Nursing school starts next week, already overwhelmed

Congratulations on getting in! First of all, don't panic now. Trying to look at the whole semester is incredibly overwhelming, but it will be broken down for you. Take it a test at a time. Med math is easy once you figure it out. If you got into nursing school, and you put in the work once you're in it, you can most likely pass.

For tests, get a Fundamentals test question book, like http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Success-Applying-Critical-Thinking-ebook/dp/B00HUS1C9I/ref=pd_sim_351_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=00G4C1FBPSGVJAS48DAH Once you've skimmed/read the chapters for the test, take that test, read the rationales, and re-study the material from questions you missed. Use every source of test questions you can find (your text's online resources, other text's online resources, quizlet, etc) to cover as much material as possible. This will identify the areas you need to spend your time on, so you avoid studying crap you already know. If your school uses ATI, which you'll find out about pretty quickly into classes, use those review modules as a quick summary for the topics you need to review. I usually don't read before class, but use lecture as a guide to my reading. I take notes in powerpoint, so I can easily put a star on the slides the teacher really hits hard, so I know to read that section and all applicable boxes and tables in the text especially thoroughly. The rest, I skim and focus on tables/boxes. For things I need to understand or memorize, I have a dry erase board that I draw everything out on.

For clinical, just get in there and do everything you can. You'll be nervous, but just suck it up and touch every patient in every way you can. Dig in the charts, understand the labs, but most of all follow the nurses around. Watch how they organize their care and do everything they have to do. Take every opportunity you can to do something new, ask questions, or practice assessing. In my experience, if you show you're willing to work fast and follow direction, the nurses will bend over backwards to help you learn. For the first semester especially, the CNAs are incredible resources. They know how to deal hands on with the patients, and I've found that they are really happy to help you if you treat them like the experts in personal care they are. Don't be afraid to get dirty. Nursing has a lot of poop and other gross body excretia, and you won't do yourself any favors if you avoid it.

Overall, nursing school is incredibly stressful but really awesome. How many college classes give you on the job interviews for several semesters? Treat clinical like the job interview it is. Keep an attitude of humility and be willing to accept criticism. If you put in the work, you'll be fine. Good luck!

/r/StudentNurse Thread