October 23, 2020

Why I’ve been MIA

You may be wondering why I’ve taken a hiatus from the site and here’s why…lets just say I have a LOT of exciting changes coming your way!

The website name will be changing as I’ve decided to collaborate with a good friend and fellow classmate of mine (Allison) in order to give you even more Nursing related content. I feel as though I’ve focused the majority of my posts towards studying for Nursing exams however, we would also like to add the following categories for upcoming posts:

Mental/Physical Health

Healthy/ Cost friendly recipes

Resume/ Job search advice

Allison and I decided to sit down and really dig deep into the things we struggled with and overcame throughout Nursing school. All of the topics listed above are things we feel aren’t discussed enough yet are extremely important! Between the two of us, we have a lot of exciting plans for this website and we hope you stick around.

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September 3, 2020

Best Apps for Nursing Students

I’ll start with an app that helped me get through those first few semesters

I am thrilled to be collaborating with Picmonic to help you save 20% when you sign up for their app using my link HERE. This app is worth every penny I spent on it. I will be posting a video explaining it in more detail but wanted to mention a few of the perks in this post.

What is Picmonic? The best way I know to explain it is cartoon-like graphics telling short stories in a way that helps you remember the information you’re studying. This is great for both visual and auditory learners like myself!

What’s so great about it? Not only does this app have playlists for you to choose from by your specific Nursing course but also by body system or textbook. I was able to find every Nursing textbook we’ve used on their app with all of their coinciding Picmonic playlists organized by textbook unit. Did I mention that you can also create your own playlists? You can search random topics and create your very own playlist of Picmonics to study. Last but not least, you can take their quizzes that help you prepare for exams.

You can choose study topics by Nursing course, body system, or textbook

I chose Fluid and Electrolytes as an example here but as you can see, there are 5 picmonic stories explaining Infusion therapies, 12 picmonics explaining Electrolyte imbalances, etc.

This is where you can select to play the picmonic, quiz yourself, or add it to your playlist. You can create playlists by exam if you want. For example: “EXAM 1” and then add all of the picmonics that relate to the topics on exam 1 instead of searching for them each time you want to study.

Save 20% signing up using my link:

https://www.picmonic.com/viphookup/ByChanley

GoodNotes

Unfortunately, this one is only for the iPad & Apple Pencil users. I officially went paperless towards the end of my 2nd semester and this app is the reason why. You can import your class notes and write directly on them and highlight key points.

This is the exact iPad I have.

This is the Apple pencil I have.

Other benefits of this app:

You can create notebooks for each class and even customize the notebook covers to make them cute. Below are some of mine from last semester.

This app automatically recognizes your handwriting making it easy to search key words within a specific document or even the entire app. For instance, if you took notes on Diabetes but can’t remember where you saved them on the app, you can search the word “Diabetes” and anywhere you wrote or typed it will appear.

No more printing or wasting paper! Now that we’re online, our instructors ask us to sign forms to scan and email back to them. This app makes it incredibly easy to just import the document, sign it with my Apple Pencil, and email it right back without having to scan or print anything at all.

If you’re ever given a physical paper assignment, instead of writing directly on it with pen, you can use the free “Notes” app for iPhone to scan this page in, open it in GoodNotes, and do the assignment with your Apple Pencil making it easy to erase and rewrite if needed. (I’m OCD and scribbles on my notes and assignments drive me insane.)

Here are some examples of notes I’ve taken in this app to give you an idea of what you can do with it.

Notion

This is an app that I LOVE to use for the Active Recall study method. This app allows you the ability to create toggles.

You can create a new page for each exam topic and then create toggles within each page.

For example, these were some of the questions I created for myself for ARDS. I would ask myself each question and then click the toggle arrow to see the answer.

Toggles help you actually recall that information before seeing the answer unlike your lecture notes. This is great because it makes you realize just how much you know or don’t know while studying.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.

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August 25, 2020

How to study when you don’t have the time

I really wish I could sit here and tell you that you can pass a Nursing exam without studying however, that would be a lie. What I can tell you is that there are ways to study that don’t include reading your textbook word for word. Can I get an amen?!

