Nursing School 101: What Professors Won t Tell You

Transcription

1 Nursing School 101: What Professors Won t Tell You 5 Tips to Make Nursing School as Easy as Possible and How to Prepare for Clinical

2 Nurse in the Works is Your Nursing Mentor Know your possibilities with nursing.

3 1. Ask a senior student how your professors test. Every professor tests differently. Do your professors test based on their presentations or do they use the textbook s pre-made test bank? Maybe a mixture? I certainly don t know but seniors at your school of nursing surely do! Ask your professors if they recommend a senior mentor to help you get acquainted with nursing school. Offer to take this senior student out to lunch (yes, you buy their meal ). Then, during lunch you ll get the scoop on your professors. They ll be happy to share. Learn how to prepare for the tests so you don t spin your wheels focusing on the wrong content.

4 2. Focus on your weak areas. Learning nursing school content is a lot like speed dating. You quickly move from one topic to the next. The only problem with these blind dates is that you ll have to have a second date with those topics you dislike the most! Go ahead and date the creeps. Accept the fact that you ll have to work on your weak areas. Don t spend time reviewing simple concepts that come easy to you. Focus on your weak links. Maybe you have a tough time with concepts related to understanding endocrine hormones and maternity nursing. Focus on those areas even if it s painful to do so. The good news is that you don t have to get a job and work in areas of nursing that don t interest to you. Decide now to study your weak areas and then move on.

5 3. Look busy at clinical and ask intelligent questions. This may seem obvious, but if you look like you don t have enough to do at clinical, your professor will find you something to occupy your time. Do what you know to do, like performing assessments, or help out a fellow nursing student in need. Ask questions of the licensed nurse(s) that is/are assigned to your patient(s). But whatever you do don t look bored or uninterested. Even if you aren t interested, pretend to be. Ask intelligent questions and smile act happy to be there. Seem interested. Fake it until you make it (not faking clinical skills you don t know how to do ask questions about how to perform these skills, as safety is a priority), but your level of excitement and professionalism. Be sure to contribute to the overall experience of your clinical group.

6 4. Plan your time. Block times for reviewing content. Whether you use a calendar, smart phone, or old school paper planners, be sure to use a scheduling system. If you tend to procrastinate and it causes you stress, then after every lecture, review your notes in blocks of 10 minutes. It may not seem like much time, but 10 minutes increments a few times a day sure beats cramming the night before a test. Have study moments when you can devote at least 30 minutes of focused review to your content. Another strategy is to review 5 things any time you find you have extra time. 5 a day keeps the panic away!

7 5. Practice NCLEX questions on specific test-related content BEFORE you take your tests. I know you think I m crazy, but practice NCLEX questions are the way to go. Practice NCLEX questions will teach you how to think like a nurse. Anyone can learn new content. But not everyone can ACE a nursing test. The answer is to complete practice NCLEX questions. Check out for NCLEX review recommendations. Hint: your loved ones and ask them to help encourage you in nursing school by supporting you with an NCLEX study tool!

8 This Guide is Just the Tip of the Iceberg! Want to Know More?

9 Nursing School 101: Get Ahead of the Class Want to get a "heads up" on how to handle the unknowns of nursing school, and how to make straight "A's"? You ll learn: What to expect in nursing school How to ACE nursing tests using the "secret sauce" they don't teach you in school The key to keeping life balance so you don't go crazy How to write nursing research papers (this isn't English class) Plus: Discover the antidote to stress & overwhelm Find out who to align yourself with and who to avoid Understand how to best prepare for class, clinical, lab and simulation and so much more! Visit:

10 Nurse in the Works was founded by a nurse educator who has helped both students and practicing nurses find their way in nursing. We were established and created to be your nursing mentor to help you live your best life, while you impact others lives. The Fastest, Most Fun Way to Make Nursing Work for YOU!