Clinicals are one of the most important parts of your nursing education. With everything that may be on your mind at the time, it’s important to remember proper communication and etiquette during each one. To practice good etiquette and common courtesy during each of your clinical rotations: Introduce yourself to the nurses on duty Ask if you can help out in any way Respect their territory and time Always be polite At the end, thank...  Read More »

By Richard Freedberg, RN, MSN, MPA Most nursing students, it seems, lead extremely busy lives and find time to be a precious commodity. It is tremendously difficult to balance work, family, classroom, clinical, and other obligations. (We will save that for another discussion, but can freely agree that none of us wants to squander study time in unproductive pursuits.) This leads us to our question today: Are study groups worth it? Do they...  Read More »

Ah, graduation. It’s a time to sit back, relax, and celebrate all your hard work. Ah, the NCLEX-RN®. Gulp. It’s a time to sit up straight, get serious, and put in all your hard work. Life’s like that, isn’t it? You pass one hurdle and there’s another one staring you in the face. Anyway, many of you will be taking the NCLEX this summer and we’re here to provide some help courtesy of Stressed Out About...  Read More »

By Richard Freedberg, RN, MSN, MPA That’s a tough circumstance to be in! Nursing students have to be smart, capable people with proven track records of success to get into competitive nursing programs. So why is it so hard now? First, let me just confirm that you are not alone! Your classmates may not proclaim it from the rooftops, but others most assuredly failed, and the majority may not have done as well as they would have liked....  Read More »

The time has come. The graduation parties and the excitement from the end of college have subsided, and I need to focus on the fact that in about a month, I will be faced with the test that defines my future as a nurse. Even saying the word, NCLEX, runs a shiver down my back. It’s not that I don’t think my college prepared me for this exam; it’s just that I don’t want to have to retake it. So I have started to organize...  Read More »

After much anticipation, the newest Stressed Out book will arrive this week. Stressed Out About Pharmacology features information about everything from learning strategies, to drugs (of course), to patient safety tips that will combine to make you feel prepared in your career as a nurse. We’ve looked at how to keep up your learning hygiene, spent some time with neoplastic medications, and taken it to a higher level of patient safety....  Read More »

The spring semester is in full swing at nursing schools across the country. Students are working hard, trying to stay stress-free, and thinking about their futures. After a quick trip across that big graduation stage (yes, that day is coming soon), the NCLEX-RN® will be there waiting. How will you prepare? Questions, questions, and more questions? Try something different. Take the stress out of the exam with Stressed Out About the NCLEX-RN®....  Read More »