#nursingschooladvice

[simonern]

What I would do differently my first semester of nursing school.

1. GO TO SLEEP! I did not sleep my first semester of nursing school. I would stay up until 3am studying for my exams just because I was so scared and anxiety would take me over. I would be exhausted the next day and dozing off near the end of my exams. Plan your day in a way where you can make sure you get to bed earlier. And then the night before an exam mark what you don’t understand or need to review and wake up really early before your exam to go over it, rather than staying up until 2 am.

2. Go to the career center to brush up my resume and get information in advance to get an externship or pct job for the summer. If you know you want to get an externship for the summer don’t wait last minute to do it. Talk to your academic advisor or go to the career center to get the help you need.

3. Eat healthier! Try to minimize the amount of junk food you eat on a regular basis. You are going to be tired alllllll the time starting from day one. Eating junk food often will just make you feel more sluggish then you already are. There is nothing wrong with a treat here and there but don’t over do it.

4. SAVE MONEY. Save as much money as you can before you start the program! Trust me lol.

[simonern]

My biggest mistake second semester of nursing school.

The biggest mistake I made my second semester in my program was studying like my friends. After having a conversation with two of my classmates about our psych class I started to feel like maybe the way I study was “extra” and I should trust myself that I can learn the material in a shorter amount of time. Long story short I studied the night before and made the lowest grade I have made in my program. It dropped my test average so low I had to meet with my academic advisor for a midterm warming 😬. I was so upset with myself and my anxiety went through the roof for the rest of that semester.

In the end I did really well and got an A and B+ on the last two exams, thank God. But that experience taught me that I have to stay in my lane and just do what works for me. It’s great to get study tips from friends and learn new techniques and try something new but proceed with caution.

Just because you have to study for an exam four days in adavance and your friends can study the night before and get an A, it doesn’t mean that your doing anything wrong.

[freshrn]

OMG I'm done with orientation.. now what!?

I forgot about the second most scary day of being a new grad! The first is your very first day, the second is your very first day on your own. While I feel there is nothing I be scared of, it's still a scary thing to us newbies! Suddenly we are all alone! Out to fend for ourselves in a sea of demented patients, impatient doctors, and smelly poops. Alas, you are not alone (I just sang that in my Michael Jackson voice, no big deal). Your fellow nurses are here with you (again, Michael Jackson voice). But really, you're not alone. Hopefully you've spent some of you orientation building relationships with your coworkers. Maybe there's a few you're particularly comfortable with. Look on the schedule to see who you're working with those first few shifts. Pick one person and speak to them at the beginning of the shift and say, "Sooo I'm all by myself today and a little terrified. I may come to you with bunches of questions. Number one; is that ok? And number two, sorry in advance for annoying you." They'll be happy you took the time to pull them aside and also happy you want to look to them for guidance. You'll feel safe, knowing there is someone on the floor who is aware of what's going on. You'll be a little less worried this way. "Don't worry young nursling, I'll protect you!" .. says Nurse Eye Roll to all her new grads. When things start to get crazy, as they will, stop and prioritize. At the beginning, you'll want to do all of the tasky/non-scary things first. You know, all that stuff you really know how to do (blood sugars, passing PO meds, dealing with the nonverbal patient with family that doesn't ask questions, etc). While you're awesome for knowing how to do those things and will do them flawlessly, make sure you don't put off the more important/scarier stuff until it becomes a problem (starting a heparin drip, calling a doc, dealing with a mad family member). You can really get yourself in a bind, so jump in and get it over with. Get into a routine and stick to it for a little bit before you change things up. You can get confused, forget things, and get behind. Don't be afraid to delegate! You must delegate to your lovely and amazing techs because there are things that only you, as the patient's nurse, can do! Don't feel bad, that's their job and you're just doing yours by appropriately delegating. And don't forget to say thank you 😊 Good luck and CONGRATS on finishing nursing school, passing boards, getting a job, and getting through orientation! You're awesome!