LVN Study Guide for Juniors » Study skills

Adjusting to the overwhelming tons of reading and homework assignments

erwjac — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:19:49 +0000

Often new nursing students become overwhelmed by the amount of reading and written assignments. Even those students who have taken other college courses are shocked at how much there is to do. Not only is the never ending assignments seem disheartening, the amount of terms to be defined is in just over the top.
My recommendations to my students is to keep a medical dictionary such as Tabers as well as a Webster dictionary close at hand. The first year of nursing comes with a vast challenge of learning a new language. Learning how to pronunciate terms such as sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff). I encourage them to learn the pronunciation as it will instill confidence. Many students ask me how they will survive, and I smile, laugh, and remember when I was a newbie to nursing. It is truly amazing how much a nurse needs to know in order to provide competent care. I reassure them that they are not the first nursing student to feel this way, and I tell them to keep a journal daily. The journal will help them purge their frustrations, and at the same time, it provides them with an accurate accounting of all the ups and downs they will encounter during this large learning curve. It also is something that they can read ten or fifteen years from now and look back and smile at their comments that seem so insurmountable!

Learning to communicate as a Nurse

erwjac — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:54:05 +0000

“Any nurse who wishes to be an effective caregiver must first learn to communicate. Good communication skills enable nurse to get to know their patients and, ultimately, to diagnose and to meet their needs for nursing care.” Taylor from Fundamentals of Nursing. The Art and Science of Nursing Care.

Student nurses will learn how to effectively communicate with their patients especially when they sit face to face as they obtain nursing history . It will be through experience they feel more comfortable when they approach difficult subjects. Building communication skills is essential for student nurses as effective communication is essential as they develop professional relationships between peers, and patients. Developing these skills will prevent misunderstanding and at the same time obtain necessary information to convey to the doctor. Effective communication will assist the nurse provide comfort and show concern, and assist meeting the psycosocial needs of their patients.

Staying on top of Assigned Reading and written assignments while in nursing school.

erwjac — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:30:14 +0000

He has trouble staying on top of things even his shell!

Can you identify with Freddy the tipping turtle. Just touch him and see him flip out! He is frustrated because he is way behind. He is having difficulty with time management. He just cannot understand why he is unable to keep up with all his assigned reading and homework assignment. He was quite candid and admitted that he needed to keep up with his favorite TV programs Big brother 10 and Cold Case. If you can identify with Freddie, its okay. It’s a choice each day students make. It’s hard at first to prioritize but eventually most nursing students understand the need to record favorite programs and catch them after homework assignments and other projects are completed.