Nursing School Week by Week

Send a text You are working in the emergency room when the charge nurse says, "You've got a new patient. It's a 45 year old female complaining of dizziness." Little do you know, things are about to go from bad to worse for this patient before you implement life-saving interventions. Hypoglycemia is a condition that you, as the nurse, will see on a regular basis. Get ready for i...

Send a text Knowing how to recognize hypoglycemia, and knowing what to do about it to get their glucose level back up is super important. This is one of those conditions that you will see on a regular basis. Hypoglycemia is when the blood sugar level drops below 70 mg/dL. The normal range for blood glucose is between 70-100. A low blood sugar level is very serious and you, as the nurse, must act q...

Send a text There are so many great reasons to become a nurse. No job is going to be all bad or all good, but a mixture of the two. And nursing definitely has it’s good and it’s bad qualities. But, let’s talk about the good things. The reasons why you should become a nurse. Check out Picmonic for an audiovisual learning system with unforgettable stories and characters to help you remember EVERYTHI...

Send a text I want you all to go into this nursing field with your eyes wide open. So today I'm talking about some powerful reasons why you might NOT want to become a nurse. Nursing isn't for everyone, and it pays to get all the information you can before making this very important decision. If I had to go back, would I still choose nursing? Find out in this episode. Check out Picmonic f...

Send a text Pharmacology is hands down one of the toughest classes you will take in nursing school. In this episode I'm sharing my personal study system for how to minimize your time studying and maximize the results. One of the main components of this system is the Fundamental Five Flashcards. There are five pieces of information that you need to know for each major drug classification. In t...

Send a text It's a common question, and if you're asking yourself if you're too old to go to nursing school, you are not alone. If you are a "non-traditional" student, you actually have a few advantages! Some special challenges that I'll address, for sure, but some definite advantages. If you are struggling with this very life-changing decision to go back to school ag...

Send a text Diabetes is an important topic in nursing school, and a common diagnosis that you’ll help treat in your future patients.  In this podcast, I talk about the: Differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Complications such as Neuropathy, Retinopathy, Peripheral Vascular Disease, and Nephropathy. How it's diagnosed (Hgb A1C test) Diabetic medications Purpose of insulin Triangle of...

Send a text These are the 8 secrets to success I've learned in my year and a half of nursing school. Success is no accident. It takes hard work, but it helps to hear tips from someone who's gone before you on this journey.  #1: Take advantage of the Halo Effect #2: How to choose your study group #3: Build a strong study system #4: Reminder notifications #5: Master assignment list #6: Stu...

Send a text Even as nursing students in clinicals, we see so many patients affected by heart failure. This is definitely a biggie, and one you need to know. Today I'm breaking it down, and hitting the highlights of what you need to know as a nursing student about heart failure. Picmonic has some great resources to help you remember Heart Failure during test time. Click this link to check out...

Send a text T oday I’m sharing with you my insanely effective study system that I use for nursing school. This is a study system that is big on active learning, and NOT passive, time-wasting things. I’m NOT talking about re-reading or re-writing your notes. I’m NOT talking about getting cozy on the couch with your textbook and reading the chapter while highlighting. No. Those are passive learning...

Send a text  "There's an app for that!"  There's an app for everything, and today I’m talking about the top 3 apps you need as a nursing student. I’m about halfway through my nursing school program, and I am telling you - these apps have saved me so much time, and I truly believe they’ve been instrumental in helping me make A’s in my classes. Follow this link https://www.picmon...

Send a text Deciding whether or not to work while you go to nursing school can be a difficult decision. Should you focus on studying? Should you get the experience of working? Today we’re talking about 6 reasons why you should work during nursing school, (and one situation where you shouldn’t.) Some people don’t have a choice. They’ve got rent to pay, or other people to support, and they have to w...

Send a text What do you need to know as a nursing student about Chronic Kidney Disease? T oday I'm going to be talking about chronic kidney disease.  When a patient has a problem with their kidneys, it can either be an acute problem or a chronic problem. So it could be acute kidney injury which can often be reversed and fixed or it could be chronic kidney disease and that is not reversible. W...

Send a text Let's talk about Cirrhosis! Learn about the signs and symptoms, the complications, and what you, as the nurse, can do about it. Over 44,000 people die every year from cirrhosis, so it’s the 9th leading cause of death in the US. Cirrhosis is an incurable form of liver disease that happens slowly due to inflammation and scarring of the liver tissue. When you think of cirrhosis, thin...

Send a text T his week, the most high-yield topic is hyper and hypothyroidism. You’ll see a lot of your test questions coming from this subject. I’m gonna talk about hyperthyroidism first, and then I’ll cover hypothyroidism. So, What is hyperthyroidism? It’s when your body makes too much of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4. I’m not sure how much of the A&P you remember from forever ago, so to re...

Send a text I f the hospitals in your area are allowing students to come in, then you’ll likely be starting your clinical rotations soon, if you haven’t already. Today I’m going to share some tips that will help you really get the most out of your nursing clinicals. Tip #1: Daily Goals Post-it-Note Tip #2: Ask to Watch or Do Tip #3: Don't correct the Nurses or Techs Tip #4: Be Brave Tip #5: D...

Send a text Doing a head to toe assessment is something you will be doing day in and day out for the rest of your nursing career, so let’s learn how to do it quickly, and efficiently. Connect with me on: Instagram : @NursingSchoolWeekbyWeek YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@nursingschoolweekbyweek Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/nursingschoolweekbyweek LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/n...

Send a text  For the 1st week of nursing school, the most high-yield topic is tissue integrity.  Well, what is tissue integrity? It’s your skin’s ability to repair itself and stay healthy. Let's talk about it! Connect with me on: Instagram : @NursingSchoolWeekbyWeek YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@nursingschoolweekbyweek Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/nursingschoolweekbyweek LinkedIn...

Send a text Today we’ll be talking about the 10 essential supplies you need for nursing school. Then I’ll run through about 15 more things that are nice to have. This list may be a little different for each school, so if your school gives you a supplies list, definitely go by that first. Now, I’m going to assume if you’ve made it through your prereqs, that you already have a backpack and pens and...

Send a text Nursing school orientation is just one of the many things that is so different in 2020. At orientation, your professors will go over the dress code for skills lab and clinicals, the schedule that you could have for your clinical rotations, what skills lab will look like, the books and supplies you’ll need, and they’ll emphasize how much hard work you are going to need to put into nursi...

Send us Fan Mail Today we’re going to be talking about all the little requirements that have to be met in the months leading up to nursing school. This is after you’ve been accepted, but before the actual start date of your program. When you get your acceptance into nursing school, it’s so exciting, because you’ve worked so hard to get to that point, and you should celebrate! But, that acceptance...