Customer Reviews

How to Survive and Maybe Even Love Nursing School!: Guide for Students by Students

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a 27 year old husband and father thinking about entering an AD nursing program. As you can see, I'm not exactly the average prospective student here- nursing or otherwise. For this very reason I wanted to be sure I was on the straight and narrow path to making a wise decision regarding my future. Being an avid reader, the first place I looked was the book section here on Amazon.com. "How to Survive... Nursing School" seemed like an obvious choice to start with, and am I ever glad I did. Spun with wisdom and soft humor this book takes you from the early process of applying for school all the way to passing the NCLEX exam and looking for a job, with thought provoking reasons for becoming a nurse throughout. Most importantly, most of the helpful antidotes are derived from current students from all across the country. They provide priceless and sometimes blunt facts about the nursing process, both pros and cons (mostly pros). I purchased this book with the idea of skimming certain parts I was interested in, but ended up reading every last word.

If you are a nurse hopeful or already studying away, I strongly suggest this book as a starting point to a brighter understanding of the nursing world.

****UPDATE August 28, 2011****

A good deal of time has passed since I wrote this review. And guess what? I became a nurse, and worked on a stroke unit at the University of Kentucky, and now am the clinical director at a college in Northern Kentucky! Let my success be a light to those thinking of entering nursing school... work hard and your life can change! This book is still an awesome place to start. Great luck to all of those setting out on the nursing school trail.

I thought this book was amazing...it covered everything I needed to know and then some. One of my friends was ready to quit school until he got this book...he said it was like a (knowledgable) best friend sitting on the shelf!

Looking at the review below, there are some good concerns raised, but almost all of what the reader didn't like has been addressed in the second edition of this book which came out a few months or so ago. There are also some other cool features of the new book...like info on PDAs (my school requires 'em now)and all sorts of info on the nursing shortage.

It might be hard to find (because Amazon has the author's name messed up a bit!) but if you do a search by the title you can find the new edition.

Anyway, definitely purchase this book...the resources alone are worth the price!!!!

A funny thing happened a few weeks before my first quarter of nursing school - I was offered a great job in my current field, which wouldn't allow me to attend classes. While I was waving my fist at the Universe (obviously the butt of a huge celestial joke) I read a side bar in Kelli Dunham's book titled "They Should Have Sent a Poet". I could hardly finish the short story as tears streamed down my face; there is an unparalleled beauty in this profession that makes everything we go through worthwhile. I know there are no guarantees I will succeed in nursing school, but I'm arming myself with all the help I can get. A great deal of that help has come from reading this book. The website links alone are worth the price. Very well researched, charmingly written, well thought out, this is an excellent addition to your early nursing arsenal.

This book contained some useful information, but I feel that it just skimmed the surface and left some important questions unanswered. For example, in its discussion of the differences between the different types of degrees (diploma, AD, BSN), it would be nice to know: do nurses with BSN's make a lot more money? What is the average salary of a nurse with a bachelor's versus a nurse without one? Are BSN's better prepared to enter the workforce? Do community college nurses get more clinical experience than students in BSN programs? I'd also like to know: does an education at a prestigious, highly ranked nursing school pay off, or is nursing a field where a person would be just as well off attending an inexpensive local college? The book touched upon these questions, but really didn't provide any specific answers. I also feel that it would be helpful to know a bit more about what to expect academically in nursing school. The book emphasizes over and over again that there is a ton of work and it's all very hard, but what are the core nursing classes? What sort of material is studied in the classroom? Are there any books one can read before entering nursing school to prepare oneself (aside from books covered in prerequisite courses)? In terms of academics, what classes are part of a bachelor's program that are not included in an AD program? What specific procedures does a student need to know how to perform by the time he or she graduates? Are there any books available that describe these procedures?
I am left with many unanswered questions.

This book offers straight forward advice. The author delivers the advice with humor and I really enjoyed reading the quotes from other students.
The problem I have is that I don't really feel like I learned anything new from the book. Most of what's included can easily be gained by visiting any number of free web discussion boards. I would recommend it for those people who are still exploring the idea of going to nursing school. If you've already done a lot of research and made the decision to go to school, than I wouldn't bother with this book.

I've been thinking about attending nursing school, and my sister (also a nurse) recommended this book to me. It's AMAZING. It is practical, humorous, and easy-to-read.

Ms. Dunham's also not afraid to take on tougher topics... and it's clear that she focuses on keeping the humanity in nursing and health care, even in an age when that's growing more and more difficult.

I have recommended this book to everyone I know who's in nursing school... and even those who are already nurses!

I bought this book for a friend who will soon be going to nursing school. I have been through four nursing programs--LVN, ADN, BSN, and now MSN--and Kelli Dunham knows the rigors that nursing school places on your life. Students who have not been there cannot comprehend the demands that you place on yourself to succeed in nursing school. They also cannot comprehend how they can do poorly in nursing school when they have done so well in other subjects. I hope this book can help them make it through! Kelli offers suggestions for coping using humor, humility, and sensitivity and even applies the dreaded nursing diagnosis on a personal level. Wish this book had been around when I went through the first time!

How to Survive and Maybe Even Love Nursing School: A Guide for Students by Students by Kelli S. Dunham.
The author is a registered nurse who has worked her way through AD, BS, and MS programs in nursing. She interviewed over 300 students and faculty members to collect their stories for this book which is a discussion in first person of practical tips, resources and information needed for succeeding in nursing school. The author addresses choosing and getting into a nursing school, financial aid, time management, stress and overload, developing study habits, test taking, diversity, clinical rotations, preparing for NCLEX-RN, licensure, finding a job, and trends in nursing. Appendix A is about computers and Internet. Appendix B is about humor and resources. This is a good book for a high school student or nontraditional student who is considering nursing school and can be used throughout the nursing education. It's an entertaining "how to" book.

I AM IN THE FIRST STAGE OF NURSING SCHOOL AND FOUND THIS BOOK TO BE A TOTAL HELP TOOL. THIS BOOK IS VALUABLLE TO EVERY KIND OF NURSING STUDENT AND NEW GRADUATE. THIS BOOK TELLS YOU HOW TO CHOOSE A NURSING SCHOOL THAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU, WHAT TO DO IF YOU BECOME SICK TO YOUR STOMACH,TIME MANAGEMENT,TEST TAKING SKILLS, STRESS MANAGEMENT, TIME MANGEMENT, ABOUT FINANCIAL AID, DIFFERENT TYPES OF NURSING DEGREES, ALL ABOUT THE NCLEX & HOW TO STUDY FOR IT AND HOW TO GET JOB INTERVIEWS, MAKE RESUMES AND JOB SEARCHES.THIS BOOK ALSO HAS A LOT OF LINKAGES TO INTERNET SITES WHICH ARE VERY HELPFUL. THE AURTHOR IS A NURSE AND HAS BEEN WHERE I AM AT AND HAS QUOTED ABOUT 300 OTHERS NURSES ON EACH AND EVERYTHING THAT CAN POSSIBLY HAPPEN TO YOU ,PLUS IT IS EASY & FUN TO READ. THIS IS MONEY WELL SPENT. I FEEL 100% BETTER SINCE I HAVE READ THIS BOOK.

I bought this book after my first semester of nursing school in an AD program. I could not put it down! It is chocked full of useful information, data, study tips, interview and resume information, and HUMOR! It is a fast, easy read for the busy student! I highly reccomend this book to any person that is even thinking of nursing as a profession! Very comprehesive and thorough!