The "Teach a Student Something-a-Day" thread!

PMHNP10 · Nov 19, 2003

Originally posted by jjbaby
IE: Mr. Smith has the following vital signs.......B/P 145/92 Pulse 98 Respirations -24 he is complaining of nausea and vomiting and has a temperature of 102 orally, he is short of breath and c/o a headache. What will be your FIRST response to the patient?

A) Recheck VS in 1 hour
B) Apply 02 per nasal cannula
C) Administer an analgesic
D) Call the doctor.

This is just an example of how the questions are set up for tests. Learning to critical think is the key to getting through nursing school. It is also a learned behavior that takes practice, practice, practice. Best of Luck.

So true of the nursing tests. Keep in mind though, nursing is not as simple as A, B, C, D. Know the context of the question. If this question is on a m/s exam, B is the answer. If it is a psych test, Mr smith is having a severe anxiety/panic attack. D would most likely be the answer so you can get an order for ativan.

Along the same line, NEVER just put O2 on a COPD pt.

I am all about helping others, but perhaps the best advice I can think of at 4 am is that when you graduate and sit for the NCLEX, all you are doing is testing for your license to learn. All the NCLEX does is indicate that you have the basics down, and now you may continue your real life nursing education. And the day you stop learning, please take a new career path.

When I'm a little more awake, I'm gonna give some more nuggets of knowledge.

PMHNP10 · Nov 19, 2003

I thought of another...sometimes the best solutions are the simplest. For example, when a patient is a recent post op and is vomiting up his guts, and the antiemetics aren't touching anything, try a couple saltines. Sometimes they settle the stomach which is all that is needed.

mickeysmousegal · Nov 20, 2003

I am just new in nursing ... first semester

Admit when you make a mistake. Specially during skills test. I contaminated my sterile gloves during one and looked at the instructor and said 'I just contaminated my gloves and if this were to happen in a real situation I would get a new pair and start over.' She was supposed to fail me and make me come back but since I realized my mistake she let me begin again and praised my critical thinking skills. Things like that will happen and just don't panic cause they will happen in a clinical setting too.

colleen10 · Nov 21, 2003

This is an awesome thread!!!!!

I am almost done with my first semester and I will share what wisdom I have accumulated thus far.

1) Keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut!!!

Instructors and faculty do not like to have their authority usurped by students. Never be critical of your instructors or fellow students technique. Never go over your instructors head if you are having a simple problem that your instructor can help you with. Never say to your instructor or faculty "We'll, that's not what so and so said." or ask them a question in a harsh or condescending tone nor act like you are smarter. You really shouldn't do that with anyone, but you will not believe the number of students I have seen ask questions and approach instructors in this manner. And let me tell you, it wasn't a pretty sight!

If you do have a question or don't understand something completely ask them in a very open matter. Say something like "when I was reading up on this particular medication it said a normal daily dosage is 250-350mg. However, in this case the patient is receiving a bit more. Is there a specific reason or added benefit, that this patient is receiving a larger dose?" Don't say "My patient is recieving 100mg/day more than a normal dose, there must be a mistake." This comes in especially handy in dealing with doctors!

2) Take care of yourself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take care of yourself both physically and mentally. Make sure you eat a balanced diet, get adequate sleep, drink plenty of water and take some time for yourself. Nursing school can be very stressful and more than likely you will only be able to miss one or two days of clinical throughout the semester before you are booted from the program, whether you were severly ill or had multiple family emergencies, it doesn't matter. You can only miss so much.

We only have 2 more weeks of our first semester and I just lost a classmate, whom up to this point was doing really well. She got pneumonia last week and missed a clinical and had allready missed a clinical day at the beginning of the semester d/t bronchitis. That's it, she's out. She has to wait til next Fall to start all over again.

3) Go to Barnes and Noble or check out Amazon for some Nursing Student Test Taking Advice Books. I purchased one designed for beginning nursing students and it helped me get into the mindset of how the questions are posed. I wasn't ready for an NCLEX book because I don't have all the medical background down yet, but there are books out there designed for beginning students that don't get into specific detail about medical/nursing diagnoses etc.

