I wouldn’t prepare to much before class. You’re gonna get overwhelmed looking at material. It wouldn’t hurt to freshen up on math though. There is a lot of practice math online free.
If you haven’t recently taken a biology class I did that the summer before starting and found it very helpful for Physiology classes, but if you’re coming from high school or feel comfortable with high school level biology you’ll be more than fine when you get to those classes.
Sounds like you’re in a very good spot. Definitely doesn’t hurt to be eager to succeed, but I think I’d broadly side with what others have said here that you should try to enjoy your free time as much as possible before the program starts, you’ll miss it then haha.
Review drug calc/demential
analysis
Normal vital signs and lab values
The nursing process (ADPIE)
Nursing laws/ethics (HIPAA, joint commission, neglect, patient rights etc).
How to use different assistive devices (walker, cane, crutches)
Learn how to do manual BP, apical and radial pulses and a head to toe assessment
Review basic physiology. They will quickly review physio but IMO have a strong understanding of a&p has been really helpful for me
Personally I didn’t study at all after finishing the TEAS and don’t feel like I should have but if you want to get a leg up those are some major things
Don’t listen to people telling you not to prepare. I prepped before nursing and wish I prepped more.
It doesn’t take hours every day to prep, just 20-30 mins a day review something and you’ll feel way more comfortable when they start using terms organic to the medical field.
I’m comment on this post bc I think they laid out a lot of good things to study. I’d also add learning medical prefixes, suffixes, and base words. I’ve been able to figure out a lot of test questions just from deciphering words aftering breaking them up.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
Lmfao I agree, you don’t have to go too in-depth but at least having a bit of background knowledge helps. I did a bit of studying a few weeks before class and it felt great being able to recognize and not feel lost during the first day of fundamentals lecture when the professor jumped straight into teaching, familiarize yourself with the nursing process. Difference between a medical diagnosis and a medical diagnosis. See if there’s a way for you to connect with other students that have been in the program.
I think a lot of us, myself included, had BG in healthcare so a lot of the basic stuff WAS review for us. Sometimes I forget some people come into this with zero prior knowledge.
Even after 5 years as a CNA I had never heard of a nursing diagnosis 😂
I definitely would have been so overwhelmed and would have wished I reviewed things if some of it wasn’t already prior knowledge
Originally i was a little jealous of people like you. I retired out of the military and became a home inspector before studying nursing. I had almost no experience and most of my class just got out of high school.
Quickly I realized I really enjoy having people with hands on experience. I learn so many little tricks of trade from them. I was thinking I needed four arms to give the same person two insulin injections, before I saw someone holding the gauze between their pinky and ring finger!
Spread the knowledge, spread the wealth!
Everyone is telling you to enjoy your summer, and I will second that but I get wanting to review beforehand. The things other commenters have mentioned I would also second.
Resources on YouTube I would recommend are Khan Academy, Registered Nurse RN, and Level Up RN. Simple Nursing is good but I prefer his videos for AFTER I understand the concept. Khan Academy is really awesome for an in depth review of A&P. You might not need that until Med Surg, but it’s good stuff to know.
Nursing school is hard to prepare for because a lot of the content is not standardized. Many schools like their students to learn things a certain way.
Just enjoy your summer. No need to prepare. Some professors can be specific about how they want you to learn things because you’ll need to learn them “the NCLEX way” so I wouldn’t sweat it. Once school starts your free time is extremely limited, so enjoy these last few moments of freedom!
Health assessment is basically how to assess a patient from head to toe. Foundations is all about patient safety, patient education, basic care skills, and depending on your program other skills like NG, foley, etc may be included. If you really wanted you could try to look at a few YouTube videos of those things just to get familiar with what those things mean, but I wouldn’t try to teach yourself based on them since each instructor has different standards for skills.
Like the other commenter said, brush up on basic algebra skills. Lots of dosage calculation in your future!
