What to study most??

Published

I start my Nursing (ASN) program in January. I was wondering... if you could go back, what would you brush up on/study for before your first semester? Right now I am looking over dosage formulas and a TINY bit of Pharm (because Pharm scares the crap out of me just because it is soo much to memorize). I have gotten all general ed out of the way so I have taken A&P 1 & 2 and Microbiology. Should I just brush up on those? I am a little terrified because my school (a community college) has a very low completion and NCLEX pass rate. I just want to prepare myself as much as possible. Thanks for any advice!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I would say make sure you really know your A&P. Out of curiosity, why are you going to a school with a low NCLEX pass rate? You will probably want to get a couple of really good NCLEx books so you make sure you have the info you need. I really like the Saunders book, and the online practice tools that came with are really good too. I wouldn't start studying it before you start your program, because you will probably just end up confused and frustrated, but you should use it as a supplement as you go along.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks so much for your advice. I will definitely study up on my A&P. Sadly I have to go to this school. It's all I can afford and I'm almost at my max for financial aid because I started out pursuing a degree in Accounting (GAG!!). I have good grades and study hardcore so I'm hoping that will get me where I need to be. I am definitely buying the Saunders NCLEX book because everyone recommends that one.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

And by low NCLEX pass rate I mean 60% for this year and 72% for last year.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU.

Once you graduate, you will probably need to review a lot of content (Saunders book) before attempting NCLEX. Know the content in the Saunders book even though you may not of had it in school. That may be the reason for the low pass rate (not teaching all content that you need to know for NCLEX).

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Jenngirl34

Hi Jenngirl. Great tips!!!

Does your advice also relate for the Lvn program too?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks Tasha! I have not taken an LVN program, but I would imagine you would still need to know your A&P, and I do know there are study guides for the NCLEX-PN, and that Saunders makes one. I have not looked at any of them, so I could not recommend one over the other.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks Jenn. I will bookmark this post.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency Department.

With Pharm, you should study classes of medications and not so much specific ones. Opiates, as a class do certain things. Benzodiazepines, as a class, do certain things. There are different classes of antibiotics and those classes do different things. Once you know the classes, it's much easier to learn the specific meds because you then only have to learn how a given med is different than the other meds in that class.

Know the A&P. In particular, have a good understanding of physiology. Knowing why the body does certain things under normal conditions helps you understand why the body does things when things aren't going right. In other words, it helps you better understand pathophysiology.

Another thing is that we often meet people when they're at their most vulnerable. It's going to feel awkward for us at first, and almost always the same for them. While I prefer to have a reason to contact someone "officially" I actually don't have any reservations about walking up to someone and starting a conversation about something. Some people have a knack for greeting others and making it feel like they're long-time friends or something... they can develop an instant rapport. Not everyone has that ability and nobody expects you to develop it, especially at first. In many of my jobs, public contact is/was a large component of the job, so I got LOTS of practice at talking to complete strangers...

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion