Foundations
Clinical
Ok, forget your perfect GPA. It's history (at least for most of us). 85 is an AMAZING nursing school grade. Just remember that. I asked Mrs. M to write a recommendation for Denmark for me and she wrote, "She has very good grades." I had Bs. I laughed, but this is nursing school- different criteria apply. It always kind of bugs me when people look down their noses that I went to SW, I feel like saying, "But, but, you don't understand..." I also had a friend tell me before she entered Foundations that she was going to get all As, to which I replied, "Mmmm, hmmmm, get back to me."
Along the same lines, Krystal has this good advice for LPNs: "Take it seriously. Just because you're a LPN doesn't mean you know the all information to pass. I went through the LPN to RN mobility track, & sometimes the thought process of the LPN's is "I already know that...." If you are a LPN, just listen & study. There is plenty you do not know!"
Darlene has this advice: "If you can do it and not
work, DON'T Try to work full time! just way to much to try to learn and juggle
a full time job."
I concur. I saw many people have to drop out because their other demands were too many. That is not to say, it's impossible, but just know it will be a hard two years anyway. Anything you can do to simplify things is helpful.
This is where you learn to think like a nurse. The nursing process and safety are the main concerns of this class. Again, this is information that you will need to build on for the rest of your career They don't call it Foundations for nothing.
This is also where you ought to start building your group cohesiveness that I go on and on about. I really cannot emphasize how important it is to have a support system and that pretty much has to be your classmates because those outsiders are clueless about this whole process. Start a study group. Work on objectives together.
FOUNDATIONS STUDY SHEETS! YOU MIGHT REALLY WANT TO CHECK THESE OUT!
I concur. I saw many people have to drop out because their other demands were too many. That is not to say, it's impossible, but just know it will be a hard two years anyway. Anything you can do to simplify things is helpful.
This is where you learn to think like a nurse. The nursing process and safety are the main concerns of this class. Again, this is information that you will need to build on for the rest of your career They don't call it Foundations for nothing.
This is also where you ought to start building your group cohesiveness that I go on and on about. I really cannot emphasize how important it is to have a support system and that pretty much has to be your classmates because those outsiders are clueless about this whole process. Start a study group. Work on objectives together.
FOUNDATIONS STUDY SHEETS! YOU MIGHT REALLY WANT TO CHECK THESE OUT!
Yanawn put this in the comment below, but it's so important, I want to add it here:
"Also, get a GOOD study partner in the beginning that you can keep throughout the program. You should read on your own and meet to study what you already know. Going over questions together and being able to talk it out with someone is great! Even if you aren't getting them all right don't get discouraged. Read the rationales and each of you make a list to review later. Talking through the answer gives you a better understanding...."
Remember you have to do a project that goes something like this:
It's a hard project because you have to figure out how to get 4 or 5 very busy nursing students who live in different parts of town together to make a skit or video or game show. It seems like a waste of time, but I will say this over and over-ANYTHING you do to help you learn fluids and electrolytes is important. You need that knowledge forever. A theme is going to come up in this post-time management. Everything is about how you budget your time.
CLINICAL
TCPS takes way more time than you would think. I think the first time I did it, it took me at least 2 hours, probably closer to 3. So budget time for this because there is a lot of administrative business to take care of at the beginning.
Talking of the administrative stuff, it can seem a little overwhelming. this is where helping each other and having a Facebook group helps. You can remind each other of when things are due. One of my best organizational tips is to write things with a dry erase marker on the mirror of my bathroom. I had a fair percentage of the class doing this before the end of nursing school.
Get a good stethoscope and equipment. I did not buy the kit that SW offers. I got my own stethoscope penlight, bandage scissors and EKG calipers. Get quality stuff-you will have it forever. I got a clinical bag and a good alarm clock or three. Buy a million black pens. You can buy all-white shoes at Payless. They don't need to be expensive, after eight hours on your feet even the most expensive shoes are bloody uncomfortable.
And learn to do THIS really well...
I also had a 'checklist' on the door of my closet that was specifically for clinical. Reminding me of what I needed to bring
The first six weeks of clinical are spent in the lab. I had Foundations clinical with Mr. K. Could not have asked for a better teacher to teach me the basics. Toward the middle of 4th semester I saw him coming out of the lab with a Foundations clinical group and it hit me how boring it must be to teach a bunch of newbies how to use a stethoscope So I appreciate even more how diligent he was in preparing us. Your clinical instructors are your first line of defense in getting through this semester. They have a lot of knowledge to impart to you about every aspect of nursing.
Practice your basic skills on your family members. I am not talking about putting a Foley in, here. Just basic stuff like pulses and breath sounds. Although, I have a sterile IV starter kit sitting on my shelf that I bought off the internet and everyone in my family is too wimpy to let me use it. Hmmmm.
