Christina Rafano tells incoming nursing students to skip reading textbooks before classes start. Instead, master dosage calculation first, since most programs require a near-perfect score on a math exam within two weeks. Then focus on the nursing process once you're confident with Dose Calc.
Unfortunately, so many nursing students end up doing all the wrong things to get ready for nursing school, and it ends up backfiring a lot when they start school. In this video, I will dive into what you should study before you start your classes so you don't waste your time. And you can start off your classes confident that you are studying the right material in the most effective way with the most productive mindset. Let's do it. One of the biggest lies that we hear over and over and over again is that you get to nursing school and you want to read everything in the textbook in order to learn all the material and become a great nurse. That's what you hear all the time, right? That is absolutely not true. Not only will that take up way too much of your time, but it is nearly impossible. Because here's the unfortunate reality. Reading everything in your textbook before starting nursing school is not going to help you. It will actually hurt you. You'll be spending so much time reading just for the sake of reading that you're not spending time on the things that will actually matter to your grade. And here's the one thing that you should be doing before you start your classes. And if you've been around for a while, you know what I'm going to say, right? Dos Calc. Seriously? I have talked about it a gazillion times. Here, here, here, here, here. I'll just leave all those videos in the description so you can check them out later. But the point is, dose calc is super important in nursing school. I can guarantee that within the first two weeks of your term in nursing school, you are going to have a math test. It's called the Dose Calc exam or the Dosage calculations exam. And yes, it's a math test and you will have to score high on it. Now, most schools require that you get 100% on this exam. And I'm not kidding. Maybe your school is nicer than most. They might allow you to only get a 90% on that exam. But don't count on it. You would be very blessed. So practice as if you need 100% to pass or you won't be able to continue in your nursing program if you don't pass it. So, friend, if you look at one thing before you start your courses, please, please let it be dose calc. Now, before you stop this video and have a total meltdown about the dose calc exam, if you just found out about it, there's two reasons why you shouldn't freak out about this. Okay? Number one, the majority of nursing students pass this exam. Most nursing schools allow you for a couple of retakes or at least one retake so you have multiple chances to pass it. And number two, you have me into all of the videos from just a minute ago where I walk you through how to pass the Dose Calc exam with flying colors the first time. Now here is why you can totally study Dose Calc on your own beforehand without wasting your time. Dose Calc is all about the practice. The more practice you get with it, answering dose Calc questions really, the more confident you're going to become and you will do great. Practice, practice, practice. I also have this free Dose Calc cheat sheet that walks you through the simple six step process that you will want to follow to make sure that you get every single dose Calc question right every time. Do the practice questions inside the Dose Calc course if you are a nursing SOS member and if you want some extra ones, then make sure to snag them from the Dose Calc box that we have available for you. Do any practice questions that school gives you and just practice, practice, practice. The more practice you get, the more confident you're going to be. You will pass. I believe in you my friend. Now that is going to save you the first few weeks of your program. One less thing to worry about. And you know that I am all about that not worrying. Let's not do that now. After you do that and only after you do that and you know doscalc inside and out and you are ready to ace your dose Calc exam which is once you are at that point, then you can move on to the next thing that you might want to consider studying before you start nursing school. Like I said before, don't go and read a thousand chapters in your textbooks before your classes start. That is not going to help you one bit. And I am all about helping you succeed, right? You know this. So instead you are going to focus your reading and study time on what actually matters. And besides dose calculated, the first thing that you're going to learn in nursing school is the nursing process. Now I break down the nursing process really really simple for you here in this video. So be sure to check that out only of course after you have mastered Dose Calc. So remember you promised right? Do Dose Calc before anything else. But after that, check out that video. Now there is one caveat to learning the nursing process as you are learning it. You may come across this little phrase called critical thinking or thinking like a nurse right now. Don't freak out when you hear that ph okay, you promise me. I hear this all the time from nursing students. How do I critically think? Christina? I don't know how to critically think. And always, my friend, my response is, of course you don't. Of course you don't. You just started nursing school. You are not expected to know how to critically think right away. It's okay. You are here to learn, not to know it all, already, right? So give yourself grace. Don't beat yourself up about the things that you don't know yet. That's okay. As you go through nursing school, as you go through the nursing process, understand what it actually is and what's actually expected of you in nursing school and how to put all the puzzle pieces together, it will get better. You're not expected to know how to critically think right now. It'll come in time. Just focus on learning what the nursing process is and the basics for it. That's your goal right now, is to focus on that. But now remember, dose calc is your number one priority to stay study before you start your classes. And then after you mastered that, yes, you can move on in the nursing process. And I know that nursing school can feel so overwhelming and so challenging, but it is totally possible to have a life in nursing school. And I walk you through how to do that in this video. Now go become the nurse that God created only you to be. And I will see you over there in that next video.