4) And a great lesson I learned from the charge RN on our clinical floor. At the time of an emergency is not the time to be panicked. You have all the time in the world AFTER the emergency to panick and worry, but for lord's sake, don't do it during the emergency.

rpbear · Nov 21, 2003

1) Keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut!!!

This is great advise! But also don't let people walk all over you becasue you are a student nurse. I had clinicals at one facility and the aids were horible to the students and the residents. And I guess we were the first group to stand up to them, lets just say it didn't go over very well, but our instructor stood by us. She agreed with what we saw and reperted it to the DON.

Remeber that your instructors are the ones that will be writing your letters of recomendation when you graduate, so don't burn you bridges!

Kiwi Nurse 2 Be · Nov 21, 2003

This is absolutely the best thread that I have read yet! Since I will be starting nursing school in January, the advice/suggestions given here will be extremely helpful! Thanks to all!

colleen10 · Nov 21, 2003

One more thing.....................

When you are taking nursing exams and the NCLEX, remember that the scenarios and examples in these exams are based on a "perfect world" where there are unlimited supplies, resources, staff, etc.

Basically, these exams want you to pick the best answer based on what should be done in a "text book case".

If you have experience working in a hospital, as a CNA, etc. I'm sure you know that not everything that happens in a day is "text book" and that you must improvise or change around the order of procedures to best fit your particular situation at the moment. You may even also develop short cuts and other techniques that although they are not "incorrect" or dangerous, they are not how they would be explained in a text book.

But, when taking the exams, remember, they do not want to know your shortcuts or that where you work you are chronically understaffed, etc. They want to know what you would do based on what you have learned from your nursing text book.

EricTAMUCC-BSN, BSN, RN · Nov 21, 2003

Study for nursing tests a minimum of 3 days in advance. Dont wait till the day before! done it! haha

Your priority in nursing school should be TESTS over anything else, don't let clinical work take time away from studying for tests. Your GPA is the most important thing in nursing school. despite what everyone tells you! But be nice too! :)

lmd32 · Nov 22, 2003

Don't know whether this is true everywhere but in our school: when in doubt, do it in APA style. They certainly won't fault you for a cover sheet and a reference list.

When in doubt, type it.

Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands (especially in skills lab). Develop a routine (always wash your hands before entering a patient's room or always on leaving).

If there is even a slim chance of encountering body fluids, wear gloves.

Clean up after yourself. As one RN I was following said "Remember, nurses are neat" (Thanks, Dena). It is comforting to most patients to have a clean and uncluttered environment.

Know where your sharps are and dispose of them properly (especially on the Psych ward).

Buy an NClex review book early. Find one organized by subject and use the review book to study for the class you are in.

Hey, I really do know something!

--Lynn

Entry level master's program/Future FNP

TLS · Nov 23, 2003

Buy an NClex review book early. Find one organized by subject and use the review book to study for the class you are in.

I so agree with IMD32 on this one. i have been studying straight for the past 91 days because I failed the first n-clex test (I passed this time!) and i can not beleive how much I learned from the Mosby n-clex cd rom. I feel like i learned more in the past 3 months than i did in 2 yrs of nursing school..Maybe it was cause i was ready to learn and maybe because it was an independent study guide, either way. I think i would have done so much better in nsg school if i had done this all along. It tests you on diseases that you hadn't been taught and teaches you about how the body responds in different disease processes (the electrolytes, conduction system, etc) i thoughrally enjoyed and now that i have passed i will continue to finish through this cd untill I have depleted learning possibilities from it. I did other cd n-clexes and only learned a very small percentage. It really teaches critical thinking. Good luck agent! :cool:

agent · Dec 4, 2003

Thanks to everyone so far!

My Last Question:

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What math formulas does one need to know???

lmd32 · Dec 4, 2003

Oh, it's been a while since I took that test. Let's see: Besides basic math skills, we needed to know the metric system really well, like how to convert micrograms to grams; metric to English equivalents; how to figure out dosage by weight; how to figure out an IV drip rate (even though we'll probably never have to do it); apothecary to metric conversions (another thing I don't anticipate doing a lot).

I don't know about you but I have some blind spots with conversions. For some reason I can never remember what the formula is for converting kg to lbs.