Instead of listening to music while cleaning the house, try listening to your ebook.

(Obviously this only applies to those of you using ebooks like my school.) The thought of sitting down and reading a textbook makes me cringe. I already know that would consist of reading a page, forgetting what I read, and then re-reading it so that’s not an option for me.

Listen to your instructor’s recorded lectures while commuting.

Think of how often you’re in your car. You go out to get groceries, go to work, drive to clinical…all of these commutes can be study time! Would you rather listen to music? Probably. But if you’re reading this post, it’s more than likely because you don’t have much free time so this is one of those many sacrifices you’ll make as a Nursing student.

Divide the workload up among your classmates

For example, your exam will cover multiple topics. Divide those topics among some of your classmates for note taking. Obviously, you still want to listen to all of the lectures regardless; but if you’re trying to type notes for several lectures, then you’ll end up spending the majority of your time doing just that…typing, instead of studying. Create a shared google document and each person can type their assigned lecture. This way, you can all spend more time actually studying the material. Your study group may have a variety of learning types so some could create a shared google document of summarized textbook chapters while others draw pretty diagrams or type the instructor’s lecture word for word. In the end, you are all contributing and it saves each of you time.

Your time is precious. Use it wisely.

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August 25, 2020

Failing a Nursing Exam

You studied for hours, days, or even WEEKS and you just failed an exam. Guess what? You’re human and failure happens to the best of us. Instead of beating yourself up over a grade, try to learn from that exam to help you moving forward. I know you’re feeling down on yourself and it feels like your world is ending but let me be the first to tell you that Nursing exams are like no other! If you’ve already taken a few, you know exactly what I’m talking about. All of the answers can be “correct” but which one is the “most correct”? It seems absolutely absurd, right? Nursing exams are HARD! I know students that made all A’s in their prerequisite courses and failed a few nursing exams. You’re not stupid. You’re not worthless. Your world is not ending.

If you really want to get past this exam and improve as a student, you’ll need to ask yourself a few questions. What was your plan of study for that exam? How did you study? Did you re-write your notes? Did you listen to a recorded lecture multiple times? Did you use quizlet…YouTube…read your textbook? Think about everything you did to prepare for that exam and don’t (I repeat DON’T) study that exact same way for your next exam. Just because a fellow classmate reads the textbook, re-writes their notes, and makes A’s doesn’t necessarily mean that’s how YOU should study. You need to study in a way that benefits you the most. If you’re in a rut and looking for a new way of studying, I recommend trying something called active recall. This is the method that I finally figured out works for me. But once again, everyone learns differently. I’ll post a YouTube video explaining this learning method if you’re interested in checking it out. He explains it much better than I would so I’ll just post the link here.

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August 23, 2020

Clinical Bag Essentials

Clinical Bag/Backpack

If you don’t already have a designated clinical bag, I highly suggest getting one! I’ll post the one I use below. I love it because it has a place for my laptop/ iPad, several pockets, outside pocket for my water bottle, and it even has a USB port for charging my phone.

Nursing Badge Reference Cards

These are great to have and just clip on behind your student badge! You can’t remember everything about everything right? These really can save you when you can’t pull out your phone during clinical. You no longer have to worry when you suddenly can’t remember a lab value or the dosage of a specific medication. There are several out there however, I found these to be the best value for the cost because they come in a stack that you can change in and out based on your clinical area. They have specific ones for ICU, Cardiac, Peds, etc.

Stethoscope

I believe this one goes without explanation. I will link the exact one I have. The great thing about this one is that you can download the Littmann app on your phone and use the serial number from the stethoscope to get free access to heart and lung sound practice scenarios to build your confidence!

Small notebook

I like to keep one small enough to fit inside my front scrub pocket for taking quick notes. (I’m not going to add a link for this because you can honestly just find these at Dollar Tree.)

Good Pens

You will definitely want to keep some good pens in your bag to write down patient information for your care plan. These are my absolute favorite pens! I love that they’re the clickable pens because nobody wants to keep up with a pen cap! The ink in these DOES match the pen color however, our care plans were typed so it didn’t matter what color ink my initial clinical notes were in.

