(MEPN Director, Dr Jackie Close)

Eight ways to avoid unhealthy competition in nursing school

1. Don’t participate in the “whadyaget” game after test results are given.
2. When you work in a group, make a conscious effort to include less verbal or assertive members and to solicit their feedback.
3. At clinical rotations, always be on the lookout for peers who might need a hand for tasks such as turning a patient or making a bed for a patient in traction. Also accept assistance graciously when you need it.
4. Refuse to badmouth other students behind their backs.
5. If possible, deal with conflict at the source. If you are having problems with a classmate, try to solve it directly with them.
6. Use humor judiciously to defuse tension, but be conscious of others’ feelings and the fact that stress can make even the hardiest individuals sensitive to good-natured ribbing.
7. Actively look for traits and behavior to appreciate in your classmates.
   1. (Dunham, K.S.2004. How to survive & maybe even love nursing school: A guide for students by students. FA Davis, Phildelphia.)
8. Always go into a situation thinking only the best of the others. (Jackieism)

Tips for your Christmas/Holiday Gift List

• Journals to ask for:
• RN
• Nursing 2018 (2019, 2020, etc.)
• The Nerdy Nurse’s Guide to Technology
• Becoming Nursey
• Law and Order for Nurses
• From Frustrated to Fulfilled
• The Nurse’s Reality Shift: Using History to Transform the Future
• The Nurses Reality Gap: Overcoming Barriers Between Academic Achievement and Clinical Success
• How to Survive and Maybe Even Love Nursing School: A Guide for          Students by Students
• I wasn’t Strong Like This When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming a             Nurse