What to do with nursing school papers?

mbittleston · Jul 20, 2013

I had one huge binder for the class for each class but had one small binder for the specific unit we were currently on to take to and from school. You will find that in nursing school you will have alot of paperwork. Way to much to carry around all the time.

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nursebanks14 · Jul 20, 2013

I use 1 binder per semester and used dividers in between. For the size, I think you will know after 1st semester because it depends how many papers you will have like powerpoints, handouts etc. I started with a 1 1/2 inch now I think I need a 2 inch. Seems to get bigger every semester lol.

FutureNurse114 · Jul 20, 2013

I'm using the ARC notebooks only at staples. They are pretty cool. You can take pages out and move to different sections if you need to.

Lbenoit07 · Jul 20, 2013

I'm curious as to what everyone uses as well! I'm starting in the fall and have been trying to decide how many binders and what sizes to buy! I also wasn't sure if I should buy notebooks or if taking notes on my laptop would be sufficient. I've heard from a few people a semester ahead of me that everyone used their laptops for notes but that was because they used ebooks but now they are switching to hard copy again for some reason!!

sjalv · Jul 21, 2013

I am starting my first semester, and the only 'classes' I will have are Fundamentals and Math for Nurses. I have two college-ruled spirals (1 subject each) and a folder. I don't see the need for a big binder, but that could very well change once the semester starts.

NRKB, MSN, RN · Jul 21, 2013

I can't do binders... The open/close thingy (not sure what its called) always is so difficult to open and close. The pages always seem to break at the holes and you have to punch holes in all of the papers everyday. It's just too much for me. I see that the binder thing works for some people, and usually I am quite impressed at their clean binding skill but for me, I am a folder girl. I love em! Once my folder is full I stash my papers in a filing cabinet and label the file so it is easily identifiable. Then when the class is over I just put all the papers together in one big file or a couple files, and then I have them for reference later. Notebooks... I like the cheap one subjects. The cheaper the better!

calivianya, BSN, RN · Jul 21, 2013

I don't keep any paperwork, but that's just because I always bring my laptop to each and every class. All of my notes were taken in microsoft word. I had a folder for each class, and then subfolders within each folder for notes, papers, research, etc. It made finding things ridiculously easy and I never lost my notes. I also backed my notes up on the school email sometimes if I was feeling paranoid so I knew they wouldn't get lost. I cannot recommend using a laptop enough. It saved my butt. I type a lot faster than I write by hand, so I had time to write down what the instructor was saying and then take a break and process it while my classmates were scribbling so fast and trying to remember what the instructor had just said when a new topic was already being covered that I doubt they got much out of the class at all.

BSN-to-MSN, ADN, BSN, RN · Jul 22, 2013

I use binders with clear sheet protectors, like a 100 or more in one binder... and leave front ones for current stuff, later it moves to the back of the binder.

traumanurse2b? · Jul 22, 2013

Binders with dividers. One binder for each class, then its broken down into 3 or 4 sections depending on the class. It will be class info (syllabus, schedule, etc), notes (which are actually ppts in the outline form with my notes added in), and then homework. If there are handouts or activities done in class, they go in a section at the end. I also use binder clips to clip together each test section of notes and if I'm feeling really "type a" I also paper clipped each week of notes together. It helps everything stay in order and it helped a lot during finals when I wanted to review certain areas

ambitiousBSN · Jul 22, 2013

I'm starting my first semester next month, and so far, I think I'm going to have a binder for each class (I have four), plus a separate folder and spiral notebook for clinical to keep handouts and notes together. I'm also going to have dividers in each binder, and I think I saw something on AN about having a divider for each week, but now that I think about it, I think a divider for each exam will work well. I am notorious for using those plastic sheet protectors for printed lectures as well as the colored plastic tabs (that you stick on the edges of pages). I figure I'll have sections for the syllabus, lecture, and homework; and I'm also going to print out my schedule and put it in each binder as a quick reference since my schedule is kind of weird.

But, like I said, I'm only starting the first semester, so obviously this will be a test. :-)

kittycat123 · Jul 22, 2013

I use one smaller binder for school and then come home and scan all docs into my mac and cloud services. Then I review them and put them into a large 3 inch semester binder for further review. That way, if anything happens to my notes (burn or get lost) I always have a pair on my mac.