1st 8 weeks:
- Human Nutrition
- Professional Nursing Concepts
- Abnormal Psychology
- Professional Nursing Concepts
2nd 8 weeks:
- Fundamentals of Nursing clinical
- Dosage Calculations
All Semester:
- Pathophysiology
- Pharmacology
Time management, time management, time management.
Figure out what works for you and do it. I read before I started school that learning how to manage your time is actually one of the hardest things to do in nursing school. If you're in an accelerated program I think this is especially true. You have to keep track of 8 million due dates and figure out when you're going to read, listen to lectures, study, do assignments, prepare for lab/clinicals, have a LIFE. It sucks.... and its not really that easy.
One way that I dealt with this in the beginning was using a time map. This lets you visually see where you are spending most of your time and it also helps you see where you have free time. I also had a calendar where I wrote down all the important things going on: tests, due dates, clinicals, etc. Mostly I would sit down at the beginning of every week and write out a to do list for that week and go off of that. I miraculously only missed one due date I think the entire semester.
Schedule relaxation time
As much as you'll hate it you do have to relax at some point. Or at least I did. There was no way it was going to be healthy for me to go full steam at this for four months. I would have lost my mind more than I already did.
Schedule time where you go to the movies, hang out with friends (if they haven't all abandoned you :D), DRINK (this one is important...), go out to dinner or just sit and read a book. Aimlessly surfing the internet is allowed too. As much as you will feel guilty for NOT STUDYING, just do it. You have to take time to take care of yourself or you will burn yourself out super fast. Know yourself, know how much time you need and what you can spare in your schedule/study load
Find a study group/ support group
*If these things help you* I mean I think everybody can benefit from a support group, but study groups are on an individual basis. I found a couple of fellow students to study with and I think it helped me. Also, its nice to be able to blow off steam and you can all relate because you're complaining about the same program! Just having someone that can talk you through an assignment, help you answer a question or simply commiserate with you is super nice.
Know when to ask for help
Also, know where to find help. Do you need a tutor in a class? What about a study group? Ask the professor, ask your academic advisor, ask a counselor, ask your fellow students.
Figure out how you learn best
This one was super hard for me. I'm not sure that I ever learned how to study that well in school and my previous degree. Also, the way that I studied kind of changed for each class. But experiment, figure out what works for you and what obviously doesn't.
For example I used notecards for nutrition and pharm. I tried notecards for patho but it didn't really seem to work (although I just kind of sucked at patho all around). I used the resources that came with the textbook for fundamentals and answered al the NCLEX style questions it provided. I also did the study guides for fundamentals because her tests were exactly from her study guides (other classes not so much).
Honestly it's never to early to start working on NCLEX prep or NCLEX style questions. All of my fundamentals test were nclex style... and a lot of people struggled with them. If you've got access to Kaplan use it. Although it sucks because it will look like you don't know anything (you dont! it's your first semester), it can be helpful.
The thing I kept in mind most of the semester was: I will get through this. Every other nurse has done this and so I can too (especially the ones that don't seem particularly bright...). I would also remind myself that this will be so worth it in the end, when I graduate and get the job that I want.
What are your first semester survival tips? How did you make it through?
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