What I Wish I Knew Before Nursing School!

amoss2345 · Apr 28, 2009

I wish I knew how much effort was involved in nursing school....a lot of busy work (care plans, concept maps, etc.) plus studying and lab stuff....it's definately exhausting. I would enjoy your last little bit of freedom, and take it seriously once you start. I had teachers that presented all the info you needed to know for the class. Don't try to be too prepared, because you won't even know where to start. Enjoy your family and friends, as you won't be seeing as much of them after you start. I wish you luck. I am taking my final tomorrow, and have the whole summer off after that. Don't think I've ever been this thankful for 4 months off of school. I have only the fall semester to go and will be officially an RN....good luck to you. You will know what I'm talking about once you start:)

vashtee, RN · Apr 28, 2009

I agree with the previous post. Soon you will be so tired, you will wish you had these four weeks to relax. I think you should just enjoy them, and when school starts, just keep in mind that nursing school is like boot camp - you just need to grin and get through it; enjoying it would be lovely, but it shouldn't be expected.

CarsonsMommy · Apr 28, 2009

I'm a student right now going for my Lpn, then headed down the road for RN.... My advice is Study lots, note cards are awesome! If you need to know medications i recommend getting http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0323041272 They worked great for me. Good luck! Don't forget to :tbsk: as well

corky1272RN · Apr 28, 2009

what i wish i had taken seriously before nursing school is to really study disease process. if you know the normal, then you can know the abnormal. :coollook: take the initiative to try new things (especially in clinicals), don't be scared. remember that this is your time to learn while under someone else's wing. others don't expect perfection because your in nursing school, so just try!

Wsmith16, ADN, BSN · Apr 28, 2009

I wish I had known how intense the whole journey would have been.

Enjoy your free time while you can. I am not saying this to scare you but savour it for the moment. Because you will be evry busy once you begin the program.

cagumbo · Apr 28, 2009

A friend once told me once I started nursing school to make sure that I had something else going on in my life to ensure that your self worth isn't tied to nursing school.

Find a hobby that is not medically related. It's essential to relax and take your mind off of nursing school every once in awhile. It can suck up your whole life if you're not careful. On those days when you make a bad grade or when clinicals don't go your way, you can fall back on your hobby and give yourself a break. Even if it's watching movies, going for a walk, needlepoint, reading something other than Potter and Perry, go for it. Schedule it in your life and don't miss it.

When your clinical instructors need someone to volunteer, do it. You'll get the experience doing while others just get to watch. The more you do, the more you know. Nursing is all about experience. And the more they see you are willing, the more they might pull you aside and let you do the really cool stuff. Because it's out there for you to find.

I'd also tell your nurses while on the floor in clinicals that you want to do and see it all. The more open, nice and enthusiastic that you can be, the nurses will love you. Don't stand around. Answer phones, answer call lights. Do something. Put gloves in all the rooms. There's always something to do.

Enjoy this time before school starts to relax. Spend some extra time with friends and family because your time with them will be shortened tremendously. Take a nap. Eat bon-bons in bed. Be lazy. Because from here on out until you land your first job, you really won't be able to relax without thinking that you should be doing something else, reading, studying, writing a paper or 5, studying for the NCLEX, getting your resume together, finding a new grad program.

Enjoy, take a breath and get ready for the ride of a life time. Good luck to you.

southeastbends · Apr 29, 2009

Take Note: If you were the type to study the night before, cram the information, and manage As...take this warning: I would say this is near impossible in nursing school. Nearly everything builds upon itself or is cumulative. If you don't gain a good foundation for the material, you will struggle when things get much more complex. Just as another poster stated, you have to know the normal before you can know the abnormal. The other thing I'll say is that friends/family may not "get" what you are spending your time on. Many are unaware of the sheer load of work you take on and relationships may suffer.

As far as preparing for classes, you could start honing your basic math skills as we speak. This may sound ridiculous, but to those who haven't really used those skills or maintained them, dosing can be a wake up call. Familiarize yourself with anatomy or anatomical structures.(I'm not sure if that's a pre-req for you)

I wish you the best of luck!

idbeme · Apr 29, 2009

I'd also tell your nurses while on the floor in clinicals that you want to do and see it all. The more open, nice and enthusiastic that you can be, the nurses will love you. Don't stand around. Answer phones, answer call lights. Do something. Put gloves in all the rooms. There's always something to do.

This is a GREAT piece of advice. I read that here and applied it during my first clinical rotation last semester. I was respected by the nurses by the time I left. They would find me and ask me if I could do this or that to help a patient - and it actually got me out of a lot of the poop work b/c the PCA would be doing that by the time I got done helping my primary nurse with other "nursing" duties. (Not that its not all a part of nursing, but you clean a butt one time, you can do it forever).

Do not sit around, gossip, or be rude to the nurses. I can be tough sometimes because not everyone is thrilled to have students on the floor. But put yourself out there, and they will find you and you will learn so much more.

That and just relax until school starts - once it does, you won't remember what it is like to relax!

KY RN · Apr 29, 2009

Congratulations! Go out and party, watch all your favorite shows, read a book, go to the movies, take a vacation, and take a nap. Once you start school, the those things will be a distant memory. All you'll have time for is school, reading, studying, care plans, drug cards, clinicals and work. :bugeyes: Also, get a DVR. You can watch all your favorite shows when you're finished with school. When I graduate in June, I have about 30 episodes of Lost and 15 of Prison Break that I am going to watch. ( My kids put in a request for a nice home cooked breakfast on a school day.) I told them since I am so "edumacated" now, I no longer know how to cook. Ha! Ha! :lol2:

Rabid Response · Apr 29, 2009

I wish that I would have talked myself into being more adventurous in clinicals. Too often I turned down opportunities to attempt new skills, thinking I'd get another chance when I was feeling more brave. I was so shy and afraid of asking for things or making mistakes in front of everyone or having the patient freak out because they were being worked on by a student.

Don't be afraid to jump right in! You have an instructor and/or an experienced nurse there to walk you through the whole process. If I had it to do over, I would never, ever waste an opportunity to practice a skill.

One thing that I did do right was to start studying for the NCLEX from the very first week of school. I bought a book and worked practice questions over and over along with my regular studies. It helped me with my regular school work, and I was also able to take the NCLEX one week after graduation and pass.

Good luck with school!

Annisme · Apr 29, 2009

I wish I had know that I really would need a housekeeper!

I do agree with the post saying to let the nurses know you want to experience as much as possible. Also, if there isn't a lot going on nursing wise (it does happen on a rare occasion) follow the CNA around, help turn people, do whatever. They have so much patient care knowledge that will come in handy when you are doing total care. Helping the CNA when you have time (and doing it cheerfully) will come back 100-times when you need them for help.