The 'wished-I-knew' before entering into my program...

tkhayman · Jun 28, 2007

Hello,

There is nothing really that you can do from my opinion to prepare for the program. However if you are willing to, try doing a CNA program and work as a CNA before hand and that can take away some of the anxiety. Some students in the beginning are very afraid to touch patients. Also familiarity with a hospital environment will help, and then you can see if nursing is a right fit for you also.

I will lots of luck.

MrsMommaRN · Jun 28, 2007

learn your anatomy and your pathophysiology. the what and why of diseases. learn how the normal body system works first then when you see the abnormal it will make more sense.

math get a good base for math. are you up to date in your classes? do you have all your pre reqs out of the way. it is good to have all of those done before you start your nursing classes so you can just focus on nursing.

jitterbugg · Jun 28, 2007

mom2bears,

I have finished all of my pre reqs and co reqs classes. (It seems to have been a 'hurry up and wait' time for me.) Thank your for your suggestions... I will review anatomy and pathophysio.

norcalRNstudent · Jun 28, 2007

Learn Spanish. I already knew quite a bit, but the Conversational Medical Spanish class was SO helpful. Also, if you plan on working through school, work your butt off right now to establish a solid savings that you can tap into for those times when you really need to study and take a day off work. Even if you never need to touch the money, it will be a great stress relief just knowing it is there.

Hang in there...the wait goes quicker than you would believe!

MrsMommaRN · Jun 28, 2007

is there a pathophys. class that you could take? that would be a great review? also i agree learing another language such as spanish would be nothing but a benefit to you. another class that would be great and could go toward your bachelors would be a effective speaking class.

RNfromMN, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2007

I had weeks of down time at one point when I was going through the program. I finally had to go to my instructor & beg her to give me some advice on something to work on until classes restarted again. She suggested picking just one disease/disorder & become an absolute EXPERT on it. She thought maybe pick COPD, or hepatitis, or GERD & learn absolutely everything there is to know on it; the meds, nursing interventions, pathophysiology, labs, etc.

In retrospect, I think this was really good advice. Too bad I didn't listen! I'd definitely recommend this; if you become an absolute expert on say, hepatitis, you are going to get such a break when it comes time to test on it in the nursing program. You'll be confident that every NCLEX question that comes your way about hepatitis, you'll already know the answer to. When you get that first patient in clinical with COPD, it'll save you a ton of time on your paperwork & give you a huge chance to absolutely blow your instructor away with how much you already know about the disease.

Good luck!

Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 28, 2007

if you become an absolute expert on say, hepatitis, you are going to get such a break when it comes time to test on it in the nursing program. You'll be confident that every NCLEX question that comes your way about hepatitis, you'll already know the answer to. When you get that first patient in clinical with COPD, it'll save you a ton of time on your paperwork & give you a huge chance to absolutely blow your instructor away with how much you already know about the disease.
Good luck!

If you become an expert on a particular disease process, resist the urge to "share" endlessly once you are in nursing school. Answer any questions the instructor asks, but keep it short. Focus on the issue at hand about the disease in question, and don't ramble on about what you know about it. For example, when the instructor asks you what the signs and symptoms are for a disease, BRIEFLY list them. Then be quiet.

When the instructor starts teaching you what the nurse's role is in dealing with that disease, DON'T ARGUE! What she is telling you is what you need to know to pass her test, and eventually NCLEX. Arguing your information versus the instructor's information is a waste of time and energy, and will confuse and annoy your classmates. Also listen carefully to what the instructor is telling you because one of the biggest things you will have to get straight in your mind is the difference between what the doctor does about the disease and what the nurse does about the disease.

I say this because I have a classmate who, when we get on a disease topic, will go out in la-la land about the disease, spewing trivia and minutae about it, when what we're trying to do is figure out what WE are supposed to know about it. Who cares about the molecular structore of blah-blah-blah and the scientist and his wife who discovered this thing in China and yadda-yadda-yadda? I want to know the following - assessment, diagnosis, plan, intervention, and evaluation. Period. Save the dazzling statitistics and academic BS for your term paper.

jitterbugg · Jun 28, 2007

Jessica 392,

Thank you for your advice. I never would have thought of researching a disorder...very smart! Good luck to you too!

burn out · Jun 28, 2007

If you have any intentions of ever going for a BSN you might start taking some of the pre reqs for that or getting your minor out of the way..classes like child psych., abnormal psych, marriage and family, these you may need later but would give you alot to draw from when you get in clinical settings.

Ivanna_Nurse, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2007

Hey there! While in school, it would be great have the option to cut down in hours at your job if you need to. Noone tells you that you are fully enveloped by nursing school while you are there... make drug cards for meds- this is valuable when in clinical and need to know what a pt. is taking, how it works, what the result is and what to watch out for. It makes the drug books not so intimidating, and you become familiar with the layout of the book when you need to look something up. I also agree with being comfortable with the body sysyems and how they work normally. This helps alot when studying disease.

RNfromMN, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2007

make drug cards for meds- this is valuable when in clinical and need to know what a pt. is taking, how it works, what the result is and what to watch out for.

Oooh! Good one! What drug cards do you think would be the best to make? Let's see what I can come up with:

-docusate

-warfarin

-REGULAR INSULIN (actually, ALL insulins)

-furosemide

-ferrous sulfate

-pantoprazole

-ranitidine

-metoprolol

-digoxin

Okay, I'll stop...don't want to overwhelm ya:)