Papers, Concept Maps, Case Studies

Good afternoon! I'm in the middle of cooking dinner and I thought I would get a quick post in. Nursing school never fails to amaze me. When you are getting ready for it, it seems so overwhelming how much you do BEFORE you start the actual nursing classes. When you're actually doing the classes, it's just a never-ending list of to-do's. The reason I bring this up is that I was reading another blog about how nervous people are before they start applying to nursing schools. I'll admit, I didn't go through that because I had an epiphany and knew this is what I was supposed to do. But, a word of advice, when you actually get here it's just busy. Not Oh-my-God-I'll-never-make-it-through hard, just really busy. Some of the information is difficult, don't let me fool you, but it becomes a long list of things that you check off as done. If I looked at my whole semester and what I had to get done, I would have a stroke! I need to take one section at a time. Mostly, one test at a time. Then I break down all the assignments I have to turn in , do all the notecards (flashcards) for the info I need to know, and then I study. I think most of the info is definitely able to be learned, I think you just need to keep focused, let some steam off a couple of times a semester, and remember what you're doing it for. This spring break I have done OB math problems, reading, a communications paper, concept maps, milestones for a physical assessment class, and listened to my lecture on my iPod. It sounds like a lot but I paced myself and by Sunday night, I'll be prepared for the next two weeks. But in those two weeks, I'll be completing things like my notecards for the next test. If you keep up with the work, it will not overwhelm you, but if you get behind it is very difficult to dig your way back to tbeing on top of your work.
So, in closing, nusing school is hard. It takes time away from your social life and family life. If you keep up with it, you can find amazingly rewarding experiences at every clinical day. Even when you feel stressed and tired, those days when you help people or when you learn something you've never done before more than make up for the amount of time you put into it. Hope this helps someone someday :) Lots of Blessings, Mary