What do you wish you were told on the first day?

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What do you wish you were told on the first day? My students have already been through orientation, but I would love to find some great ways to break the ice and to encourage them. I want them to know that if they work hard, they can succeed. What have you been told that was helpful/encouraging? What do you wish you had been told?

Wow, a lot of this sounds vicious!! I start nursing school in October, and this has made me a little more nervous:no:

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Wow, a lot of this sounds vicious!! I start nursing school in October, and this has made me a little more nervous:no:

im currently in a community college and i do agree with being told things like "you might as well drop out now" or "not all of you will make it". they are vicious in the beginning, its used to sift through the group and see whos strong enough. but once you're in the program, i know my instructors are great and they've been holding my hand the whole way through. they really care about my learning and succeeding and that is a huge benefit of going to a small community college, more one on one time. its really about getting your foot in the door and proving that you ARE worthy of being there and succeeding. they just want to see your motivation, so show it to them. you will be fine, believe me!! nursing school is one of the hardest things i've ever done, but its been such a incredible journey and i never regret starting it.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
That's how most community colleges are unfortunately. They don't provide much support to students so their graduation rates are in the toilet.

Nah. "Most" is a subjective term. There are many good schools in this area. Mine in particular I can speak to. We are a family,the atmosphere is extremely positive and we are in the top three for ALL nursing programs in the state of Texas, both in terms of NCLEX pass rate and student retention from acceptance to graduation. We've been nothing but positively encouraged from day one. Others I am meeting through my externship at the hospital say similar things about their own 2 year programs in this area.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.
Tyler77, while your insights may seem useful, they aren't in any way answering the posters questions. As a matter of fact, the instructor telling her new students all of these things would not make them feel like they could succeed, nor would they be helpful or encouraging, as the poster requested.

I disagree... if my class had been given the list of "advice" Tyler77 gave on Day 1 and maybe again on Day 45, 99% of the drama could be erased and focus returned to class and clinical and not the distractions.

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Specializes in Psych.
That's how most community colleges are unfortunately. They don't provide much support to students so their graduation rates are in the toilet.

I definitely disagree with this. I am at a community college and our instructors could not be more caring or more nurturing. They have proven time and time again that they are here for OUR success. Our NCLEX pass rate is actually one of the highest in the state, and our program is very highly regarded. There are people that graduate at my school that get jobs over BSN students for no other reason than they came from OUR program.

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You guys are definitely getting away from the point. The word 'most' was used to describe the CCs, not the word 'all'. It's all based on opinion. That person had a bad experience, sorry, glad you were able to have a better time in a university. :up: You are having a good experience, that's wonderful. :up:

My local CC is in the dumps too from what I heard. I think it's mostly because students do not see their CC as a of place of enrichment and nurture but rather as a cheap:twocents: way to gain general education credits and move on.

Back to the OP, I start this coming August. I would love to be told, "Don't think you aren't good enough. You obviously are since you were accepted. You wouldn't be here if the faculty and admissions staff thought you do not belong here. You are all in this together, I am here to be your guidance. Do not hesitate to ask for help."

It sounds a little cheesy, but hey, it warms the heart. From your initial post, it is easy to tell that you are definitely a caring instructor. Please express this to your students. I hope to have an instructor like you.:redbeathe

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I started at a community college before transferring to a university.

At the community college, I felt like the instructors tried to scare us. Things were said like, "You'd might as well drop out now." and "Not all of you will make it."

At the university, we were told from day one, "You can do it. You're all family now and your goal is to make sure that EVERYONE passes. You need each other. You're smart and have a lot to offer, or else you wouldn't have made it this far."

And you know what? At the community college, everyone was very clique-y and we did not feel united at all and it wasn't a comforting environment. At the university, I feel like we are all united and there are no cliques. It's a nice atmosphere. I think that is owed to the teachers who from the start told us they believed in us. I don't think scare tactics do anyone a bit of good.

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I agree about the community college. We only attended the Nursing Program Meeting and the director was using that same discouraging tone. It actually worked on some of the people in the meeting and they were then talking about other program options. I felt that was wrong for the director to talk to these people in such a discouraging manner.

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I definitely disagree with this. I am at a community college and our instructors could not be more caring or more nurturing. They have proven time and time again that they are here for OUR success. Our NCLEX pass rate is actually one of the highest in the state, and our program is very highly regarded. There are people that graduate at my school that get jobs over BSN students for no other reason than they came from OUR program.

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And which college do you attend, only if you don't mind sharing.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.

Thanks to those who have posted. I am taking notes. I know what I would have wanted to hear when I was a student (you can do it, work hard, etc) but you never know what will be helpful to others. I became a nurse educator because the example set for me was a poor one, and I wanted to make a difference.

I must say, it has been awhile since I've been in your shoes, so any other advice on what information would help you is great.

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@LivetoLearn: where do you teach??

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.

As I often give examples from my own practice, I will not identify my place of employment. I wouldn't want any of my students to feel I have violated their trust. It is hard to earn trust, harder still to win it back :) I hope you understand my reasoning. I care deeply about my students.

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Boy, it would be nice if you were one of my instructors. Thanks for being so considerate!

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