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Things I Wish I Knew Before Nursing School
1. Memorize normal lab values This is a major component of any foundational nursing course, which is typically taught as your first nursing class. I recommend memorizing the following lab values: WBC, Hgb, Hct, platelet count, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Phosphorus, pH, pCO2, HCO3, BUN, Creatinine, PT, PTT, INR, Glucose, and HgbA1C. If you have these already memorized it will make your first semester much easier, as well as future courses because you will always use this information (yes, even after graduation). Keep in mind that each nursing school/hospital may vary in their normal ranges by a slight amount. 2. Start taking practice NCLEX question quizzes Finding practice NCLEX questions online was…
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Completing my Master’s Degree in less than Six Months
Failing a semester of nursing school left a strong desire in my heart to one day be a nursing instructor. I recognized that nursing education needed more instructors that were passionate about teaching students who truly wanted to see them succeed. At the completion of my program at Campbellsville University I have my associate’s degree. I had a few options to achieve my MSN with would be required for me to teach one day. I could do an BSN-MSN program or get my BSN completed first and then do a separate MSN program. I researched multiple programs, but my bad experience with my initial program, compared to the fabulous experience…
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From Failing Nursing School to Receiving an Academic Reward
Many people who know me as a nurse now, are quite surprised to find out that I failed a semester of nursing school. I used to be embarrassed about it, but it’s honestly one of the things that’s made me the nurse that I am. It was third semester, I had just gone through a heart wrenching break-up, and because of my mediocre performance throughout the semester, I had to achieve a certain score on my final to pass the course. I have no idea what the score was, but it was a fairly high percentage, higher than I had scored on any test thus far in the semester. In…
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