so I am VERY excited. I remember just 8 short weeks ago being so afraid I would even pass thanks to all the stories I've heard that people don't get A's or B's in nursing school and that we'd be lucky to even pass. I am very relieved. Now I will try to do even better and shoot for an A.

We are also going to start passing meds during clinicals during this 8 week period, as well as wound care. I'm excited to get to be doing more.

Good luck with the rest of the semester everyone!

[ShantheRN, BSN, RN]

So I thought I'd share this because you guys would feel my pain:

We did our first on site clinical this morning. I'm packing my bag last night....and discover my Littmann. In 2 pieces. The bell completely snapped off! In a panic I call my instructor, and she says she'll bring her spare for me to borrow. She just laughed and said, "You've had that scope for how many weeks and it picks now to break?"

So I called 3M and got the addy for repairs. It'll be a free replacement, but....it takes around 2 weeks. Yeah that doesn't work out so much. My first was a Lightweight, but I planned on upgrading to the Classic II SE for my next one (which I'd hoped would be after graduation.) So at this point.....I have a Classic being shipped out today, I'm sending a Lightweight to Minnesota for repair....and by next term I'll have 2 shiny stethoscopes.

Like I don't have enough to stress about