Summer activities.

[Quine]

First year of nursing school. One week till finals. Summer off.

Question: What are some good activities to keep learning, or at least keep from forgetting everything I've learned over the last year?

My first thought was to start studying for the NCLEX (and I bought one of those prep books with 5000 questions).

As nurses, what resources have you found that helped you along with your studies? For doctors or MD students, are there any books or sources that made you think "I wish nurses would read this."

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[fab4fan]

Honestly? Enjoy your summer.

Don't go off the deep end trying to study for NCLEX now. You'll be going over questions on material you haven't even covered; you're not ready for it yet. Don't make yourself crazy. Take advantage of the break. Rest up and have the fun with your friends you didn't have the time for when you were in school. If you want to read some nursing journals that's OK, but really, you're on break for a reason.

No offense, but few doctors really have a good grasp of what nurses do. Asking them what they think we should know is kind of like opening Pandora's box. Besides, many who post here are pre-med/med students/interns, not experienced physicians. You'd be better off asking experienced nurses what nursing students/new nurses should know but often don't.

 

[Quine]

Honestly? Enjoy your summer.

Don't go off the deep end trying to study for NCLEX now. You'll be going over questions on material you haven't even covered; you're not ready for it yet. Don't make yourself crazy. Take advantage of the break. Rest up and have the fun with your friends you didn't have the time for when you were in school. If you want to read some nursing journals that's OK, but really, you're on break for a reason.

No offense, but few doctors really have a good grasp of what nurses do. Asking them what they think we should know is kind of like opening Pandora's box. Besides, many who post here are pre-med/med students/interns, not experienced physicians. You'd be better off asking experienced nurses what nursing students/new nurses should know but often don't.

Break sounds good, but at the same time I'm in this mode of constant studying and it's going to be hard to transition. There's so much pressure during the school year that I feel like I should do something to get ahead and maybe it won't be so bad next year. But then again, I'm going to have to lose about thirty pounds just to make up for what I expect to gain next year.

 

[fab4fan]

Break sounds good, but at the same time I'm in this mode of constant studying and it's going to be hard to transition. There's so much pressure during the school year that I feel like I should do something to get ahead and maybe it won't be so bad next year. But then again, I'm going to have to lose about thirty pounds just to make up for what I expect to gain next year.

Please, trust me when I tell you that you should take advantage of the break. Go back and read the first half of your second sentence.

Unless you have access to the course outlines for all of your classes for next year, you can't really effectively study ahead. If your school thought it would be a good idea for you to be studying over your summer break they would give you things to do.

Next year is going to be stressful whether or not you study. If you spend your summer trying to study ahead, all you'll have accomplished is having wasted a much needed break and starting off another stressful year without a well deserved rest.

I don't know how much more forcefully I can say this to you: STEP AWAY FROM THE TEXTBOOKS. PUT DOWN THE NCLEX REVIEW BOOK (and don't pick it up again until you're closer to actually taking NCLEX).

You need breaks. You deserve breaks. Don't squander summer break poring over textbooks.

 

[horsenurse25]

Listen to Fab4. She knows what she is talking about.

Didn't they teach SELF CARE in your program???

Unless you did not do very well in grades this past year, give yourself a break and get ready for second year by resting and spending time doing the things you could not During the school year.. If I remember correctly 2nd year is the hardest and most stressful. Don't burn yourself out so early in the game.

I would strongly suggest asking this question on allnurses.com . They will probably tell you the same thing, but at least that way you will get several hundred nurses telling you instead of two! This board is not the most nurse friendly environment. Fab4 is pretty much the only shining light here...

Good luck!

 

[tiredfeetED]

Ahh...summer breaks, those were the days. Well above posters are right, put the nclex books down. If for some crazy reason you get bored, review your first year info. For me the best thing i did was become a nurse extern for the summer on a cardiac floor then continued till graduation.