Saunders Student Nurse Planner: A Guide to Success in Nursing School by Susan C. deWit
How to Survive & Maybe Even Love Nursing School: A Guide for Students by Students by Kelli S. Dunham
This one is more for fun--
Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not by Florence Nightingale
I also have emailed a guy friend who graduated from the same program a few years ago, asking what to expect, any advice for a first year student, anything you wish you'd known before starting, etc...
What I've gathered is that the nursing instructors will not try to be your friends. I think this especially helpful to note. If you are a person that needs constant positive feedback...realize that it probably won't be coming from your instructors. One friend wrote: "There is a saying 'Nurses eat their young.' This seems to be true when you're in nursing school. It seems that they do not want you to pass but [in actuality] they are trying to get you to think on your own and you end up sinking or swimming in the process. They are helpful and do want you to succeed, though for the most part it may not seem like it...."
"Nursing is not just information but a thought process and prioritizing care. There are a few different methods for prioritization of care that you will learn as you go through nursing school. It is not important to know whether you got a question wrong or not but why. The rationales will help a lot with learning what you need to focus on and why you would do one thing instead of another..."
"The big thing is to learn how to speed read. In the first year of nursing school we had to go to the Learning Center and take a test on how we learn best and this was a huge help because it tells you your learning strengths and weaknesses and they also gave us help with learning how to speed read. This is a huge help when you have to read a few hundred pages overnight."
The hope for this blog is to share my experiences, but also to provide tips, suggestions, things to think about...books, what nursing school is like (from my perspective). Something that I can pass along to the next newbie group.
Talking with those who have gone before (or reading their books), in my opinion, is just plan smart. Know what to expect and go in with eyes and ears open, ready to go, fully resourced and organized, with proven strategies--BUT NOT COCKY. Um...there's a reason they call it nursing SCHOOL. My goal is to go in humility, yet confident in my ability to be successful. To be positive, hopeful and encouraging to my fellow students (I do not want to join the "Complain Train"). I do want to have good relationships with my instructors and advisors. I'm not sure how to do that or if it's even possible. But I definitely don't want them to dislike me or be annoyed by me. I really want to hear on graduation day that they noticed I worked hard and was determined to be successful (even when struggling). That they appreciated that I did not join the Complain Train but realized the value of my training...all of it. I want them (and my peers) to see Christ in me (gulp). I want my instructors to see that I take seriously my role as student nurse and that I am practicing what I will eventually teach my patients (including losing weight, being more intentional about exercising and eating right).
Apparently there are a number of Nursing School video blogs on YouTube. My only complaint is that they don't say much...there's a lot of wasted time while they think about what to say.
Oh, just ordered a digital voice recorder to record class lectures to mp3 format so that I can listen to them when I am in the car or reviewing my notes.
So much to do before school starts next Tuesday... car into shop, cook up Tomato-Basil soup (yum!), return a few things to various stores, clean/vacuum car, plant Basil plants and flowers, get haircut...wish I wasn't working too...LOL.
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