What is the biggest piece of advice you have for nursing students?

MB37 · Sep 4, 2008

I just graduated. Number one piece of advice: don't fall behind. I found NS to be more time consuming than difficult, but it gets much harder if you let the work/reading pile up. Early in the semester, when you still have energy, read ahead - I usually started reading over semester breaks, so I'd have a little time to slack off when I started getting burnt out. You may find that you don't need to read every page or do every question, but you're going to have to study. It's a lot more manageable if you do SOME work every day than if you have 300 pages to read the day before an exam.

1styearsucks · Sep 4, 2008

Great question! I am a new nurse. I graduated in may and have been working as RN for 3 months.There is no 1 single thing I can say there are so many!! the following advice pertains to nursing school and when you begin working as a professional.

1.Be humble. Nursing is a humbling profession. No matter how much you know remember there is always someone who knows more. and instead of being intimidated by that, seek help from this person.

2.Always ask questions when taking care of patients. No matter how dumb you think it is. If you are doing something and you get that queezy feeling in your stomach, as someone!

3.Laugh at yourself!! Laugh at your faiures,mistakes and annoying patients.Laughter relives stress and increases the ability of the brain to think clearly.

4.Be organzied and have good time management.Now, what exactly does that mean? It means learn the difference between what has to be done now and what can wait a moment.

Nursing is very hard!! It will take awhile to be a good nurse.

so along the way laugh and work hard.

Candace, BSN,RN:nurse:

jmking · Sep 4, 2008

1) Don't beat yourself up when you mistakes, you're only human.

2) During school have periods of fun and relaxtion, it helps after studying.

3) Always ask questions.

4) If you don't understand a drug, look it up!

blinks14 · Sep 4, 2008

My advice would be to watch and listen. Try to "absorb" all you can. And again like other people have said ASK QUESTIONS. I'm a new grad and no matter how stupid the question I ask it.

jam0516 · Sep 4, 2008

~Always ask lots of questions.

~If it doesn't feel right don't do it, and ask someone with experience.

~Lastly, keep your head up, and don't lose focus of your goals. :nurse:

justme1972 · Sep 4, 2008

For a new nursing student:

If you approach the major of nursing like any other class...you'll be in for a huge surprise.

Nursing school takes time, but it's not so hard that it's anywhere near impossible.

Those that put in the time, succeed.

OptimusPrime · Sep 4, 2008

As an educator, I give my students alot of advice up front. What I believe are the two most important are:

1.) Learn how to learn. This means knowing what type of learner you are and how to utilize that to UNDERSTAND the material better, not just memorize it. Google phrases like "learning techniques" or "becoming a better student" and you will be amazed at what you dont know about learning.

2.) Dont let school interfere with learning. Too many students are passive in class and "absorb" the information without ever interacting and then think they've memorized it. This leads to that student forgetting the information at a later date. Learning is something you do. Read sections before class, learn the material prior to being taught it. Know it better than your instructor the day class is being taught. Then ask questions and dont assume your instructor gives you the right answer. Go home and look it up. Ask other people. But just remember, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to learn the content, not the instructors. We cant learn for you :) We are there to guide you and HELP you learn.

Best of luck!

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2008

As everyone has already said, ask questions. Lots of them. They aren't stupid; to the contrary, they show you are thinking. The student who never seems to have questions is NOT viewed as a genius--they're often thought of as either not giving a cr@p, or not knowing enough TO ask questions that they should. Neither looks good on you.

Beyond that, "I don't know" is a very acceptable answer if you don't. "I know" is a truly horrible answer if you DON'T know (but figure you'll discover the answer before you're found out).

I'll take a dozen students who admit what they don't know (and, of course, are willing to LEARN) over one know-it-all who tries to impress me with his or her knowledge base. I'm not. Trust me.

Smile. Please? I like to know that you're happy to be there, even if you had a truly lousy morning, your cat ran off, your dog died, and you just remembered you packed socks in your kids lunchbox and he's wearing sandwiches on his feet! :) We're (the nursing staff) pretty busy, and have enough whining amongst ourselves; we need the students to be smiling, enthusiastic, eager to learn. It helps OUR mood

edisongirl25 · Sep 4, 2008

Try not to stress over every little detail. You have to learn to relax and realize that you can only learn so much in so much time. You will not come out of school knowing all you need to know, it's just a foundation for the knowledge you will gain from actually practicing nursing. It's tough, but it's definately doable and definately rewarding. When I first graduated, I was amazed at how little I actually knew after all those classes and all those hours of clinicals, but I'm ok, and you pick up more and more knowledge as you go. Never be afraid of asking questions...even the ones you think are dumb, b/c the only stupid question is the one that goes unasked. It may be the difference in a good outcome vs. a bad one. I've been in nursing over a year now and I still ask questions on a daily basis b/c you will never know it all.

RN1982 · Sep 4, 2008

Study but don't over-study. Find a few friends, no more than three to make a study group. Don't read too much into your test questions. Stick to your textbook. Don't buy every other nursing book out there. Stick to your text book.

NewRN12109 · Sep 4, 2008

I just graduated myself in August and the biggest piece of advice I can give you is to "Set your eye on the goal" When I was down I kept say "you can do it" Write your name with RN behind it. Imagine yourself at that pinning ceremony getting pinned. I even put a graduation count down on my myspace and on my laptop. Whenever I felt I couldn't do it I looked at the count down. Before I knew it I was there.