So you are considering nursing school?
12-12-22
Well, first off no matter what your age, I am so proud of you for taking steps to secure your future! I know preparing for entrance exams can be daunting! Stop right there and turn that fear into preparation. That is where many of us go wrong, we let fear and anxiety manifest in ways that have no benefit and oftentimes hinder our full potential. Here are several tips to help you better prepare yourself for what lies ahead from someone whom failed their way through over half of high school before taking a go to alternative school just so I could graduate with my class. All while living out of my car, but that is a story for another time. I ended up getting done a semester early and was still able to walk with my class at my high school graduation! To say I have learned to live by the skin of my teeth is an understatement which is not an uncommon occurrence for most of the people I knew growing up, I mean at least I HAD a car. Some call it the struggle, I call it character building. Life is all about perspective.
1. Time and Effort… Figure out how much time and effort you are really able to expend before you commit! Nothing is worse than putting in the effort to study for entrance exams, be accepted to Nursing School to realize later that you do not have the time or energy to commit and/or failing out of your classes. Nursing School is not for the faint of heart, this is true and nothing can better prepare you than to be flexible and make some hard decisions now on what you may need to cut out of your life to accommodate room for Nursing School. Yes, unfortunately for most this may mean a pay cut. Working during Nursing School is hard and at our school it is recommended to work under 16 hours the first three semesters and not at all the last. That may mean you need to conserve your funds like you never have before. No more weekend shopping trips, skipping out on the concert all your friends are going to and it’s about time you learn to pack your lunch. Start considering all the ways your current lifestyle may be affected by making the huge commitment to apply to Nursing School. If you’re still considering move to tip 2!
2. Speak to the schools in your area. Make a list of questions you may have regarding admission or financial aid beforehand easing any worries of forgetting to ask the right questions. This is a good time to find out what entrance exam they require, what you may be able to get out of the way ahead of starting class or what financial aid you may qualify for. Maybe class doesn’t start for 8 months but they have pre-requisites you must obtain before applying or general education classes you can start getting out of the way to set you up better for the rough classes that will lay ahead. There is no shame in taking more time to complete schooling if that works best for your life. I took all but one of my General Education classes prior to even applying to the Nursing program as stated before I had failed my way through high school and I knew my best bet at success was easing into it. Make steps in the direction that works best for you. Not every path is the same and that is ok!
3. Make yourself a priority! “You can not pour from an empty cup”, as they say. Figure out relaxation methods that work for you now. Speak kindly to yourself and give yourself grace in the process. I know this can be a hard habit to start and even harder to keep up with however it is ever so important in conquering self doubt. I would be so bold as to say our own self doubt is the single biggest hindrance to our own growth. At times in my life, I have had to use the “fake it till you make it” ideology. I’ve spent my fair share of giving myself pep talks and speaking positive affirmations to quiet the self doubt . Courage is not being unafraid, it is continuing despite the fear. Things are not always going to go our way however failure is a great part of success and we must learn to see it as such. That often must start with retraining your brain, don’t be letting you get in the way of you!
4. Always keep in mind, “THEY CAN’T EAT YOU!”. My mother has said this to me more times in my life than I can count. Growing up I was a shy child, I dare not raise my hand in class, I did not go to prom or God forbid do ANYTHING that may draw attention to myself. While traveling the many phases of my life I have used this saying more times than I care to admit. Again, faking it till I made it. This can be applied to so many aspects. The exam can not eat you. The instructors cannot eat you. Your classmates cannot eat you. And if you have a morbid sense of humor like me then you are thinking, well yeah they technically they can but it’s frowned upon then…. same<— but that is letting the negative in which we talked about in tip 3! “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no,” so ask the question, raise your hand, “they can’t eat you!”
5. USE YOUR RESOURCES! So you are pretty set on going if you have read this far! Well it’s time to get things in order to prepare for those pesky entrance exams and the unknown can be terrifying. Again, do your best to place your energy into something more beneficial instead of feeding the anxiety. Take a walk, or a drive and grab yourself a snack, a cute little notebook and your favorite pen and hit YouTube! YouTube will be your best friend throughout nursing school. The knowledge available at your fingertips is like never before and your best bet is getting familiar with it now! Search for videos on prepping for your particular entrance exams and take some notes. Pay attention to the books or resources they recommend that you use to prepare. There is so much nursing school content that it will give you plenty of resource ideas to get started.
I hope this has helped at least a tad and again, I am proud of you! Hope you find yourself back here plenty of times in our journey in Nursing School and onto being a nurse together!
Well, first off no matter what your age, I am so proud of you for taking steps to secure your future! I know preparing for entrance exams can be daunting! Stop right there and turn that fear into preparation. That is where many of us go wrong, we let fear and anxiety manifest in ways that have no benefit and oftentimes hinder our full potential. Here are several tips to help you better prepare yourself for what lies ahead from someone whom failed their way through over half of high school before taking a go to alternative school just so I could graduate with my class. All while living out of my car, but that is a story for another time. I ended up getting done a semester early and was still able to walk with my class at my high school graduation! To say I have learned to live by the skin of my teeth is an understatement which is not an uncommon occurrence for most of the people I knew growing up, I mean at least I HAD a car. Some call it the struggle, I call it character building. Life is all about perspective.
1. Time and Effort… Figure out how much time and effort you are really able to expend before you commit! Nothing is worse than putting in the effort to study for entrance exams, be accepted to Nursing School to realize later that you do not have the time or energy to commit and/or failing out of your classes. Nursing School is not for the faint of heart, this is true and nothing can better prepare you than to be flexible and make some hard decisions now on what you may need to cut out of your life to accommodate room for Nursing School. Yes, unfortunately for most this may mean a pay cut. Working during Nursing School is hard and at our school it is recommended to work under 16 hours the first three semesters and not at all the last. That may mean you need to conserve your funds like you never have before. No more weekend shopping trips, skipping out on the concert all your friends are going to and it’s about time you learn to pack your lunch. Start considering all the ways your current lifestyle may be affected by making the huge commitment to apply to Nursing School. If you’re still considering move to tip 2!
2. Speak to the schools in your area. Make a list of questions you may have regarding admission or financial aid beforehand easing any worries of forgetting to ask the right questions. This is a good time to find out what entrance exam they require, what you may be able to get out of the way ahead of starting class or what financial aid you may qualify for. Maybe class doesn’t start for 8 months but they have pre-requisites you must obtain before applying or general education classes you can start getting out of the way to set you up better for the rough classes that will lay ahead. There is no shame in taking more time to complete schooling if that works best for your life. I took all but one of my General Education classes prior to even applying to the Nursing program as stated before I had failed my way through high school and I knew my best bet at success was easing into it. Make steps in the direction that works best for you. Not every path is the same and that is ok!
3. Make yourself a priority! “You can not pour from an empty cup”, as they say. Figure out relaxation methods that work for you now. Speak kindly to yourself and give yourself grace in the process. I know this can be a hard habit to start and even harder to keep up with however it is ever so important in conquering self doubt. I would be so bold as to say our own self doubt is the single biggest hindrance to our own growth. At times in my life, I have had to use the “fake it till you make it” ideology. I’ve spent my fair share of giving myself pep talks and speaking positive affirmations to quiet the self doubt . Courage is not being unafraid, it is continuing despite the fear. Things are not always going to go our way however failure is a great part of success and we must learn to see it as such. That often must start with retraining your brain, don’t be letting you get in the way of you!
4. Always keep in mind, “THEY CAN’T EAT YOU!”. My mother has said this to me more times in my life than I can count. Growing up I was a shy child, I dare not raise my hand in class, I did not go to prom or God forbid do ANYTHING that may draw attention to myself. While traveling the many phases of my life I have used this saying more times than I care to admit. Again, faking it till I made it. This can be applied to so many aspects. The exam can not eat you. The instructors cannot eat you. Your classmates cannot eat you. And if you have a morbid sense of humor like me then you are thinking, well yeah they technically they can but it’s frowned upon then…. same<— but that is letting the negative in which we talked about in tip 3! “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no,” so ask the question, raise your hand, “they can’t eat you!”
5. USE YOUR RESOURCES! So you are pretty set on going if you have read this far! Well it’s time to get things in order to prepare for those pesky entrance exams and the unknown can be terrifying. Again, do your best to place your energy into something more beneficial instead of feeding the anxiety. Take a walk, or a drive and grab yourself a snack, a cute little notebook and your favorite pen and hit YouTube! YouTube will be your best friend throughout nursing school. The knowledge available at your fingertips is like never before and your best bet is getting familiar with it now! Search for videos on prepping for your particular entrance exams and take some notes. Pay attention to the books or resources they recommend that you use to prepare. There is so much nursing school content that it will give you plenty of resource ideas to get started.