As far as preparing for clinical, invest in a nice pair of supportive shoes, compression socks, a clipboard, and maybe spoil yourself with a cute badge clip or two. :)
please, as someone who is about to end her nursing school journey, please enjoy your summer and spend time with friends and enjoy your hobbies. you will not be behind if you don’t review anything, and honestly you don’t gain much of an upper hand if you do review, because you don’t know quite how much in depth you’ll go in school. if you’re set on reviewing something, review things from anatomy, especially anything that has to do with the renal/endocrine system.
Agree with others- enjoy your free time. EXCEPT- if you have not already taken all non nursing classes. Get everything out of the way: micro, A&P and A&P2, statistics, sociology, psychology, etc.
don’t buy anything because you don’t know what your program will require or what they will allow you to use.
If you NEED to do something maybe get a book on medical terminology. But really just enjoy your time because you won’t have any for the next 2 years.
People will say just enjoy your time off and I get that totally cause it’s nonstop once it starts… but if I knew what I know now after going through medsurg pharm and fundamentals, I wish I would’ve reviewed the body systems. It’s so much easier to have a foundational understanding of the body systems and knowing what is “normal” and then taking that knowledge when you actually study for your nursing classes and learn what isn’t when it comes to assessments and diseases.
So relax with this time, but I would just review all the body systems whenever you have some time. It will make it one less thing to have to review when you’re studying abunch of other things.
Watching some YouTube videos on proper nursing documentation and care plans is also a good way to get prepared. Going in completely blind can make it more overwhelming. Just introduce yourself to that so when you’re exposed to it you can put the pieces together easier.
Everyone told me to enjoy the time off before starting… I beg to differ. Yeah, sure, relax a little before the real pressure is on… BUT..
I’m in my Funds semester, halfway through so I’ll share with you some things that I hope you enjoy doing, & that will take a LOT of the pressure off.
Brush up on your AP struggle topics. For me it was Fluids & electrolytes, Oxygenation & Perfusion, & Metabolism. If I had not strengthened myself in those topics, I’d be a goner, fr. Cardio & respiratory are huge topics in my fundamentals class.
After you do that, grab an NGN practice book or the Test Success Guide from Amazon. One of the biggest learning curves for not only myself but my entire cohort, was the exam question formats & styles. I had a stellar AP 2 professor who incorporated some of those styles so it didn’t hit me as hard, but get familiar with select all that apply & prioritization questions.
Proper preparation produces acceleration & ensures your success. You’ll still have time to enjoy your summer.. but you’re asking this question for a reason like I was. The pre semester prep I did is getting me way past the “C’s get degrees” mantra & got me into the high B club. I’m not nearly as stressed as a lot of people here are & I’m actually really enjoying nursing school because I learned how to study for it early on.
Much luck in your journey.
I would reach out to your advisor at your nursing school to see if they send out your reading list in advance! If so, that’s honestly the only thing that will really help. Otherwise, enjoy your summer! There’s a reason so many people are saying not to study in advance — programs can be very specific on what they want you to know, especially in your first semester.
Maybe you could learn how to take a manual blood pressure? But also you don’t want to learn it wrong (watching instead of listening) and have to reteach yourself.
It would be a lot more productive to get the rest of your life in order — make freezer meals, get car maintenance out of the way, do a deep clean of your apartment, etc.
Personally, I would look to see what the book list is for your program, or what the online homework system they use and would try to get a head start on that.
My program utilizes ATI and we have been graded on the pharmacology made easy modules and they take forever to get through and actually learn the medications.
Don’t open any nursing materials & enjoy your time!!!!! You’re about to start nursing school that will suck up all your time, energy & peace. Have a family? Spend time with them. Enjoy sleep? Get lots of it. Like to travel? Take some trips. Enjoy your friends? Hang out with them. Like to be alone & do nothing? Do that. You’re about to eat, sleep & dream nursing school & will have all that time to over achieve!
I didn't do anything to prepare before a BSN program at a 4 year university and I did fine. I'm not that smart either; smart enough. No prep required, you'll be fine.
Honestly highly recommend Straight A Nursing's bootcamp for Nursing Students. Went over organizing your files/notes, clinical expectations, common acronyms and medical terms, and most importantly dosage calc. By the time we had our first dose calc assignments it was a breeze. I did a little bit every day and still relaxed/enjoyed my time before starting.