Remember that there are videos on PAWS to help you get basic skills down. Watch them-they help. As usual youtube is full of resources.
Don't underestimate the importance of basic procedures. NCLEX now has 'hotspot' questions where you will be asked to click on things like where to palpate a liver and where Erb's point is. Learn it well now.
Get a good nursing care plan book or two or three. Nursing care plans suck. Make it as easy on yourself as you can. Get a good drug guide. I didn't discover until the end of fourth semester that there was are lab guide books. that would have made my life infinitely easier. You are going to be surprised at how long clinical paperwork takes. It was like having a part-time job. This is another time budgeting issue. Beside the clinical itself, the paperwork takes about 10-15 hours a week at first. Budget 15-25 hours a week for it in addition to class time and study time. The best words you hear in semester four are, "After this week there is no more paperwork." They might be among the best words you ever hear in your life. And definitely DON'T ask someone ahead of you for their care plans. THEY know, I promise.
It's a hard project because you have to figure out how to get 4 or 5 very busy nursing students who live in different parts of town together to make a skit or video or game show. It seems like a waste of time, but I will say this over and over-ANYTHING you do to help you learn fluids and electrolytes is important. You need that knowledge forever. A theme is going to come up in this post-time management. Everything is about how you budget your time.
5 Tips To Taking Care Of Yourself As A Nursing Student
But prepared not to have much of a life for two years. Elicit the help of friends and family-you're going to need it.
Talk to all the nurses you know and do research about what specialty might be good for you. I love getting ideas from people who have been there.
CLINICAL
TCPS takes way more time than you would think. I think the first time I did it, it took me at least 2 hours, probably closer to 3. So budget time for this because there is a lot of administrative business to take care of at the beginning.
Talking of the administrative stuff, it can seem a little overwhelming. this is where helping each other and having a Facebook group helps. You can remind each other of when things are due. One of my best organizational tips is to write things with a dry erase marker on the mirror of my bathroom. I had a fair percentage of the class doing this before the end of nursing school.
Get a good stethoscope and equipment. I did not buy the kit that SW offers. I got my own stethoscope penlight, bandage scissors and EKG calipers. Get quality stuff-you will have it forever. I got a clinical bag and a good alarm clock or three. Buy a million black pens. You can buy all-white shoes at Payless. They don't need to be expensive, after eight hours on your feet even the most expensive shoes are bloody uncomfortable.
And learn to do THIS really well...
I also had a 'checklist' on the door of my closet that was specifically for clinical. Reminding me of what I needed to bring
The first six weeks of clinical are spent in the lab. I had Foundations clinical with Mr. K. Could not have asked for a better teacher to teach me the basics. Toward the middle of 4th semester I saw him coming out of the lab with a Foundations clinical group and it hit me how boring it must be to teach a bunch of newbies how to use a stethoscope So I appreciate even more how diligent he was in preparing us. Your clinical instructors are your first line of defense in getting through this semester. They have a lot of knowledge to impart to you about every aspect of nursing.
Practice your basic skills on your family members. I am not talking about putting a Foley in, here. Just basic stuff like pulses and breath sounds. Although, I have a sterile IV starter kit sitting on my shelf that I bought off the internet and everyone in my family is too wimpy to let me use it. Hmmmm.
Remember that there are videos on PAWS to help you get basic skills down. Watch them-they help. As usual youtube is full of resources.
Don't underestimate the importance of basic procedures. NCLEX now has 'hotspot' questions where you will be asked to click on things like where to palpate a liver and where Erb's point is. Learn it well now.
Get a good nursing care plan book or two or three. Nursing care plans suck. Make it as easy on yourself as you can. Get a good drug guide. I didn't discover until the end of fourth semester that there was are lab guide books. that would have made my life infinitely easier. You are going to be surprised at how long clinical paperwork takes. It was like having a part-time job. This is another time budgeting issue. Beside the clinical itself, the paperwork takes about 10-15 hours a week at first. Budget 15-25 hours a week for it in addition to class time and study time. The best words you hear in semester four are, "After this week there is no more paperwork." They might be among the best words you ever hear in your life. And definitely DON'T ask someone ahead of you for their care plans. THEY know, I promise.
Also, get a GOOD study partner in the beginning that you can keep throughout the program. You should read on your own and meet to study what you already know. Going over questions together and being able to talk it out with someone is great! Even if you aren't getting them all right don't get discouraged. Read the rationales and each of you make a list to review later. Talking through the answer gives you a better understanding....
ReplyDeleteThanks Yanawn!!!
ReplyDelete