I hope this has helped at least a tad and again, I am proud of you! Hope you find yourself back here plenty of times in our journey in Nursing School and onto being a nurse together!
First Semester Reflections
12-15-22
Pretty sure I am still in awe that I just took my first official finals of the actual Nursing program. Sure I took finals in prerequisites and Gen Eds but nothing was quite as satisfying as accomplishing this semester. At least not this far, but from here on out it will only get more rough but I am excited to celebrate at the end of each and every semester. When I was considering to start the nursing program at 34 I knew if I should consider all the possibilities on what life would look like during the process. I tried to calculate in all the things that I may have to give up and/or change to both afford to be without income as well as the time I would have to invest to make it work. I didn’t know how I would do in school at 34 as my teenage years were rough and despite finishing high school a semester ahead of schedule it hadn’t been for my smarts. I often tell people I failed my way through high school and that may be mostly true. I was only able to graduate for the counselor took me seriously when I explained I needed to be able to attend half days to better enable me to work and sleep. I was living in my car at the time, working and showing up to class when I could. I’d sleep outside my workplace during the day and work overnights at Subway for some of it. I had been told I would “flip burgers” the rest of my life and I was never gonna graduate. I guess if they were going for reverse psychology (they weren’t),but it worked in my favor. I worked extra hard at making sure I did what I was supposed to do, most the time in order to prove anyone whom doubted me was wrong.
The point is, when you decide to commit to something, that is what you need to do. I was able to walk into finals today without worrying about whether or not I would have to possibly come back next year and try again or go the LPN route and bridge to RN. About whether I was gonna have to fork out more money I can hardly afford now just to hit the goal I am aiming for. I didn’t even have to worry about bombing this test because EVERY week for the past 15 weeks I COMMITTED to doing MY BEST. I strived to do the absolute best I could do EVERY week. I didn’t wait until the end to commit, I committed before I ever even started. I knew what I would have to give up, I knew what I would miss out on and I committed anyways. I decided I was willing to make shorter term sacrifices for the long term reward. I also know I didn’t want to ever walk into a room not knowing if I had just thrown away months of my life and tons of money. Doing YOUR BEST to stay committed EVERY week does not mean you won’t fail a test, it doesn’t mean you won’t get a bad grade and it doesn’t mean you will know all the answers. It means that you will SHOW UP, you will stay consistent and committed, you will study every chance you can, it means you will sacrifice and you will be flexible. If you work hard every week and you have one bad week where you really don’t understand and no matter how much you have tried you just don’t get it, its OK but only because you have put in the effort knowing that you may need that break week! If you miss that concert this weekend to study and ace this test then when your car breaks down or your dog dies and you have to miss class you aren’t terrified on if this is the end. If you stay committed every week then when life hits you in the face, and it will you have room to breathe. Less anxiety = Better grades
Pretty sure I am still in awe that I just took my first official finals of the actual Nursing program. Sure I took finals in prerequisites and Gen Eds but nothing was quite as satisfying as accomplishing this semester. At least not this far, but from here on out it will only get more rough but I am excited to celebrate at the end of each and every semester. When I was considering to start the nursing program at 34 I knew if I should consider all the possibilities on what life would look like during the process. I tried to calculate in all the things that I may have to give up and/or change to both afford to be without income as well as the time I would have to invest to make it work. I didn’t know how I would do in school at 34 as my teenage years were rough and despite finishing high school a semester ahead of schedule it hadn’t been for my smarts. I often tell people I failed my way through high school and that may be mostly true. I was only able to graduate for the counselor took me seriously when I explained I needed to be able to attend half days to better enable me to work and sleep. I was living in my car at the time, working and showing up to class when I could. I’d sleep outside my workplace during the day and work overnights at Subway for some of it. I had been told I would “flip burgers” the rest of my life and I was never gonna graduate. I guess if they were going for reverse psychology (they weren’t),but it worked in my favor. I worked extra hard at making sure I did what I was supposed to do, most the time in order to prove anyone whom doubted me was wrong.
