Straight A Nursing: Study for nursing school exams & NCLEX

New nurses, have you called your first rapid response yet? The scariest part of your first rapid response usually isn't the clinical situation in front of you. It's the moment you have to decide whether you should even call it.  If you're nervous about calling a rapid response, I've got a reframe and some actionable advice for you in this quick episode. See you there!

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👋 Want to walk into clinical situations feeling more prepared instead of just hoping for the best? Confident Nurse Academy is our on-demand clinical readiness program, built to help new nurses get clinically ready for high-stakes situations like this one, faster. Get a free sneak peak into this program by grabbing the Confident Code Blue Response lesson here.

💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode!

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The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reye’s syndrome is a rare but very serious condition that involves acute encephalopathy, cerebral edema and fatty liver failure. The pathophysiology is not fully understood but what we do know points to mitochondrial injury secondary to viral illness and the use of aspirin in young children.

In this episode you will learn:

Read the article and view references here.

Nursing school gets easier when you have a system to help you identify what to focus on as you study. I get you started building that system in my free Nursing School Survival Blueprint, where I share the key shifts you can make which separate struggling students from thriving ones.

👉 ⁠Download the Blueprint⁠

This is a throwback to episode 257 of the Straight A Nursing School Podcast, where nursing school help is at your fingertips with hundreds of episodes covering your journey from taking the TEAS through passing NCLEX and having success as a new-grad nurse.

💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode…and share with friends so you can help other nurses thrive! 

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The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Test your knowledge of AKI with this quick set of audio flashcards. Dive right in or brush up on your nursing knowledge of AKI first, in episode #509: Acute Kidney Injury for Nursing Students: Causes, Symptoms, Labs & Treatment.

These mini-reviews are a great way to study on the go, and they give you a taste of what it’s like inside Study Sesh, my audio study tool for busy nursing students.

🧠 Ready to quiz yourself? Let’s dive in!

👉Want more practice like this? ⁠Check out Study Sesh!

💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode!

___________________

The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Acute kidney injury is one of the most common complications seen in hospitalized patients, yet it's a topic that often leaves nursing students overwhelmed by lab values and terminology.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the three types of AKI and showing you how to recognize the clues that help distinguish one from another. We'll talk through:

- Common causes

- Important assessment findings

- Key lab values

- Complications to watch for when kidney function begins to decline.

We'll also review how urine output, fluid status, creatinine, BUN, potassium, and other findings fit together so you can stop memorizing isolated facts and start understanding the bigger picture.

Nursing school gets easier when you have a system to help you identify what to focus on as you study, and to connect the dots so you can see that bigger picture. I get you started building that system in my free Nursing School Survival Blueprint, where I share the key shifts you can make which separate struggling students from thriving ones. 👉 ⁠Download the Blueprint⁠

Read the article and view references here.

💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode…and share with friends so you can help other nurses thrive! 

___________________

The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New nurses, this one's for you! We're talking about what that first code actually feels like, why the calm you see in other nurses doesn’t mean you’re not cut out for this, and why your contribution matters even when you're not the one leading.

If you're a new nurse and this moment is still ahead of you, or if you've already been through it and it's still on your mind, hit play on this episode!

👋 Want to walk into your first code feeling more prepared instead of just hoping for the best? Confident Nurse Academy is our on-demand clinical readiness program, built to help new nurses get clinically ready for high-stakes situations like this one, faster. Get a sneak peak into this program by grabbing the Confident Code Blue Response lesson absolutely free!

👉https://confident-nurse-academy.kit.com/7078f83bd5

💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode…and share with friends so you can help other nurses thrive! 

___________________

The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Beers Criteria, or Beers list, is a list of medications which are considered to be potentially harmful medications for individuals over 65 years old due to risks or side effects that outweigh the benefits. 

In this episode, you'll learn:

The Beers list is updated by the American Geriatrics Society every 3 years with the most recent version as of 8/2026 being from 2023. View the 2023 Beers list here.

Pharmacology Success Pack - Want to get a head start on pharmacology? Download the FREE Pharmacology Success Pack and you'll have drug naming conventions, safe medication administration, unit conversions and reversal agents at your finger tips. Print them and put them in your clinical binder or keep them in your files at your phone so you can reference them any time.
Fast Pharmacology - Learn pharmacology concepts in 5 minutes or less in this audio based program. Perfect for on-the-go review!

Read the article "The Beers List Explained" and view references here.

This is a throwback to episode 169 of the Straight A Nursing School Podcast, where nursing school help is at your fingertips with hundreds of episodes covering your journey from taking the TEAS through passing NCLEX and having success as a new-grad nurse. 

💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode…and share with friends so you can help other nurses thrive! 

___________________

The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nursing is full of terms that sound similar, look similar, and sometimes even seem interchangeable. But understanding the differences between these concepts can make a huge difference in your clinical judgment.

Hit play for a rapid-fire round of "This vs. That" and we'll clear up seven commonly confused nursing concepts.

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⁠Nursing School Survival Blueprint⁠ - Feeling overwhelmed or unsure how to approach nursing school? Download this free Blueprint to understand exactly what's working against you — and what to do instead.

Straight A Nursing Study Resources⁠⁠ - ⁠Check out everything Straight A Nursing has to offer, including free resources and online courses to help you succeed!

💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode!

___________________

The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're just heading in to clinical or are still feeling a bit overwhelmed at the end of every shift, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I'm sharing how you can reframe your clinical experience to go from just trying to survive, to walking out of every shift sharper than when you walked in.

You'll learn:

Nursing school gets easier when you have a system to build your clinical thinking from the ground up. I'd love to get you started building that system by walking you through the key shifts that separate struggling students from thriving ones in my free ⁠Nursing School Survival Blueprint⁠.

👉 Download the Blueprint

Start nursing school ahead of the game, or reset after a difficult first semester with my nursing school prep course, Crucial Concepts Bootcamp. Learn key foundation concepts, organization and time management, dosage calculations, and so much more.

👉 ⁠Crucial Concepts Bootcamp⁠

💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode!

___________________

The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next time you get your patient assignment, skip the panic-prep session and instead, try the five-minute clinical prep routine I'm breaking down in this episode. By the end of this episode, you'll know how to focus your clinical prep on what actually matters so you can walk into clinical feeling prepared and confident enough to learn.

___________________

⁠Nursing School Survival Blueprint⁠ - Feeling overwhelmed or unsure how to approach nursing school? Download this free Blueprint to understand exactly what's working against you — and what to do instead.

Straight A Nursing Study Resources⁠⁠ - ⁠Check out everything Straight A Nursing has to offer, including free resources and online courses to help you succeed!

💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode!

___________________

The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Straight A Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's really helpful to know a few specific things in advance of your pediatric clinicals so you can make the most of your experience from the start. 

In this episode, I'm sharing my top 6 pediatric clinical tips, including:

Having a system in place for your approach to nursing school is just as important as reviewing key things ahead of your peds clinicals. You don't want just any system though, you want one that sets you up to thrive. I get you started with building a system that allows you to study smarter and feel more prepared in my free Nursing School Survival Blueprint.

👉 Download the Blueprint

Read the article "6 Peds Clinical Tips to Help You Thrive" and view references here. 

This is a throwback to episode 360 of the Straight A Nursing School Podcast, where nursing school help is at your fingertips with hundreds of episodes covering your journey from taking the TEAS through passing NCLEX and having success as a new-grad nurse. 

💕Did you love this episode? Please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode!

___________________

The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this podcast are for educational purposes only. No content on this podcast is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider's scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Straight a Nursing is a proud member of the Airwave Media Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices