I think I am very much qualified to make a nursing survival guide since I already experienced being nursing student, a staff nurse, and a nursing clinical instructor.
The following are the essentials if you want to survive nursing:
1) ATTENDANCE - Always remember that whenever you are absent, it is always a double jeopardy situation because you missed signing in the attendance sheet that might cause you a sanction or make up duty as well you probably missed a quiz or two.
2) APTITUDE - For a 100-item test, always remember to never leave any test items unanswered as well as avoid doing super impositions or alterations that may invalid your answer. It is best to have a pencil and an eraser with you. Always be time conscious whenever you are taking a test, limit a maximum of 45 seconds or less than a minute on each item that you are unsure. Encircle that item then return to it after you are done answering the items that you are more sure of your answers.
3) ATTITUDE - Unlike any courses, all nursing faculty give a weight as much as 10% for attitude in a grade of the nursing student. This can be very subjective since it is based only on the clinical instructor's perception but you can make it to your advantage by being more polite, punctual, and prepared in any requirement given to you. Instead of spending time arguing with a clinical instructor about a missing written requirement that you did pass earlier, how about avoiding that situation by having a photocopy of the written requirement as contingency and your copy for future reference.
4) ALLOWANCE - Money. Money. Lots of money! You definitely need to budget your allowance or request for a constant raise every semester because of the expenses of assignments, requirements, contributions, affiliations, and many to mention (as in words with suffixes "-ments" and "-tions" in nursing!).
5) AMOR - It is the Spanish word for "love". It means that you should love nursing because it makes everything easier for you as a nursing student and professional someday. Nursing may not be the course that you really like but it doesn't mean you have to hate it. The best thing about nursing is that it can be your stepping stone for another career and can be your reliable fall back if all else fails in the other career that you choose. Nursing can also be your motivation for living a more healthier life for you and the people you care about the most.