The point is, when you decide to commit to something, that is what you need to do. I was able to walk into finals today without worrying about whether or not I would have to possibly come back next year and try again or go the LPN route and bridge to RN. About whether I was gonna have to fork out more money I can hardly afford now just to hit the goal I am aiming for. I didn’t even have to worry about bombing this test because EVERY week for the past 15 weeks I COMMITTED to doing MY BEST. I strived to do the absolute best I could do EVERY week. I didn’t wait until the end to commit, I committed before I ever even started. I knew what I would have to give up, I knew what I would miss out on and I committed anyways. I decided I was willing to make shorter term sacrifices for the long term reward. I also know I didn’t want to ever walk into a room not knowing if I had just thrown away months of my life and tons of money. Doing YOUR BEST to stay committed EVERY week does not mean you won’t fail a test, it doesn’t mean you won’t get a bad grade and it doesn’t mean you will know all the answers. It means that you will SHOW UP, you will stay consistent and committed, you will study every chance you can, it means you will sacrifice and you will be flexible. If you work hard every week and you have one bad week where you really don’t understand and no matter how much you have tried you just don’t get it, its OK but only because you have put in the effort knowing that you may need that break week! If you miss that concert this weekend to study and ace this test then when your car breaks down or your dog dies and you have to miss class you aren’t terrified on if this is the end. If you stay committed every week then when life hits you in the face, and it will you have room to breathe. Less anxiety = Better grades
Nursing School Prep Talk
Join me as I prepare for 2nd Semester!
12-16-22
So while the semester just ended 2nd semester is only a few weeks away! I would love to think of this as a great break but let’s be honest I am already planning on how to be the most prepared I can be for what lies ahead. I am planning a wee trip to Texas to visit my dad but overall I will be doing a few things to help me better grasp what is up ahead and hopefully keep me from getting out of the swing of things. That seems to set me back the most at the start of each semester. Each class is different and sometimes the instructors are also so getting into the swing of things can be super challenging for many. In order to avoid walking in not having any idea what to expect grab your book list and check out what books you will be using this coming semester. I like to find the “content” page which is often listed on sites that sell the book then looking over what the chapters entail, then finding some youtube resources about those chapters. If you have your syllabus ahead of time you could use that to look up the content your first few weeks may be over however that isn’t an option at our school so I just go the book route. Utilizing your resources can be extremely helpful in Nursing School so figuring out just what those resources are is key. Many of the youtube channels I once wacthed aren’t necassarily focused on the same things that my future classes are so spend sometime finding your new favorite “Med Surg” or “Chemistry” channel to best assist you through the program. Be sure to have some ready for the classes you know are right around the corner. It is better to look foward and prepare than look back and regret.
5-15-23
Second semester ended a couple weeks ago and I have to say it was a struggle! Reflecting back on it I know that this next semester will be just as tough and I hoope you find my page a place you can come for motivation to make it through!
So while the semester just ended 2nd semester is only a few weeks away! I would love to think of this as a great break but let’s be honest I am already planning on how to be the most prepared I can be for what lies ahead. I am planning a wee trip to Texas to visit my dad but overall I will be doing a few things to help me better grasp what is up ahead and hopefully keep me from getting out of the swing of things. That seems to set me back the most at the start of each semester. Each class is different and sometimes the instructors are also so getting into the swing of things can be super challenging for many. In order to avoid walking in not having any idea what to expect grab your book list and check out what books you will be using this coming semester. I like to find the “content” page which is often listed on sites that sell the book then looking over what the chapters entail, then finding some youtube resources about those chapters. If you have your syllabus ahead of time you could use that to look up the content your first few weeks may be over however that isn’t an option at our school so I just go the book route. Utilizing your resources can be extremely helpful in Nursing School so figuring out just what those resources are is key. Many of the youtube channels I once wacthed aren’t necassarily focused on the same things that my future classes are so spend sometime finding your new favorite “Med Surg” or “Chemistry” channel to best assist you through the program. Be sure to have some ready for the classes you know are right around the corner. It is better to look foward and prepare than look back and regret.
5-15-23
Second semester ended a couple weeks ago and I have to say it was a struggle! Reflecting back on it I know that this next semester will be just as tough and I hoope you find my page a place you can come for motivation to make it through!
My Favorite Resources
12-17-22
Youtube! Thus far my Favorite Resource since starting the actual program has been Level Up RN! Though when preparing for my TEAS I watched tons of Brandon Craft Math, Science with Susanna (be sure to check out her website for the follow along guides she provides) and more.
Youtube! Thus far my Favorite Resource since starting the actual program has been Level Up RN! Though when preparing for my TEAS I watched tons of Brandon Craft Math, Science with Susanna (be sure to check out her website for the follow along guides she provides) and more.