What do you WISH someone had told before hand about nursing school or a test?

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I just got into the Rn Program, and I'll sure have some good advice for someone just coming out of high school that wants to get into a program.

But once in the program, what are some things you wish someone had told you about actually doing the program or something tricky on a test?

First thing I'd tell someone is that you have to have at least a 22 on the ACT and that you need to study for it, especially brush up on Algebra, geometry, punctuation, and speed reading. You also need a 3.5 gpa on Anatomy and college algebra. You may only have these courses to get in. Don't add different majors till you get the RN as you'll end up hurting your gpa. Know about financial aid, grants, ACT scholarships, etc. Also, you may not can get any of that if you already have a bachelors degree in business or something, so get the RN first as most of the people in our program are coming off diffferent majors when they found you can't really get a job in accounting like you thought you could. Thats just some things I had to learn about the hard way. What about you?

Specializes in Infusion.

Here's what I would say to prospective students at my CC. Look at the nursing application and know the pre-requisites you will need to get into nursing school. There are 7 classes where you earn points according to your grade. Your As are worth 4 points, Bs 3 point, Cs 2 points. Get those As!! Understand that you will need to get a C or better in college algebra or place higher than the algebra in with a placement test. If you are a little rusty on your algebra, get a workbook for "dummies" and study for a month before taking the placement test. Much easier that taking an 11 week class. Pay attention to the co-requisite classes. Get these taken before starting nursing school. Much easier than trying to find a summer class or on-line class while in nursing school. If you start college and find yourself completely unmotivated, get your CNA license and work in the field for a couple of years. After working your tail off for a year or 2 making just over minimum wage, you may have more motivation to compete and get those As.

Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

I would like to have been told the answer to every question on every test.

If you are task oriented and don't want to be everything to everyone, then look more at LPN or surgical tech or diagnostic sonographer or PT or something, not RN. RN training, at least in schooling, is just all over the road, and huge parts of it may be of no interest to you whatsoever, depending on what your specific career goals are.

If you are female and are not the type of woman who wants to be Earth Mother to everyone forever, for your entire career or your entire life, then maybe RN isn't for you. Nursing school instructors and also many patients have more or less a double standard of what they expect from a male nursing student vs. what they expect from a female, and it's my opinion that females are supposed to be a whole lot more gushy and catering and self-sacrificing than the males are. Nursing, to me, is a profession. I should not have to mind-mend and emotionally bond with everyone that comes down the pike. Patients seem to prefer that every female nurse mothers them the way Mom did, and if you don't, just see how quick you'll be branded as cold, or selfish, or uncaring, or whatever. Like, a female technologist can be a technologist and that's good enough, but a female nurse has to be super-servant like Mommy and baby everyone, not just give competent and efficient care.

Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.

Don't get into a crappy nursing school just because they will accept you with low GPA. Those nursing schools' graduates are now crying for failing NCLEX multiple times. Check the school's pass rate before applying, and keep your pre-requisite GPA really high. Don't believe those who will say "don't worry about a 4.0 GPA, my school accepted me with a 2.7"...

This isn't for me that I wish someone had told me. I am talking to anyone who consider nursing. General advice to every future nursing students.

Specializes in Infusion.

Here's more ..... Don't hook up with a loser (boyfriend or girlfriend) that sucks all your time away from your studies. If you are going to start a relationship with someone while in school, find someone as ambitious as yourself or more so. Losers will cause you to drown in the kiddie pool.

I would like to have been told the answer to every question on every test.

Haha thats silly!

I am starting an LPN program in the Fall and I would tell someone that just because you do an LPN program does NOT mean you are less of a nurse it means you are just taking an alternative route. :nurse:

Resist the urge to help all your fellow students, give them your books, tutor them, let them bum rides off you all the time, do their children's homework for them, write scholarship essays for them, or run study groups on their behalf. I ran into a lot of trouble because I made the mistake of being "overly generous" with my time and books. When becoming the free "class helper" became too overwhelming for me and I decided to stop, a few students were pretty sore about that and attempted to make the rest of the semester as miserable as possible for me. I know we are future nurses and we to help everyone but people can and will take advantage, then make life unpleasant for you if you ever want to stop. Unless you're getting paid to help someone, remember Nancy Reagan's pearl or wisdom from the 80's and "just say no!"

Specializes in Infusion.

Good point FL - I wouldn't even critique someone's essay. We have a great writing center at our school with plenty of "paid" help. Always claim to be ignorant when someone asks for something that requires a lot of time and effort. If I can't answer a person question in a minute, they need to do more research or contemplation. Believe me, things are just as unclear for the good students.

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

Stay away from negative people and the people that have to make a huge deal out of everything. Nursing school doesn't have to BE your life, it can be a PART of your life.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.

Encourage and verbally support your classmates, even if they irritate the hell out of you. You might have to work with them one day.

Don't get into a crappy nursing school just because they will accept you with low GPA. Those nursing schools' graduates are now crying for failing NCLEX multiple times. Check the school's pass rate before applying, and keep your pre-requisite GPA really high. Don't believe those who will say "don't worry about a 4.0 GPA, my school accepted me with a 2.7"...

This isn't for me that I wish someone had told me. I am talking to anyone who consider nursing. General advice to every future nursing students.

Why does it sound like American nursing school sounds so much more intense?? But the same applies to any country, here in Australia we have universities who accept the lower achievers.. such as myself! Yes, 2 days of university a week might sound great initially, but in the end you:

-Spend 90% of your holidays on placement, while all other uni students are having fun in the sun.

-Have terrible course coordinators and therefore you really don't learn the RELEVANT information such as how to perform a laporotomy and where or where not to cut, all because the coordinator was a surgical nurse - (I would love to perform one.. thank you for that information, next theatre rotation I will be sure to ask the surgeon if I can make the incision -sarcasm)

-Terrible student support, if you are unsure of something and you ask your teacher, they refer you to the textbook most likely because they're either A-too lazy to explain or B-don't know the answer themselves

-They have too many students to supply placements, so some end up having their first ward placement at the end of 2nd year

-You rock up to clinicals and have NO idea what to do because you learnt so much about how to make incisions and not how to dress the wound.

*point of the matter if you got sick of listening to me complain - It DOES matter which school you go to.

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