Got a job tutoring/ No idea how to start

I am in nursing school and a lot of my classmates aren't doing so well in a particular class. I am doing well in that class so the instructor asked me to tutor. I have never tutored before so I really don't know how to begin. I am not the most organized person, nor do I have particularly good study habits but there are few other options and if these students fail this class they will be held back an entire year. That is why I want to do the best I can to help them.

Any advice on how to approach this?

Congratulations on the job.

I suggest you be honest and straightforward with the teacher. Tell her that you haven't tutored before and need specific guidelines on how to proceed.

Will you be paid by the students or the school?

Congrats! That's quite a pack on the back.

The same thing happened to me when I was taking A&P II a couple years ago.
Start with the chapter the student is going over.
You can ask if they understand a certian concept or if they need help memorizing paticular information.

I would also take notes in the Cornell style of notetaking. I would type out the notes after class. Those notes, and the book, were the begining points of the tutoring session.

You can do it!!

also ask the potential students which areas they need help in

I tutored and ran a study group in nursing school.

Mainly, I just drilled them over and over. I'd ask the same question different ways. In the study group, I'd start a discussion of a subject and asked them what they thought, what does this mean, what would you do....

Ex:

Your patient is on Lasix. What's the generic name?

What does that do?

Why would a doctor order that?

What should you be ready to do a few minutes after an IV administration or about 15 minutes after an oral administration?

What lab result would you want to look at tomorrow?

If you hear crackles in a CHF patient, what prn would you think about administering?

Should you start a big sterile dressing change on a patient if you just gave another one some Lasix?


Stuff like that. Good luck, you'll do fine. Plus it will help you study too.

PS What's always worked well for me: Tell them to go over points to remember right before they go to sleep. It really helps set data into memory.

I would ask each person how they learn. Some people learn by doing, some by writing, others by just listening/talking. If I have to memorize information, I need to write it down. Not type it, not read it, but write it. If I need to learn how to do something, I need to actually get in there and DO it. Not watch it or read about it, but do it.

Everyone learns differently, so see how each person is most comfortable with learning and see what you can do from there.

Originally Posted by annulla Congratulations on the job. I suggest you be honest and straightforward with the teacher. Tell her that you haven't tutored before and need specific guidelines on how to proceed. Will you be paid by the students or the school?

The school is paying.

So how's it going?

Taking a while to get started (red tape). Hoping to have my first session on Friday.