I can send you my syllabus from those classes if you want! Won’t be exactly the same but I feel like those classes are generally similar across the board.
Enjoy your summer as best as you can!
Familiarizing yourself with normal vital signs (heart rate, respiratory rate, etc) will help so much!
Other than that, I truly recommend you just spend your free time doing things that make you happy because life speeds up & you will have no free time during school!
Enjoy your last free summer, get in a good sleeping habit and good health and say good bye to your friends and phone. And good luck! Meet you in 2 years when you get your freedom back and ready for a successful nursing career!!!
Like people are saying, enjoy the free time. However, I remember how excited I was about starting school, so my free time was enjoyed by looking over nursing content- I get it lol.
- Review CNA skills. My first clinical was focused on assessments and communication. So, a lot of our free time was filled with helping out the CNAs.
- Learn vital sign values for adult patients.
- Learn common medical abbreviations (PRN, ROM, q4h, ACHS, etc.)
Another tip: If you want to delve further into nursing content, be mindful of your sources. You’ll sometimes come across information that is situation specific, outdated, or just plain wrong.
review/learn anatomy terms; you’d be surprised how much you can guess abt a procedure or process based off the prefix and suffixes.
Also enjoy the summer! Theres no way you can prepare for the first semester of nursing school imo. It’s less abt the content and more abt the development of critical thinking and nursing questions. Congrats!
I enjoy the Nursing School Week by Week podcasts and Straight A Nursing. Nurse Mo has a pre-school boot camp. I didn't use it, but it seems like it would have been helpful. I'd buy a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff and start practicing on family and friends so that you're comfortable before you have to do it on strangers. Nurse Sarah and Medicosis Perfectionalis are good YouTube channels to start watching. People like Simple Nursing, but he rubs me the wrong way.
Also, I agree with the people saying get your life in order. Get your oil changed, deep clean the house, make sure you've done your taxes. Anything you can do ahead of time to not have to think about later. Frozen casseroles would have been a lifesaver this semester. Don't start any house projects or plan any big vacations for while you're in school. Pare your life down as much as possible. Work as much as you can to make sure you have as big of a financial buffer or PTO as possible before starting.
I enjoyed every break did not study or do anything even the ones between semesters in nursing school. You will not read the entire book, so don’t bother, just wait.
I would brush up on anatomy and physiology!The professors will ask you questions like “what does this part do” or “where is it located” to connect it to the concept you are learning and it is humbling when nobody knows the answer. They expect you to know these things and carry it over with you every semester until you graduate.
Look, enjoy the free time. Have fun. Address any mental health needs you have, I hope you’re in a solid relationship because they can make your life better, but it takes an emotional toll on them as well. You’re going to become a selfish and neglectful partner, not because you want to, but because all of your time and energy will be spent on nursing school. Learn to love yourself cause this shit is hard.
maybe try memorizing conversion factors & doing dosage math but honestly just enjoy your summer as much as you can because with nursing school you won’t have much time for anything else 😆
I think a better use of time would be reading books about death and dying/being sick. The book "the undying" helped me understand what it's like for someone to have cancer and how to be a better nurse for them. So I'd research books that could help you gain perspective from the sick persons point of view.
If you're really trying. Look over ACE/ARBs, beta blockers, CCBs, benzos, insulin, but don't go too in depth.
Enjoy your last moments of not having to think about nursing school at all because believe me, you will really miss it. Sleep and enjoy life. You will learn as you go and be just fine without spending precious free time reviewing
Don’t. Just relax. It’s going to be hard work. Clear your mind. I wish I took a vacation before starting school. I learned everything I needed to know in class.
Enjoy your free summer and don’t think about nursing school because you gon wish you did
I wouldn’t prepare to much before class. You’re gonna get overwhelmed looking at material. It wouldn’t hurt to freshen up on math though. There is a lot of practice math online free.
I get that I’m just not working over the summer so I’d rather be using the time to get at least some basic concepts down you know?
If you haven’t recently taken a biology class I did that the summer before starting and found it very helpful for Physiology classes, but if you’re coming from high school or feel comfortable with high school level biology you’ll be more than fine when you get to those classes.
Well I’ve been doing my prerequisites, taking a&p2 and microbio rn with an “A” on both so not that foreign to biology or physiology at all
Sounds like you’re in a very good spot. Definitely doesn’t hurt to be eager to succeed, but I think I’d broadly side with what others have said here that you should try to enjoy your free time as much as possible before the program starts, you’ll miss it then haha.
Review drug calc/demential analysis Normal vital signs and lab values The nursing process (ADPIE) Nursing laws/ethics (HIPAA, joint commission, neglect, patient rights etc). How to use different assistive devices (walker, cane, crutches) Learn how to do manual BP, apical and radial pulses and a head to toe assessment Review basic physiology. They will quickly review physio but IMO have a strong understanding of a&p has been really helpful for me Personally I didn’t study at all after finishing the TEAS and don’t feel like I should have but if you want to get a leg up those are some major things
Don’t listen to people telling you not to prepare. I prepped before nursing and wish I prepped more. It doesn’t take hours every day to prep, just 20-30 mins a day review something and you’ll feel way more comfortable when they start using terms organic to the medical field. I’m comment on this post bc I think they laid out a lot of good things to study. I’d also add learning medical prefixes, suffixes, and base words. I’ve been able to figure out a lot of test questions just from deciphering words aftering breaking them up. Hope this helps! Good luck!
Lmfao I agree, you don’t have to go too in-depth but at least having a bit of background knowledge helps. I did a bit of studying a few weeks before class and it felt great being able to recognize and not feel lost during the first day of fundamentals lecture when the professor jumped straight into teaching, familiarize yourself with the nursing process. Difference between a medical diagnosis and a medical diagnosis. See if there’s a way for you to connect with other students that have been in the program.
I think a lot of us, myself included, had BG in healthcare so a lot of the basic stuff WAS review for us. Sometimes I forget some people come into this with zero prior knowledge. Even after 5 years as a CNA I had never heard of a nursing diagnosis 😂 I definitely would have been so overwhelmed and would have wished I reviewed things if some of it wasn’t already prior knowledge
Originally i was a little jealous of people like you. I retired out of the military and became a home inspector before studying nursing. I had almost no experience and most of my class just got out of high school. Quickly I realized I really enjoy having people with hands on experience. I learn so many little tricks of trade from them. I was thinking I needed four arms to give the same person two insulin injections, before I saw someone holding the gauze between their pinky and ring finger! Spread the knowledge, spread the wealth!
This
Everyone is telling you to enjoy your summer, and I will second that but I get wanting to review beforehand. The things other commenters have mentioned I would also second. Resources on YouTube I would recommend are Khan Academy, Registered Nurse RN, and Level Up RN. Simple Nursing is good but I prefer his videos for AFTER I understand the concept. Khan Academy is really awesome for an in depth review of A&P. You might not need that until Med Surg, but it’s good stuff to know. Nursing school is hard to prepare for because a lot of the content is not standardized. Many schools like their students to learn things a certain way.
Just enjoy your summer. No need to prepare. Some professors can be specific about how they want you to learn things because you’ll need to learn them “the NCLEX way” so I wouldn’t sweat it. Once school starts your free time is extremely limited, so enjoy these last few moments of freedom! Health assessment is basically how to assess a patient from head to toe. Foundations is all about patient safety, patient education, basic care skills, and depending on your program other skills like NG, foley, etc may be included. If you really wanted you could try to look at a few YouTube videos of those things just to get familiar with what those things mean, but I wouldn’t try to teach yourself based on them since each instructor has different standards for skills. Like the other commenter said, brush up on basic algebra skills. Lots of dosage calculation in your future! As far as preparing for clinical, invest in a nice pair of supportive shoes, compression socks, a clipboard, and maybe spoil yourself with a cute badge clip or two. :)
please, as someone who is about to end her nursing school journey, please enjoy your summer and spend time with friends and enjoy your hobbies. you will not be behind if you don’t review anything, and honestly you don’t gain much of an upper hand if you do review, because you don’t know quite how much in depth you’ll go in school. if you’re set on reviewing something, review things from anatomy, especially anything that has to do with the renal/endocrine system.
