What will I need for nursing school

Evening_Primrose, ADN, RN · May 18, 2016

Congrats to you! I'm starting my program in the fall as well so I know how excited you must be.

Have you had an orientation yet? You might want to hold off until you do before you starting buying too much. Each program is different, and I think the best indicator of what you'll need will be what your instructors from your program tell you.

That's not to say that people won't come in with some great tips! I would just file those away as things you're open to purchasing once you've had your orientation.

Congrats again!

PedsRNWannaBe · May 20, 2016

Congrats to both of you!

I just finished my 1st year of nursing school, 1 year left!

I agree on holding off until orientation. i was just like you wanting everything right when I got accepted. But I waited and I'm glad I did. There are only a few exceptions

1.) You WILL need a laptop. There is so much to do right after clinicals, and in between classes. Now, all of my books were digital, meaning no hard copies, all book were bought and stored on line, no I had to have a my laptop with me no matter what, so that might sway my judgement.

2.) A stethoscope. if you want, this would be good to get. You will need one eventually anyways, so It does no harm to have one before classes start. I swear by my litman, but everyone has a preference. Just do a little research. My only suggestion is, don't get a lightweight one. They don't hear as well and you;ll eventually have to upgrade anyways.

Other than that I'd wait. I bought a few things here and there, but after clinical, it'll be easier to know your own preferences.

Hope that helps a little at least and Good Luck! It will FLY BY!

Pdxstudent · May 22, 2016

Congrats to you! I'm starting my program in the fall as well so I know how excited you must be.
Have you had an orientation yet? You might want to hold off until you do before you starting buying too much. Each program is different, and I think the best indicator of what you'll need will be what your instructors from your program tell you.
That's not to say that people won't come in with some great tips! I would just file those away as things you're open to purchasing once you've had your orientation.
Congrats again!

Congrats to you as well!! My orientation is in a few weeks and I know I'll receive tons of information then on what I will need. I haven't actually purchased anything yet but I do have a good wish list going of items I'm fairly sure I'll need. I've been working on my pre-reqs for three years now so now that I'm officially accepted into a program I can't help but get overly excited about it. :)

Pdxstudent · May 22, 2016

Congrats to both of you!
I just finished my 1st year of nursing school, 1 year left!
I agree on holding off until orientation. i was just like you wanting everything right when I got accepted. But I waited and I'm glad I did. There are only a few exceptions
1.) You WILL need a laptop. There is so much to do right after clinicals, and in between classes. Now, all of my books were digital, meaning no hard copies, all book were bought and stored on line, no I had to have a my laptop with me no matter what, so that might sway my judgement.
2.) A stethoscope. if you want, this would be good to get. You will need one eventually anyways, so It does no harm to have one before classes start. I swear by my litman, but everyone has a preference. Just do a little research. My only suggestion is, don't get a lightweight one. They don't hear as well and you;ll eventually have to upgrade anyways.
Other than that I'd wait. I bought a few things here and there, but after clinical, it'll be easier to know your own preferences.
Hope that helps a little at least and Good Luck! It will FLY BY!

Congrats on finishing the first year! I certainly do feel like getting everything now but I have a few months until my program starts so I know I should just be patient, haha. A laptop is definitely on my list...I'm just not sure if I should try and save some money and go with a less expensive one or pay more for better quality. I have also been researching stethoscopes and I'm leaning towards the Littman Classic II S.E. From what I've read that one seems to be a good one while in school and I could always upgrade later on down the road if I need to. Oh and another item I'm debating is whether to get a rolling backpack or not....any thoughts on that since you have a year of experience?

smartassmommy · May 24, 2016

Having seen the size of some of the books, if they are not digital and your school allows it, I would go for the rolling backpack.

direw0lf, BSN · May 25, 2016

Congratulations too!

Speaking of books, I LOVE this thing for my desk when I study: Amazon.com : Nice Production INP-1

dorkypanda · May 27, 2016

You'll need lots of pens, computer paper, usual school supplies, bandage scissor, stethoscope, white or black shoes, uniforms that your school requires possibly by a company the school prefers, penlight, a simple watch, a recorder or recording app(optional choice) but I found it so helpful. You may want to get lots of highlighters if you're the kind of person who likes to multi color their notes. A small little notebook for clinical if it fits in your scrub pocket will be helpful. I know i went through multiple highlighters in one year of nursing >__