N4 First Day

Hey all y'all just starting N4, you guys need to buy the green student handbook and take it with you on the first day of class. They will be going through it the first day. There are papers in there that you have to sign and turn in right away. You will need almost everything in there for the class, so, yes... you do need to buy it.

Here is a suggestion that might help you feel more organized and in control with the pace of N4. Have a folder for each body system that will be lectured on. In it, have all of the practice quizes and study guide(with answers) stapled together. Get a copy of a helpful CD from some of us that have been there, and print out ahead of time a lecture outline. Staple this with any extra notes and handouts that they give you. Have as much of this ready ahead of time before class and it will set your mind at ease and enable to focus more on the lecture, since you will know what to expect. I taped every lecture for my own peace of mind, but never once relistened to any of them. That was my lecture crutch.

I can't stress this enough, practice the questions before you read, circle your wrong answers and then go study. This will shorten your study time and help you focus on what you really need to work on. Mosby's yellow box of study cards are really helpful too. The pathophys book is more helpful for reading than the medsurg book. That book (medsurg) is good for pictures and to cruise through without actually reading that much. Click on the links to the practice questions, alot of times there are pictures and charts to look at there too. Even if you are actually able to read all of the assigned material, you really don't know what you know, until some questions have come at you. Don't wait until the test to find out.

For clinical, what really helped me, was to show up early. Make sure to stuff your pockets with saline flushes, blunt tips, aligator tip clamps for the IV tubing, a tourniquet, alcohol wipes, labels for IV and piggyback tubing, tape, a few 2x2s etc. Find out what you will be doing with your patients first. They start you off slow and then increase your patient load. It was fun. Don't stress. If anyone who has SJGH and Mrs. Prieto wants to know what it was like, call me.

Call me if you need any help with anything. I am still going to prowl around and look for tests for you to practice. I will be at the tutor center still, I just don't know what my new schedule will be yet. If you want to get together and go over anything, we can work times out.
(C) 329-1369
(H) 474-6339
bboss947@students.deltacollege.edu
bboss947@sbcglobal.net