Badge Pen

This one isn’t necessary but it’s nice to have! If you run out of pen ink or just flat out lose your pen, you always have a backup on your badge!

Pen Light

No explanation needed.

Pocket Watch for counting respirations

Clipboard

This one is great because you have a cheat sheet laminated onto the clipboard to reference if needed AND it folds up nicely to hide your patient’s information.

Cash/ Card for lunch

Hair tie

Chewing Gum

These are the main things I keep in my clinical bag. I hope this helps some of you that needed some guidance.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.

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August 22, 2020

How to Succeed in Nursing School Online

ONLINE Nursing school?! What?! You must be so excited to start this journey ONLINE! Who would have thought online nursing school would even be possible? You don’t have to worry about driving to campus as much. You can listen to recorded lectures whenever you want. You can even take your online exams from the comfort of your own bed if you’d like. This is going to be a breeze! If THIS is what you’re thinking, you’re in for a rude awakening. But if you understand (up front) that this isn’t going to be a walk in the park, you’re already a step ahead of most! I’ll admit I underestimated the difficulty of it by a long shot.

If you want to succeed in Nursing School online, I recommend following these tips.

Start the semester organized! If you haven’t already, click here and enter your email address in the pop-up message to receive a free study plan template I created to help you keep up with your assignments, exams, and studying.

Do NOT fall behind! This is extremely important. When you’re physically on campus, teachers and fellow classmates are there to remind you of assignments. But when you’re online, it is up to YOU to constantly check your school email and keep up with assignment deadlines. It is so difficult to catch up when you’re behind so do yourself a favor and stay ahead if at all possible.

Have a fast & reliable internet connection. You don’t want to miss out on quiz or exam time because of your internet speed. A lot of internet providers are offering upgraded internet speed to students at no additional cost due to the pandemic. Call your internet provider to get details! If this option fails, talk to friends and family about using their wifi on exam days.

Create a group chat of some kind for your class if you don’t already have one! Even though you’re online (and yes, even if you haven’t met your classmates) it’s a good idea to have a platform to communicate with each other. My classmates and I use the GroupMe app. It’s nice because you can turn notifications off if you don’t want to receive them but this is a great way to ask each other questions and send study material back and forth.

Study groups! This is one of those things that doesn’t work for everyone. But with that being said, most people can’t sit at home studying for hours without interruption or distraction. Although several places are still closed, call some of your local coffee shops and ask if they’re open for business inside. I know here in Birmingham, we have a few places like Panera Bread that opened back up with social distancing precautions in place. Study groups give you the opportunity to discuss the exam topics with another student and pick up on things you either forgot to study or maybe even missed while listening to lecture. My advice for study groups is to schedule these study sessions SEVERAL days prior to taking the exam instead of the day before. Studying in a group the day before an exam could overwhelm you and make you feel like you’re not ready if someone else seems to know the material better than you.

Online clinical simulations SUCK! I just wanted to throw this out there in case you had any preconceived notions about them. Make sure you do these days…yes I said DAYS before they’re due. Why? Because they’re very time consuming and the likelihood of it taking longer than an actual clinical day is pretty high if you’ve never done one before. Your patience will 100% be tested when doing these. Thankfully, my school is still having some clinical days in the actual hospital but I’ve heard some schools haven’t been as lucky.

Schedule a 1 on 1 meeting with your instructor ASAP if you don’t do well on an exam. “But Chanley, what do you mean? We can’t meet with them. We are online!” Yes, you can! I know because I’ve done it. You will need to send a respectful email to your instructor expressing your concern regarding your exam grade and that you would like to set up a virtual meeting for feedback on how to improve your study habits for future exams. Did you notice I said ASAP? Yeah, there’s a reason for that. Your instructors may be able to give you advice or even recommend resources that could help you improve on your next exam. However, if you decide to wait until you’ve made a few bad grades, there’s not much they can do to help you at that point. Every single point is crucial in Nursing school! Don’t wait until the final exam to meet with them if you’re struggling!

