What to keep and what not to keep?

[ScrappinSpidey]

I took my final this past week for my last semester of school. I passed :) With that comes lots of company to my house for graduation and my poor house hasn't been kept up to standards the last 2 years. Up till this past June I have been pretty organized with my school stuff but 4th semester hit and there was no room for anything. Im now trying to gather and organize all my school stuff from the last two years and put it "away". I was curious how long to keep, or if to keep at all, things like notes, power points from lectures, note cards, what textbooks etc. Its amazing how much of this accumulated over the last 2 years lol.

Thanks for your ideas.

Lynn/BW

[DestinedRN09]

When I packed up and moved out of my dorm I threw away ALOT of stuff, now 6 months after graduating I think, DANG IT I threw that away! I kept my med surg and public health book, I wish I would have at least held on to my syllabi from each class so I can refer to projects we did to add to my nursing portfolio. But as far as notes and things...I would hang on to ur books more than anything. If u really want to go through your notes, just look for helpful notes that stood out to you.

[Forever Sunshine, ASN, RN]

I threw all my class notes away. I kept the textbooks even if they are written in. Also my careplans I kept. I plan on going back to school for my RN so i hope they will be beneficial.

You can always sell your textbooks on half.com if you decide down the line you don't need them. Nursing textbooks aren't cheap and nursing students aren't made of money.

[llg, PhD, RN]

After 11 years of full time nursing school (4 undergrad + 2 MSN + 5 PhD) ... I can say that I have repeatedly kept too much. I wish I had thrown out most of it and only kept a few key books and a few papers that I had written. The rest has a "shelf life" of only a few months.

Except for the things I mentioned above, I wish I had thrown out and/or sold the rest. I could use the money.

[Spotty44]

Depends on if you actually think you will need it in the future. I'm in nursing school now, but have a prior Bachelor's degree. Since I graduated with my B.S. in 2001, I kept all my syllabi, notes, handouts, books and tests from my core classes (basically any class that had to do with my major...none of the GenEd stuff). I'm SO glad I kept it because I've had to go back to stuff (especially syllabi and books) to help me challenge and waive other classes and do homework. In fact, I just pulled out my old biomechanics book to help me with the musculoskeletal unit that we just did in patho and one of my old syllabi got me out of taking "research writing"!

I plan on doing the same with my nursing stuff, at least until I'm done with my formal nursing education (I plan to go to at least a Master's). I'll probably keep my books even longer!

[caliotter3]

Depends on if you actually think you will need it in the future. I'm in nursing school now, but have a prior Bachelor's degree. Since I graduated with my B.S. in 2001, I kept all my syllabi, notes, handouts, books and tests from my core classes (basically any class that had to do with my major...none of the GenEd stuff). I'm SO glad I kept it because I've had to go back to stuff (especially syllabi and books) to help me challenge and waive other classes and do homework. In fact, I just pulled out my old biomechanics book to help me with the musculoskeletal unit that we just did in patho and one of my old syllabi got me out of taking "research writing"!

I plan on doing the same with my nursing stuff, at least until I'm done with my formal nursing education (I plan to go to at least a Master's). I'll probably keep my books even longer!

I've read this advice before, about keeping your syllabi and course descriptions. You never know when you will need them in the future for course challenges, etc. I needed the information that was contained on one of the nursing school handouts, and have never been able to locate the missing paper. Supposedly, such material would be on file in the nursing school office, but I have found that once gone, less cooperation from the school can be expected. I would probably keep such information at least until after obtaining the next degree.

[itsmejuli]

I recently completed LPN and will be going on to RN.

I kept everything :) Filed all neatly in one of those portable, cardboard file boxes.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

I kept all my syllabi, and saved myself from having to retake statistics. :)

You could also consider scanning some of the important things, like syllabi/course descriptions, into your computer and getting rid of the hard copies.

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

Keep the syllabi...definitely. As I go along in classes I am keeping electronic copies of the powerpoints.

[Music in My Heart]

I digitize most things (scanner) and then keep electronic copies.

Textbooks are a challenge, though. I'm fortunate in that I purchased electronic copies of a number of books so they're similarly easier to keep.

[MauraRN]

I reused several large 3 ring binders and catergorized them according to body systems. For instance, one that I have gone back to often contains hard copies, class notes, printouts, etc on everything cardiac; Meds, EKG notes, A&P, labs used. Some of the binders contain more than one subject, "Delegation, Leadership, Ethics, Legal" you get the idea. I used these binders frequently during LPN-RN program, refer to them sometimes for new patients. I think because it is stuff that I created, it stays with me better than text books. I did keep my MED_SURG, Pediatrics, Diagnotic Lab book and my Clinical Skills book that I refer to often. My personal stuff, transcripts and the like, scanned and saved to dvd. I stashed this stuff in the back of my closet for future reference.

[Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN]

I threw everything away. Didn't miss anything. Don't regret it. I tried selling my books but most of them were already outdated by the time I graduated and now I can't even give them away.