Nursing School Life
Dive into topics surrounding nursing school, study tips and more.
Study Tips
Chest Tube NCLEX® Questions [Walkthrough]
I remember being a brand new nurse and having to deal with a patient who had a chest tube for the first time – it was a little scary! Chest tubes are fairly common in the hospital setting, so there is a good chance that you’ll manage the care of a patient who has one at some point during your nursing career (and it may be earlier on than you expect).
Patient Positions: A Nursing Student’s Comprehensive Guide
As nursing students, we strive to become the best advocates and caregivers for our patients. Among all of the technical information we have to know, everything comes back to the basics of nursing. What are the basics? Well, one essential skill is the art of patient positioning which comes up over and over again the further you get into your program. After all, it plays a vital role in patient comfort, safety, and the efficacy of medical procedures.
Make the Most of Your Study Time with Learning Modalities (Learning How to Learn)
If you’re in nursing school or are getting ready to start, buckle up, because there is a lot to be learned. From pharmacology to patient assessments, the amount of information that one person absorbs during their time in nursing school is incredible. This is why most nursing students find themselves spending countless hours poring over text book chapters and lecture notes. If you want to make the most of your study time, then figuring out which learning modality works best for you might be all that you need.
How to Study for Maternity Nursing (+ Tips for Clinicals)
Maternity and Newborn Nursing is a specialty of nursing practice that focuses on patients in pregnancy, postpartum, and newborn stages. Since the body changes a lot during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and since caring for newborns is different than caring for clients in any other stage of life, nurses need specialized knowledge in this sphere. That is why there is an entire course and clinical rotation in nursing school dedicated to it.
How to Practice Clinical Skills at Home
Skills labs are a critical aspect of nursing school but can be difficult for students. Luckily, there are several ways to practice clinical skills in the comfort of your home. Here are some unique ways to hone your skills at home without the resources of a skills lab such as mannequins or patient simulations.
How to Study for Dosage Calculation in Nursing School
There are quite a handful of classes in nursing school that students have difficulty with, though Medication Dosage Calculation, or “Dose Calc” may be one of the most common. Even if you consider yourself good at math, the dose calculations tend to be tricky.
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Life in Nursing School
How to Best Utilize Office Hours in Nursing School
I remember being in nursing school and having office hours offered by all of my professors. To be entirely honest, I never really utilized office hours–other than in special circumstances. In hindsight, I totally wish I had taken advantage of office hours more back in nursing school because they were a great opportunity to get to know my professors better and could have made a difference in how well I did in a class.
Finding A School/Work/Life Balance in Nursing – Is it Possible?
One of the toughest things anyone in school or with a career has to navigate is the fine line between enjoying their personal lives and achieving success either professionally or academically. In fact, you’ll often see hordes of people drop out of school or leave a position at work because, for whatever reason, they can’t find that balance.
The Best Nursing Schools in Hawaii
Attending nursing school is challenging. You want to make sure you have the best professors and resources on your side to make the process as smooth as possible. If you’ve decided to attend nursing school in Hawaii (good choice, by the way!) then rest assured, you’ve got plenty of great options. Below, I’m sharing some of the best nursing schools in Hawaii and what makes them special.
AIDET for Patient Communication [+ Examples]
Communicating clearly with patients is one of the most important skills you will gain as a nurse. When first starting out, it may feel awkward or new when you have to speak and build rapport with patients. Despite any awkwardness, I encourage you to push through it to develop the communication skills necessary to build trust with your patients and ensure that they feel seen and heard. AIDET is a helpful tool that can help you communicate clearly with your patients and ensure that they feel safe. Keep reading to find out more about AIDET and how to use it.
LPN vs RN – and How to Become an LPN
If you’re a future or new LPN, keep reading to understand the various healthcare settings in which you can work, how LPNs function as part of a larger team, what the difference is between becoming an LPN or an RN, and how you can kickstart your successful LPN career while in nursing school.
An Ode to Sleep
Oh sleep, oh sleep, oh wherefore art thy restful body gone? If you are anything like me, caring for others’ health comes easily – as if by second nature, but when it comes to the daunting task of taking the time (and a breath now and then) to ensure your own health, this to-do is frequently added to the growing unfinished list for tomorrow.
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Nursing School Survival Guide
Let Nurse Liz guide you through the hardships and pitfalls of nursing school.
Being a Nurse and a Parent: How to Make it Work so You Can Work
Whether you’re pregnant in nursing school or already have a child and are looking for your first nursing job, you might wonder if you can do it all. The answer is yes – a resounding yes – you can be a nurse and parent who is present, available, and committed both at work and home.
Top Tips for Studying and Taking Nursing Exams
It’s no secret, everyone wants to ace their nursing exams. I can’t speak for every nursing student out there but I know that when I was in nursing school, a passing exam was 73% or higher. So passing didn’t just mean not failing, it meant doing pretty well. I always felt so much pressure when I’d sit down to study for an exam or take the actual test. Keeping all of my grades above 73% was new for me, and it was a hefty goal.
A Quick Guide to Nursing Skills Lab
Skills labs are one of the first curveballs that Nursing School will throw at you – sometimes as early as your first-semester Fundamentals class.
How to Study in Nursing School: Prioritizing Guide [+ Examples]
Every nursing student has been there: sitting down to do your assigned readings prior to a lecture and realizing that there’s no way you could possibly read all of the pages you’ve been assigned.
HESI vs. TEAS: Nursing School Entrance Exams Compared
Nursing school is an intense experience in and of itself, but the screening process begins before you even start your BSN. Nowadays, one of the most important filters is the nursing school entrance exam. The two most common are the HESI (Health Education Systems Incorporated) and the TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills).
All About Maintaining Your Nursing License and Handling Your Credentials
Some of you reading this might still be engaged in the nursing school battle, while others could have overcome that challenge and slayed the final opponent known as the NCLEX®. Whatever stage of your nursing professional development, your nursing license, and any additional credentials you’ve worked so hard to obtain, need to be protected and maintained moving forward.
FAQs
Is nursing school hard?
It seems that all over the internet, and especially on social media, you see a lot of nursing students talking about how nursing school is hard and how overwhelmed they are. But: Everyone’s definition of hard is different. And with the right resources, it can be done!
How to survive nursing school
Nursing school is a full-time commitment. To go through nursing school with confidence, preparation and organization is key. Nurse Liz leads you through all the tricky parts of nursing school in her Nursing School Survival Guide: What to expect, how to prepare, and how to deal with the pitfalls.
How to study for nursing school
The most effective way to study for your nursing exams is to combine different learning modalities:
First, deep-dive into the topics with video lessons hosted by competent educators. Next, apply what you’ve learned in practical situations by answering clinical case questions in the Qbank.
Lastly, make sure you retain information long-term by regularly reviewing your knowledge with Spaced-Repetition quizzes.