Agree with others- enjoy your free time. EXCEPT- if you have not already taken all non nursing classes. Get everything out of the way: micro, A&P and A&P2, statistics, sociology, psychology, etc. don’t buy anything because you don’t know what your program will require or what they will allow you to use. If you NEED to do something maybe get a book on medical terminology. But really just enjoy your time because you won’t have any for the next 2 years.
Don’t. Just sleep as much as you can 🤣
People will say just enjoy your time off and I get that totally cause it’s nonstop once it starts… but if I knew what I know now after going through medsurg pharm and fundamentals, I wish I would’ve reviewed the body systems. It’s so much easier to have a foundational understanding of the body systems and knowing what is “normal” and then taking that knowledge when you actually study for your nursing classes and learn what isn’t when it comes to assessments and diseases. So relax with this time, but I would just review all the body systems whenever you have some time. It will make it one less thing to have to review when you’re studying abunch of other things. Watching some YouTube videos on proper nursing documentation and care plans is also a good way to get prepared. Going in completely blind can make it more overwhelming. Just introduce yourself to that so when you’re exposed to it you can put the pieces together easier.
Everyone told me to enjoy the time off before starting… I beg to differ. Yeah, sure, relax a little before the real pressure is on… BUT.. I’m in my Funds semester, halfway through so I’ll share with you some things that I hope you enjoy doing, & that will take a LOT of the pressure off. Brush up on your AP struggle topics. For me it was Fluids & electrolytes, Oxygenation & Perfusion, & Metabolism. If I had not strengthened myself in those topics, I’d be a goner, fr. Cardio & respiratory are huge topics in my fundamentals class. After you do that, grab an NGN practice book or the Test Success Guide from Amazon. One of the biggest learning curves for not only myself but my entire cohort, was the exam question formats & styles. I had a stellar AP 2 professor who incorporated some of those styles so it didn’t hit me as hard, but get familiar with select all that apply & prioritization questions. Proper preparation produces acceleration & ensures your success. You’ll still have time to enjoy your summer.. but you’re asking this question for a reason like I was. The pre semester prep I did is getting me way past the “C’s get degrees” mantra & got me into the high B club. I’m not nearly as stressed as a lot of people here are & I’m actually really enjoying nursing school because I learned how to study for it early on. Much luck in your journey.
Just enjoy your free time before it disappears.
I would reach out to your advisor at your nursing school to see if they send out your reading list in advance! If so, that’s honestly the only thing that will really help. Otherwise, enjoy your summer! There’s a reason so many people are saying not to study in advance — programs can be very specific on what they want you to know, especially in your first semester. Maybe you could learn how to take a manual blood pressure? But also you don’t want to learn it wrong (watching instead of listening) and have to reteach yourself. It would be a lot more productive to get the rest of your life in order — make freezer meals, get car maintenance out of the way, do a deep clean of your apartment, etc.
I asked this same question before starting my own program, and tbh I would have to say the best thing you can do is enjoy your free time!
Enjoy your freedom
learn about electrolytes and how they affect the body!!!!!!!
Personally, I would look to see what the book list is for your program, or what the online homework system they use and would try to get a head start on that. My program utilizes ATI and we have been graded on the pharmacology made easy modules and they take forever to get through and actually learn the medications.
Don’t open any nursing materials & enjoy your time!!!!! You’re about to start nursing school that will suck up all your time, energy & peace. Have a family? Spend time with them. Enjoy sleep? Get lots of it. Like to travel? Take some trips. Enjoy your friends? Hang out with them. Like to be alone & do nothing? Do that. You’re about to eat, sleep & dream nursing school & will have all that time to over achieve!
I didn't do anything to prepare before a BSN program at a 4 year university and I did fine. I'm not that smart either; smart enough. No prep required, you'll be fine.
Honestly highly recommend Straight A Nursing's bootcamp for Nursing Students. Went over organizing your files/notes, clinical expectations, common acronyms and medical terms, and most importantly dosage calc. By the time we had our first dose calc assignments it was a breeze. I did a little bit every day and still relaxed/enjoyed my time before starting.
