What is your advice to new students?

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I'd love to hear what advice you would give to a new nursing student just beginning there adventure?

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I'm starting my second semester in NS and I'm doing really well due to one thing: Keep on top of your homework!

You probably know that NS will be tough and challenging and there will be a lot of homework - but it's more difficult that you realize. Especially when you start clinicals - you get so caught up in your care plans that you forgot about a paper due, a worksheet that needs done, and a video that needs watched. So stay organized. Get yourself a planner or type up a sheet or something so that you can just look at one spot and know what needs to be done. And don't use anything electronic - like your blackberry - because a lot of girls in my class put all their due dates in their phones and then something would happen to the phone and they'd forget when things were due and it was a disaster.

Also - don't try to get away with stuff in clinicals. Follow the guideline exactly and don't try to sneak around - a lot of people in my class thought they could get away with not removing/covering up piercings and tattoos or wearing hot pink underwear beneath their scrubs. You will get sent back home and you may have to drive 45 mins - 1 hr from your clinical site to your house to fix yourself and then drive back, or you may just receive an unsatisfactory for the week and have to make up your day later (which really sucks).

Good luck! It's tough, but it's worth it. Just remain determined and try to keep your head above the water.

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I agree, keep on top of every thing! I'm beginning my second semester as well. I make a "to do" sheet every day with the tasks I must accomplish that day. It helps to keep me organized. By the end of the semester I have 500 of those papers, but so far, knock on wood, I haven't forgot an assignment!

Second of all, take it ONE DAY AT A TIME!! That way you aren't completely overwhelmed all of the time. Focus on today's events before you move on to tomorrow!

Congratulations on beginning nursing school, it is a crazy wild ride, but it's worth every minute of it!!

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Specializes in Critical Care (ICU/CVICU).

keep your grades to yourself! make friends but be careful who you share things with.

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Make nursing school the #1 priority in your life and study like you've never studied before. Study at least 3 hours per day, seven days per week. Study even more for the 5 days leading up to an exam. Learn to say no to requests people make of you that aren't related to nursing. Learn to decline invitations to events that aren't super-important like weddings or funerals of close friends or family members (going to Uncle Bob's annual birthday BBQ, your nephew's kindergarten "graduation", your friend's booze-filled Halloween party, or your cousin's weekend-long bachelorette party in Las Vegas is a waste of precious study time). Don't take drugs for recreation, EVER. You shouldn't do this even if you weren't a nursing student, but it's even more crucial to stay clean if you're in the healthcare field, as you can and will get drug tested somewhere along the line. Finally, be very careful about what you post on social media websites like Facebook, a picture of you that is anything less than squeaky-clean could get you into hot water with your program or future employers. Better yet, don't use social media at all.

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Treat school with the same degree of maturity and professionalism that you would a nursing job, and consider it your job.

If you are working on a team project, do your fair share and pull your weight.

Show up on time for lecture and clinicals. If the weather is bad, and you commute a long distance, maybe allow an extra hour to get to there so that you are not flying in at the last second, or worse, flying in there late.

Dress properly, conform to the dress code, and don't wear any jewelry or strange trendy clothing at school. I'd also advise to not get any tattoos, but if you insist, then make sure that all of them are located in a place that is always covered by a nursing uniform. Forget about the gauging and nose and tongue piercings and all the rest of it. It does not belong in an educated and professional work environment. Sure, you can make the argument that this is mainstream body art nowadays. But, the fact remains that it is also a fashion trend, and as such, will eventually or in some cases rapidly go out of fashion.

If you're a young hottie, remember that you are there to go to school. Your first priority is to learn to be a nurse, not shake your booty and flirt or get dates. Always be pleasant and be respectful to all of the older women and men in your class, even if they are old enough to be your parents, or your grandparents. Those older students have a lot more workforce experience than you do, might be smarter than you, might have more college education and money than you, might be very well respected and liked by the instructors, and there's a saying that "Age and treachery will overcome youth and enthusiasm every time." Believe it. Flip off the "old folks," and they most likely will make your student experience a little less pleasant, and may actually set you up for a few disappointments and might not aid your progress during team projects. "Rude and disrespectful and irresponsible" is a complaint I have heard frequently from the middle-age career-changer students regarding the teenagers and 20-somethings. When you are assigned to work with the older students, pull your weight.

My personal reason to start WW III: STUDENTS WHO DON'T CLEAN UP AFTER THEMSELVES!

-- If you take a bottle of pop or water or a container or bag of food to class, don't leave your trash on the desk or under the desk or otherwise lying around after you leave. Either take it with you or put it in the trash or recycle cans. The rest of us are not your janitorial service.

-- Nursing school teaches you where to dispose of various items that are contaminated with bodily fluids. That includes your used tissues and those used gauze pads from sticks or injections, etc. Dispose of it properly!!! Don't *******' leave it on desks, windowsills, floors, or otherwise carelessly toss it someplace that it doesn't belong.

-- If you use the kitchen in the student lounge, clean up. Wipe out the microwave. Mop up the water splashed on the counter and all around the sink. Don't leave food in the fridge until it rots and stinks up the place.

My personal reason to bang someone's head on the wall: People who talk on their cell phones when the rest of us are trying to concentrate on something on the computers. Take your phone, leave the computer room, and go off someplace where your chatter won't bother the rest of us who are working. The computer room is for us computer users. Talkers go elsewhere.

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Oh no. Would you really suggest missing the wedding or funeral of a close friend or family member?:crying2:

I was in an ensemble with a girl whose best friend's father passed away. She needed to miss 3 days of classes to go home and was told she'd be kicked out of her music performance program if she did. She did go home and changed majors the next semester.

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