What Can't You Live Without?

kristimarieSC · Apr 1, 2016

1. Limiting caffeine!! (You heard me!!!) I really kept track of my caffeine and found I was in a better place than my coffee chugging classmates. Tea most of the time, no caffeine after 3, sleep and essential oils. I'm a month away, and I survived in less than 10 coffee drinks in 2 years

2. My "uncalendar" planner. I NEVER forgot a thing, and when anyone has a question about content being covered, or class time, they come to me. I've kind of become known for being organized. It's all thanks to that planner!

3. Soul searching. I had to find my learning style quick with the rest of the class if first semester, but found it was always evolving, so I had to listen and change my study habits accordingly. I also had to admit to myself that study groups didn't work for me, and after half to program trying to force myself into that box, I gave up and started testing better!

4. My classmates. At some point, you'll realize your family and friends will no longer understand the intricacies of the nursing program, and you're tired of explaining what words mean and having them glaze over. Your classmates are the only ones who will truly get it. They will save your life. Don't fight opening up to the right ones. You'll be amazed what shedding those tears, a glass of wine, and the person who just stabbed you 5 times in your IV lab can do for your soul. THEY GET YOU.

5. Staying positive. There will naturally be negative people in your cohort, and it sucks because they are usually cool people, but steer clear. They'll stew at every change, late response or change in the normal schedule. It's so much easier to be yourself and smile and just be appreciative that you are in nursing school. It's ok to be happy!

6. NRSNGACADEMY.com. Some content is free, some you pay for, but it has helped me a TON! videos, hand outs and sometimes NCLEX questions. I just like the simplicity and how straightforward it is. And once you enroll or pay for content, it's your for life, so you can reference back when you're a nurse.

get ready for a crazy ride! Remember to reference back to how desperately you wanted the spot in nursing school when things get tough!

NRB41 · Apr 1, 2016

Nursing school friends...as well as your close friends outside of school.

Coffee, and lots of it!

For those moments of downtime, alcohol with friends was always great-started off with craft beers but by the end of school it was Scotch. :)

I always retreated to my favorite creative outlets too, which for me involved playing bass. Whatever you can use to help you find your center, do it!

BertG77 · Apr 1, 2016

I am super busy as I am on the BOD for my school's SNA, working, volunteering and I live 1.5 hours away from school and am married! Anyway, people always ask me how the hell I do all this stuff and aside from knowing myself well enough to understand that I thrive when my workload and time are very structured, I live and die by my CALENDAR! It amazes me that when I tell people I have the calendar app on my phone synced with my google calendar and my desktop calendar they say, "I wish I knew how to do that!" My response to that (and to many other claims people make about their ignorance) is "you can find out how to do it on the internet!!!!" In case this wasn't obvious to you or many other people out there, almost any freakin thing you have the slightest curiosity about or want to try, learn about is online!! We live in an amazing time where info is readily available at your fingertips like never before and yet, so many people forget how to use it for actually productive reasons. So, in short, my answer is 1) CALENDAR -as soon as something pops up, a task, an idea, meeting, assignment, it goes in the calendar 2)THE INTERNET - duh, it's amazing 3) EXERCISE - if you value feeling good and clearing your mind then you will make time for this regularly and you will schedule it in!! 4) Be flexible!!!!! Though I went off on having everything structured, there comes a time when you just can't push through and you got to stop and chill. Knowing yourself, your capabilities, health, etc make this easier to implement. Good luck! There's no recipe/formula how to do this. Try things and be okay with stumbling and failing occasionally. No one's perfect, be kind to yourself, this will help you empathize with your patients.

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · Apr 2, 2016

I started my LPN program when the only energy drink available was redbull-and it was not available in stores....being a poor nursing student I just brewed really, really, strong Folgers and drank a pot or two each night after school/work to study...

When I started my pre-requisites for an RN program shortly after, Starbucks had been born. It wasn't so much the $5 coffee that got me hooked, but the chocolate covered espresso beans. I would sneak those off to a late class and it helped keep me awake through some really monotone lectures (non-nursing). I looked for these when I went back to finish my RN and I realized that they had discontinued the beans:unsure:...so I had to go head and go for a quad grande nonfat latte every morning for five bucks...

Caffeine is a necessity for any step in nursing school...because sleep is a luxury that will be missed for the next several months/years.

wabrooks · Apr 7, 2016

One of the best resources for me was an app called Evernote. Works on all platforms and devices and for me as a visual/hands on learner with ADD/ADHD and severe dyslexia staying organized is imparative even more so then for the "regular" student. I was able to upload the instructor/text book lector outline prior to class and that gave me the ability to add what I needed most from the lector. Another great advantage is your able to input pictures, tables, chart ect right into the notes. So rather then saying "see table 7-3 in book ZXY on page 123" I can click a picture of it and boom it's right in the notes. Also your able to share notes via email with classmates in case someone missed a day, great way to make friends and be a team player.