Make a Schedule for Studying

I have never felt more need for organization with my studies than in these last few weeks of class. I got a little bit into organization with my last post on Dropbox, but there is definitely more to be said on the subject.

My school stresses being organized, and for good reason. You can't have stacks of notes all willy nilly everywhere and expect to be able to study efficiently. After just a few weeks of classes, here are a few tips that I have picked up.

1. Take notes in the same format each time you go to class. If you hand write out your notes one day and then type them the next day, you're going to be going back and forth from your computer to your notebook when you study. Obviously, this is not efficient.
2. Stay at school to study. If you're able, stay at school after class and study either by yourself or with classmates. If you go home, you'll get a phone call or your dog will be barking his fool head off. You may even be disturbed by a significant other or roommate. If you stay at school, your focus is on school material and your studying will be more efficient.
3. Skim the chapters in your textbooks before reading the chapter! You'll already have an idea of what you'll be reading about and you won't get so heavily bogged down with new information! After you've skimmed the chapter, go back and read the paragraphs around the bolded key terms. Then go back and read the more intricate information in the chapter. It may not seem efficient, but every time you go through the chapter, it gets quicker because you know more each time you read.
4. Take the practice quiz at the end of the chapter! If you don't know some of the information in the quiz, go back and re-read that section of the chapter. It won't take long to figure out the information you need.

That's all I've got so far as far as study habits go. A classmate of mine says that she uses Microsoft's OneNote and she loves it. If I had endless piles of money, I might attempt to get a license for it, but alas, I do not and therefore cannot afford it. Please comment and let me know if any of y'all (can you tell I'm from the South? LOL) have used OneNote and what your opinion of the application is. Also let me know if you find a freeware product similar to OneNote. I'd love to give it a try and I love freeware! As I always like to say, "if it's free, it's for me!"

Happy studies, everyone!

Techy School Tools

If you're like me, you like having your laptop with you to take notes in class. I also have a desktop computer at home. Transferring files between the two computers can be a pain. Sometimes e-mailing files takes too long or I can't find my thumb drive.

To make transferring files from your laptop to your desktop computer at home easier, I've found that Dropbox can be a lifesaver. You can drag your files and folders on your laptop into the Dropbox folder and everything in your Dropbox folder on your laptop will be automatically synced to your Dropbox folder on your desktop computer at home (as long as you have an internet connection, of course.) Another plus? Dropbox allows students double the space that non-students get! Just create your account with a .edu e-mail address. You can also increase your Dropbox folder space by inviting friends to use Dropbox.

Ordinarily, I'm not a product-pusher, but I've been thankful for Dropbox on more than one occasion and I think it is definitely an organizational tool that many people could use.

This is Who I Am

I am a first semester nursing student. I am also a semi-professional musician and an athlete. I am a SCUBA diver, a traveler, a camper, a hiker, and a video gamer. I am an avid reader, a cook and a Bunco player. I am a wife and a daughter. I am many things, but right now, the title that most defines who I am and what I do on a daily basis, is Nursing Student.

I want to write about my experience as a nursing student because I’ve been told over and over that this is the hardest thing I’ll ever do. I figure if this is the hardest thing I’ll ever do, then I need to document it! 

I have been repeatedly surprised by people’s reactions to my going to nursing school. A friend of mine was shocked when I told her I wanted to be a nurse. She just couldn’t imagine dealing with bedpans. I told her that bedpans would never be the highlight of my day, but that when I had to deal with them, I would do so with compassion and care.

A LITTLE ABOUT HOW I GOT HERE

I received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology about 10 years ago. I really sort of muddled my way through school the first time. I knew I wanted a college education, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it. Now, ten years later, I know I don’t want to work in the corporate world anymore. Being stuck behind a desk in a cubicle in the HR department dealing with Unemployment and child support is just a drag and it is the same thing day in and day out. That’s just not the life for me.

The nursing program at my school is pretty competitive. You have to meet certain academic requirements and you have to pass the TEAS test. I had to bring my gpa up from my original BS degree so I took, and made A’s in, Music Appreciation, English 102, Anatomy & Physiology I and II, Microbiology, and Statistics. I took the TEAS in August of 2011. I scored in the 98^th percentile. I finally felt confident enough in my gpa and TEAS scores to apply to nursing school. Click here for the study guide I used for the TEAS test. If you can pass the practice tests in this book, you’ll do fine on the TEAS. The content is not difficult, but you’ll probably need to brush up on some of those basic skills.

I applied in October and found out in November that I had been accepted to the nursing program and that I would start in January. After a boat load of immunizations, a drug test, a background check and a CPR course, I completed all of the school’s requirements. Then it was just a waiting game until I started with classes.

I'll fill you in on my first week of classes in my next post. Feel free to ask me any questions. I'll try to answer them as best I can. Let me know what kind of information you want to see here and I'll try to make sure my blog content reflects your interests.