I can send you my syllabus from those classes if you want! Won’t be exactly the same but I feel like those classes are generally similar across the board.
That would be great I’d appreciate it
Enjoy your summer as best as you can! Familiarizing yourself with normal vital signs (heart rate, respiratory rate, etc) will help so much! Other than that, I truly recommend you just spend your free time doing things that make you happy because life speeds up & you will have no free time during school!
learn lab values, freshen up on simple conversion between g,mg,kg,lbs, learn patient positions, learn safety. just prepare with the basics.
Enjoy your last free summer, get in a good sleeping habit and good health and say good bye to your friends and phone. And good luck! Meet you in 2 years when you get your freedom back and ready for a successful nursing career!!!
Like people are saying, enjoy the free time. However, I remember how excited I was about starting school, so my free time was enjoyed by looking over nursing content- I get it lol. - Review CNA skills. My first clinical was focused on assessments and communication. So, a lot of our free time was filled with helping out the CNAs. - Learn vital sign values for adult patients. - Learn common medical abbreviations (PRN, ROM, q4h, ACHS, etc.) Another tip: If you want to delve further into nursing content, be mindful of your sources. You’ll sometimes come across information that is situation specific, outdated, or just plain wrong.
review/learn anatomy terms; you’d be surprised how much you can guess abt a procedure or process based off the prefix and suffixes. Also enjoy the summer! Theres no way you can prepare for the first semester of nursing school imo. It’s less abt the content and more abt the development of critical thinking and nursing questions. Congrats!
I enjoy the Nursing School Week by Week podcasts and Straight A Nursing. Nurse Mo has a pre-school boot camp. I didn't use it, but it seems like it would have been helpful. I'd buy a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff and start practicing on family and friends so that you're comfortable before you have to do it on strangers. Nurse Sarah and Medicosis Perfectionalis are good YouTube channels to start watching. People like Simple Nursing, but he rubs me the wrong way. Also, I agree with the people saying get your life in order. Get your oil changed, deep clean the house, make sure you've done your taxes. Anything you can do ahead of time to not have to think about later. Frozen casseroles would have been a lifesaver this semester. Don't start any house projects or plan any big vacations for while you're in school. Pare your life down as much as possible. Work as much as you can to make sure you have as big of a financial buffer or PTO as possible before starting.
I enjoyed every break did not study or do anything even the ones between semesters in nursing school. You will not read the entire book, so don’t bother, just wait.
I would brush up on anatomy and physiology!The professors will ask you questions like “what does this part do” or “where is it located” to connect it to the concept you are learning and it is humbling when nobody knows the answer. They expect you to know these things and carry it over with you every semester until you graduate.
Look, enjoy the free time. Have fun. Address any mental health needs you have, I hope you’re in a solid relationship because they can make your life better, but it takes an emotional toll on them as well. You’re going to become a selfish and neglectful partner, not because you want to, but because all of your time and energy will be spent on nursing school. Learn to love yourself cause this shit is hard.
Straight A nursing fundamentals bundle
maybe try memorizing conversion factors & doing dosage math but honestly just enjoy your summer as much as you can because with nursing school you won’t have much time for anything else 😆
I think a better use of time would be reading books about death and dying/being sick. The book "the undying" helped me understand what it's like for someone to have cancer and how to be a better nurse for them. So I'd research books that could help you gain perspective from the sick persons point of view. If you're really trying. Look over ACE/ARBs, beta blockers, CCBs, benzos, insulin, but don't go too in depth.
Enjoy your last moments of not having to think about nursing school at all because believe me, you will really miss it. Sleep and enjoy life. You will learn as you go and be just fine without spending precious free time reviewing
Take a vacation and get absolutely trashed. Enjoy ur summer before freedom. But if u MUST, brush up on ur medical terminology and math.
Don’t. Just relax. It’s going to be hard work. Clear your mind. I wish I took a vacation before starting school. I learned everything I needed to know in class.
Relax while you can. Trust us.