To everyone in school all ready, what do you find really useful to always have with you?
I dont want to go out and buy a ton of stuff and find that it's not really what helps. I bought a ton of index cards of Ebay while taking A&P and probably have a couple thousand (*gasp* yes, I'm serious) left so I'm good with that. But what else REALLY helped you? Do you carry around a laptop? A digital camera? A recorder?
Thank you SO MUCH everyone! I need to get a good/sturdy backpack.
So no one carries around a laptop? Cool. One less thing to purchase.
I carry my laptop everywhere. But that's because our books are electronic (part of the book package - we also got the hard copies). I don't ever really have to carry any books, except for the supplemental material.
Voice Recorder- I did not get one until the end of the second semester- & I was kicking myself -I should have been taping all my lectures.....very helpful.
I also have a butt load of books, binders, a PDA and a lap top, etc.- but honestly the voice recorder is going to help you get through those exams.
I bought a laptop because we had lecture powerpoints, but i soon learned it was a lot faster to print them out and add my own notes during lectue. So i dont use it. PDA is great and the lab values list is as well. Nursing care plan book, Tabers, NCLEX books/CDs, Caffeine, Advil...
and almost more important than anything, a large calendar and the ability to change your schedule at the drop of a hat!!!!
NCLEX review books have been enough for me so far. Our school gave us PDAs to use, but we rarely use them. Oh, and browsing through this website, especially the Student Assistance forum was very helpful, even when I was in pre-reqs.
I am also in new york, I will start the nursing program in spring 2009. My school doesn't give pda's out, do you think I need to purchase one myself?
I want to start Nursing process with a bang, fully prepared to pass. Also, is your school Beth Israel school of nursing on 6th avenue? I know they also gave out PDA'S to their students. Thanks for your help.
I use my PDA all the time. I have Skyscape's Nursing Constellation Plus - it has Taber's, Davis' Drug Guide, RN Notes, Diseases & Disorders, Davis' Lab reference and a bunch of other's that I use less frequently. Seriously, I use mine many times every day. Learn all the nifty features it has and take advantage of them.
It also has my calendar in it and it syncs to the calendar on my laptop so it's all coordinated and at my fingertips. Critical for staying somewhat organized and to stop me from volunteering to do something the night before a test.
The voice recorder is another smart investment. I don't use it often this semester, but it sure comes in handy when the lecture material is particularly detailed. Another benefit of my Palm TX is that it will play mp3's, so I can use it to listen to my lectures.
For first semester, I would recommend "Nursing Fundamentals - Reviews & Rationales" by Mary Ann Hogan. Excellent NCLEX style review book for first semester material. When you're using any of your review books, write your answers on a separate sheet of paper instead of in the book, so you can easily do the questions again and again (before finals?).
Stickies. I use lots of stickies. I use one color for the textbook pages that have charts I need to study, another for reference materials, another for the chapters to know for the next test. You'll wonder how you ever managed without them! Bring them to class with you so you can mark pages as your instructor refers to them.
Small containers of really good hand lotion. You'll need it frequently if you're not going to end up with lizard skin before the end of the 1st semester. I like the CVS version of Eucerin Plus Intensive Repair. It has AHA in it and is scent free. Good stuff. Your classmates will love you for always having some lotion with you, and your hands will thank you.
Pink and yellow highlighters, and black clicky pens that you like. You'll need a bunch of all of these. Binders - I have a huge one for powerpoints, handouts and my outlines for each unit, a smaller one for lab papers, and another for my weekly clinical packets (once they've been returned). I need to have everything organized because with the amount of information, reading and paperwork you could be drowning in it if you didn't have some sort of system.
I would also recommend some sort of external data storage for your computer files. I can't imagine much worse than having some horrible computer disaster and losing access to all the documents and projects you will have hanging around on your hard drive. Figure out some way to back everything up externally for insurance. Being a big Mac fan, I use their online server (Mobile Me) to back up all the important things on our computers. One spectacular advantage of online servers is that you can access your documents from other places (like in the school library) even if you don't have your computer with you.
A good printer - we have a small laser printer which is much less expensive to use than my small ink jet. I save the ink jet for things that need to be printed in color, but print the mountains of school paperwork on the laser and probably save a small fortune in ink.
I do have a nice little MacBook laptop, but never use it in class, just at home or in the library. Nice to have, but definitely not a requirement. A high speed internet connection is really important, though.
I used my digital camera a lot in A&P and micro, but not at all in my nursing classes.
The only other things I can think of that are real necessities are a friendly smile and a warm attitude. Never, ever speak poorly of your classmates, be a friend to everyone, always offer a helping hand, be generous but maintain solid ethical boundaries with other students, your instructors and your patients, and be prepared to study and work hard.
The only other things I can think of that are real necessities are a friendly smile and a warm attitude. Never, ever speak poorly of your classmates, be a friend to everyone, always offer a helping hand, be generous but maintain solid ethical boundaries with other students, your instructors and your patients, and be prepared to study and work hard.
This was absolutely the best part of what you said! I mean, it was all fantastic but hearing about the small things such as keeping a warm attitude & friendly smile - things we often forget about - was a great reminder.
Thanks for all of your info! We get PDAs as part of the tuition we pay so I'm not quite sure what programs are already on there but they did say drug references, calendars, etc. were on it.
THANK YOU all for helping. I'm so excited to start I can't stand it and I'm the type to run out and buy stuff and then realize later I didnt really need it so this will help me immensely!
no, I go to LIU. As far as the PDAs, I would ask the students at your school if they find it useful. I barely use my PDA, and I feel that it is more of a nuisance than any help. I may have more use for it in the upcoming semesters, but for this semester, I barely touch it. Good luck!
I am also in new york, I will start the nursing program in spring 2009. My school doesn't give pda's out, do you think I need to purchase one myself?
I want to start Nursing process with a bang, fully prepared to pass. Also, is your school Beth Israel school of nursing on 6th avenue? I know they also gave out PDA'S to their students. Thanks for your help.
kikibibi
31 Posts
Voice recorder helps a lot. ............