Diary of a Busy Nursing Student!

Going into nursing school, I don't think any of us begin thinking it'll ever be easy. As I get farther and farther into school, I realize how hard the exams and assessments are getting. Just like the difficulty level, my test anxiety is rising high. While a lot of us have a lot of issues and ways of coping with the bad anxiety. I am beginning my journey of discovering what is best for me. We are starting out with knowing hot tea or hot apple cider can help me calm down and get to sleep! Here are some extra tips:

Throughout all educational fields, workplaces, and even our lifestyle - having a foundation of organization can be key to survive. Having touched my toe in the waters of nursing school, it might be nice to share what has worked for me, and other options that have worked for others. I keep my planner and a personal to-do list glued to my hip. Some might consider it an unhealthy attachment, but I like to think it keeps me sane with everything else I'm doing. My to-do list is something I keep weekly and is a little different from the typical to-do list. Many who have these lists write them and keep them until everything is completed off of that list. - I keep my lists for a week and rewrite them every week (considering my assignments are due every week, I keep that framework.) This makes sure I keep a short time frame for when I allow myself to work and limits how much I can pile onto my plate. This might be something to keep in mind even if your frame of reference is two weeks! A...

There are so many quotes on how failure shows you how to succeed, and why it's this great bout of learning that changes your perspective:  Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness. -Oprah Winfrey  In nursing school, failure feels like a stab in the back. It doesn't seem like this wonderful learning opportunity that is going to change how you work. That's okay. In nursing school, you'll learn quickly that each class and semester is its own beast. So, look at it in terms of the beast. Each beast that you encounter has its own diet, requirements, and needs. For your relationship with the beast, you'll need to pay attention to these and study the way the beast needs you too, to fulfill its side of the bargain... but never lose sight of how you work and study. Keep your personal regime that you can supplement with the beast's needs.

As said at the top of this blog, I am on the board of a lovely non-profit! If you are interested, donate to this link! https://www.gagives.org/c/GGD/a/mealsbygrace/p/MargotLakus

We did an interesting exercise in my health and wellness class. Firstly, we wrote everything that we aspire to be as a nurse on a notecard and interacted with the rest of the class speed dating style. Not only did we have to write down and share everything that we want to be as a nurse, we had to share our fears of becoming a nurse! Here is what I wrote about my aspirations: Knowing this, most of us have the same desires. We all want to provide the best care that we can for our patient and their surrounding families. It was interesting to know about our fears. My personal fear is not having the same culture or background as someone, and not being able to provide the care that they need in the moment. Upon mentioning this is class my teacher had some poetic words of wisdom to share... As long as we are kind, caring, compassionate, trusting people, all our patients will need us to do is listen. - Thank you, Dr.! But here is the list we made of everything else that we all worry ab...

It's only 8 pm but the entire day has felt that of a marathon. You're sluggish, and your eyes are crusted open. You attempt to begin to study, but realize everything else that is on your plate and suddenly feel overwhelmed! Breathing begins to get harder, heart rate increases and each rib constricts your thoracic cavity... While studying sometimes can feel equivalent to getting sick, it's important to know some tips and tricks to get you through the tough times ahead. So here are a few tips, tricks and hacks into finding your best study mojo (Thanks to the Crumblyy life hack app!) : 1. Habitica.com A game that helps to improve good habits.  2. Make a Cheat Sheet! While you might not need it for your actual exam, or want to risk the guilty conscious of cheating... it helps to make a few cheat sheets so you can separate what you view as important information during your exam. 3. Watch Documentaries on Your Topic Reading about information repeatedly through a mult...

Being a nursing student, it's easy to get your head stuck in a book and forget everything that is offered to us. We are lucky, in the sense that many people understand the struggles that we are going through, and are eager to provide practice tests, etc. Being in the beginning of my program I think it might be a good place to start talking about the resources thus far, in-case you're beginning too. Being able to chuck up resources over time might help you choose what might fit you best. 1. National Council of State Board Nursing This is a great resource, and in fact, I figured out recently that this is the organization that creates the NCLEX! This is definitely a resource worth looking into   2.  NurseMiMiii This is a great blog to get another perspective on nursing school, she goes to my school & is a lot farther along than I am. Check it out!  3.  Nursing Resouces Here you can gather a better understanding of everything that is offered in diffe...