Use Facebook and Pinterest to your advantage! Join student nurse support groups on Facebook! There are several that post helpful content and it’s a great way to interact with other students from different schools. Pinterest is also amazing for Nursing content! Here’s an example of one of my Nursing School boards. Feel free to follow it! I’m always posting new content I find.

If you have an iPhone, utilize the “Reminders” app! I love this because you can set up specific lists, check them off, and re-use that same list over and over. For example, I have a list labeled “Exam Day” Then I have the following check boxes: pencil, scratch paper, school ID, take off Apple Watch, clean off desk (no paper, books, or iPads near your exam area). This way, I don’t have to worry about rushing to do all of this right before the exam or forgetting to take off my Apple Watch and receiving a failing grade. I also use these for other things like my clinical bag. I keep a check list of everything I need in my clinical bag so I know I won’t forget anything the night before.

Online Exams are….. horrible. I don’t say this to scare you but seeing the time ticking away, not being able to go back to previous questions, and having to use the platform’s horrible little online calculator for dosage calculations can really boost anxiety. But even though you hate the online exams, it will prepare you for the NCLEX exam considering it will be that way as well. My biggest piece of advice here is to stay calm if there’s an error on the exam and follow whatever guidelines your instructor gave you for that scenario.

Lastly, keep your eye on the prize! I know this is a difficult time but Nursing school is hard for a reason. What you’re learning day in and day out will be used to save lives one day! Remember that! You’ve got this!

A Moment: The Nurse and the Med Student | Whispers of a Barefoot Medical Student

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August 17, 2020

You’ve been accepted into Nursing school…but what now?

Congratulations! You’ve taken the prerequisite courses, applied to the Nursing program, and finally received that long awaited acceptance email/ letter. Now it’s time to do the following:

Invest in a planner! This is crucial whether you’ve used one before or not. You can use your phone’s calendar or a physical planner like this one but I’ve used them both simultaneously thus far. As I’m sure you’ve already heard, Nursing school is BUSY. I recommend adding everything from your class calendar to your personal one ASAP. The great thing about using your phone’s calendar is the ability to set reminders.
Buy the school supplies! This may seem obvious but I’m not referring to college ruled paper, pens, and pencils. Go ahead and get the supplies that you’ll enjoy using. I found some amazing sticky note dividers on Amazon that saved my life 2nd semester! I highly recommend them. I also love these erasable pens because I hate having to scribble on otherwise pretty notes. (All the females know what I’m talking about here.)
Don’t start studying before the semester begins! I can’t stress this one enough. I’ve been asked, “What would you recommend studying before the semester starts?” and I can honestly say, NOTHING! Nursing school is a lot. You will learn more than you ever thought possible in such a short amount of time. Spend this time with your friends and family because you’ll wish you had more down time to do so once you’re stuck studying all the time.
Set up a study workspace. Don’t have a home office or a desk? That’s okay! Nurses learn to adapt and improvise when needed and this is no different. You don’t have to go out and purchase an expensive desk but having an area where you can study without constant distraction is a must! Amazon sells some great lap desks that won’t break the bank and they’re quite functional! (Not to mention this also gives you a great excuse to stay in bed and study.) I have a small lamp, dry erase calendar, candle, and some flowers on my desk. All of these simple things help me relax and focus on the task at hand.
Schedule a self-care day each week! Go ahead and add this to your planner/digital calendar because without this, you’ll go insane! Once classes begin, you’ll be so busy that you will forget to take care of yourself. Remember to set some time aside (even if it isn’t a whole day…because let’s be real, it won’t be) it’s extremely important to take care of both your physical and mental health. Find time to go for a walk/run, watch your favorite show, or take a bubble bath with a face mask. Whatever it is that relaxes you, do it!
Lastly, take a deep breath! You’ve got this. I know you’re overwhelmed. The tuition, clinical uniforms, stethoscope, semester sim lab supplies, books, and the many other seemingly hidden fees add up and can make your head spin. Just take a deep breath and know that things will work out. Just take this journey one step at a time love.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.

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