What should I study ahead?

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All the current nursing students out there!

What should I study ahead before I start the program?

Was there anything you wished you had studied ahead before starting the nuring program?

I have about 3 months left until the first day of class.

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

Study tips for EKU ADN program test, need advise as how to study. Did not do well and studied content from power points . This is what is used in lecture but evidently I need to be doing more. Can anyone give me advice

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Study tips for EKU ADN program test, need advise as how to study. Did not do well and studied content from power points . This is what is used in lecture but evidently I need to be doing more. Can anyone give me advice

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Specializes in ICU + 25 years as Nursing Faculty.

I think that a "middle of the road" approach is what will benefit you the most.... both relax AND review. If you have three months, you can easily plan a schedule of a brief review period every day and still have lots and lots of time for relaxation. 30-60 minutes a day between now and the start of nursing school would give you a big chunk of time for review.

  • Absolutely a review of the A&P of CV, resp, renal, and neuro systems will do you well. Emphasize the physiology more than the anatomy. (Your A&P class was LONG ago.)
  • A review of normal growth and development of children will be very helpful for pediatrics.
  • If you took chemistry... a review of dimensional analysis will be helpful for medication calculations.

Along with the above... PLAN time to relax and invest time in your loved ones.

If there are any big chores around the house that will bother you if left undone (such as shampooing the carpet or painting a room)... do them before nursing school starts, as you will be unlikely to do them while in school.

Whenever someone tells you that nursing school is "hard" or "easy"... remember that comment probably tells you more about the person making it, than it does about nursing school. I see it all the time.... various students sitting in my classes who respond very differently. Some are hyper-vigilant and distressed, some are relaxed and happy...even though the demands of the class are the same for both.

Good Luck!!!

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I think that a "middle of the road" approach is what will benefit you the most.... both relax AND review. If you have three months, you can easily plan a schedule of a brief review period every day and still have lots and lots of time for relaxation. 30-60 minutes a day between now and the start of nursing school would give you a big chunk of time for review.

  • Absolutely a review of the A&P of CV, resp, renal, and neuro systems will do you well. Emphasize the physiology more than the anatomy. (Your A&P class was LONG ago.)
  • A review of normal growth and development of children will be very helpful for pediatrics.
  • If you took chemistry... a review of dimensional analysis will be helpful for medication calculations.

Along with the above... PLAN time to relax and invest time in your loved ones.

If there are any big chores around the house that will bother you if left undone (such as shampooing the carpet or painting a room)... do them before nursing school starts, as you will be unlikely to do them while in school.

Whenever someone tells you that nursing school is "hard" or "easy"... remember that comment probably tells you more about the person making it, than it does about nursing school. I see it all the time.... various students sitting in my classes who respond very differently. Some are hyper-vigilant and distressed, some are relaxed and happy...even though the demands of the class are the same for both.

Good Luck!!!

Thank you so much for your advice! I absolutely agree with you that finding the middleground between relaxation and review is the best approach for me at this point.

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All the current nursing students out there!

What should I study ahead before I start the program?

Was there anything you wished you had studied ahead before starting the nuring program?

I have about 3 months left until the first day of class.

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

Being that you are 3 months away from starting the program I wouldn't study ahead of the program. If you feel like studying, brush up on your anatomy and physiology along with reading up on dosage calculations. When I first was entering my LVN program a student that was in her last term adivsed me to just relax and spend time with friends living a life and getting all those free time out of the way and also informing everyone that when school starts your time will be limited. You have a lot of time during the nursing program to start studying. You will notice that NCLEX-style questions along with questions on lecture exams are not just content-based however; being able to critically think as well goes a long way. So listen to people, just take time to relax and enjoy the next three months.

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Don't study. Enjoy your little free time before the program. Say your temporary farewells to your family friends and everyone in your social life cause once you start the program, its crunch time. studying is your life!

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Specializes in Neuro.

I'm in the same boat. I will be working full time & going to school full time come fall. I have 2 small kids & a spouse I'm going to spend time with & enjoy being home with & having dinner with every night. Even planning a small vacation with them prior to the start of nursing school.

I likely will review some of the recommendations some of the PPs suggested, but not heavily. I'm going to be missing many dinners & weekends with my family once school starts, right now, making sure they have my full focus is a priority.

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Specializes in Med Surg, PCU, Travel.

NOTHING! Enjoy your life while you have one.

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I think relaxing and enjoying your life is good. However, if you can manage to not stress yourself out AND use this time to your advantage, why not? Brushing up with A and P might be good. I'd see if there were any summer courses you could take to get out of the way. Other than that, I'd say begin by finding out what book your first class uses, probably a fundamentals textbook, buy it or a recent edition, and read that thing! Get yourself an nclex style question book on fundamentals (Davis may make one, I"m not certain), and begin doing nclex questions on the material you are covering. Don't go into too much med surg stuff (the individual body systems etc), I think it will be too much at this point. Build your foundation! However, balance your study with rest, relaxation, and FUN! Perhaps you can get the syllabus from an instructor?

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Specializes in Emergency.

Depending on your particular life circumstances, I would work on plans to make life smoother when school starts. Things like meal planning, back up to your back up daycare plans (if applicable), any car maintenance, house plans, etc. While much of the material in nursing school is complicated, I find the biggest hurdle to be the 'time-consuming aspect' of it all :confused: It just requires time to read, review, reflect, read again, then try to rephrase, etc.

Good luck!

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I know this isn't what you want to hear because it wasn't what I wanted to hear when I asked this question before starting nursing school, but relax! Take this down time and enjoy it. I would do some light reviewing of anything you didn't understand so well in A&P. I would review drug dosage calculations for nursing as well as conversions (tablespoons & teapsoons to milliliters, kilos to pounds, cm to inches...these are used a lot at my school).

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Dont study ahead. Use this time to relax and enjoy your life.

This is the best advice you can take out of this entire thread. I wish I would have relaxed before nursing school. It isn't to say that I was burnt out but my mental stamina definitely declined during my first term because I worried so much during summer break. I took it easy over winter break and found it much easier to transition into second term because I felt refreshed and ready for round two. You will learn very quickly to relish your down time because nursing school does not offer you much of it. Take it when you can get it!

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