Nursing is not a stagnant career; it is changing and becoming more complicated and demanding with each passing day. With increasing patient care demands, the use of sophisticated technology and medication for treating patients, and workplace automation, nurses must upgrade their skill sets.
Higher education is compulsory for nurses wanting to excel in their careers. Many hospitals prefer BSN nurses over ADN (Associate Degree in Nursing) nurses because of their better qualifications and skill sets.
Those already having a BSN degree are expected to move one step further and pursue a master’s degree in nursing (MSN). In this way, the higher your education, the more qualified and skilled you will be considered.
More and more nurses are pursuing BSN or MSN degree programs alongside work. This is because nurses realize the importance of higher education for their professional development and career success.
But working alongside studying is not an easy task. You have to juggle responsibilities, manage your timetable, and take time to review chapters and notes and whatnot.
Some study tips for an aspiring nurse trying to ace nursing school are mentioned below.
1. Focus on your goal
In order to ace nursing school as a BSN or a diploma holder nurse, you must focus on your final goal. For instance, if you are continuing your education after a BSN degree, you must focus on the specializations offered in an MSN nursing syllabus based on what you want to accomplish. This way, you can focus more on the course material that helps you attain your goal.
If you’re still perplexed and want to know more about what to do with masters in nursing degree and why to get one, sit with your supervisor and discuss your career goals and aspirations. After this discussion, you might decide to become a Family Nurse Practitioner or a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner after your master’s degree. With your goal in mind, you have fewer chances to go astray.
2. Study according to the exam guide
When you manage work and study together, it is impossible to study like a regular student whose only responsibility is towards their studies. You must become smarter in your approach and follow a guideline to ace your nursing school.
The nursing licensing exam is the best guideline you can follow even during your academic years. Though you will appear for this exam after the degree, you can still focus on the exam guide to see what questions normally become part of the exam. You can also concentrate more on the topics that hold significance to succeed in the examination.
Not everything included in your nursing syllabus becomes part of the exam. But the benefit of following the exam guide is acquiring a direction and a parameter to judge your performance. Ultimately, you feel more confident and can work more in less time.
3. Do the tasks assigned in class
Whether you are taking online classes or attending classes physically, you must concentrate on the material assigned in the class every day. Try to read the chapters, go through the lecture notes, and solve questions at the end of each chapter.
The biggest mistake you can make while in nursing school is to leave everything for the weekend. You have other stuff needing your attention when the weekend comes, and you skip studying. This way, your assignments accumulate, and you fail to complete them on time. Therefore, study every day— try to leave as less for the weekend as possible; after all, you need time for self-care too.
4. Eat a healthy diet
Diet is the last thing on the mind of most nurses. When they juggle study and work, their food intake becomes even worse. Their tendency to consume convenient and unhealthy food increases. It becomes easier to grab a chicken sandwich and gobble it down during a shift or study break, but preparing a healthy meal seems like a mountain they cannot climb.
Besides convenience and taste, unhealthy food does not offer any nutrients that help your brain or body. You need a proper diet to fulfill the requirements of your work and study.
Skipping meals or binging on fast food increase your risk of catching diseases such as the common cold, fever, and other viral infections. It is because nutritional deficiency eventually leads to a weak immune system.
Therefore, for nurses trying to ace nursing school, a healthy diet comprising fruits and vegetables is very important.
You also need a diet containing Omega-3 fatty acids, which strengthen your immune system and fight stress alongside helping your heart and eyes.
5. Make a schedule
Making a study schedule is crucial to ace your nursing school without stress. Having a study schedule means you can dedicate time to studying, having a proper meal, spending time with family, self-care, etc. Without a study plan, it becomes difficult to fulfill all your responsibilities alongside studying. Chances are that you end up ignoring everything.
An important aspect of making a schedule is to ensure that it is realistic—something you can follow—and that you must stick to it. What is the point of making a schedule which you cannot follow? None!
Give yourself some challenges, but don’t make your schedule something impossible to achieve. Unrealistic expectations are not fulfilled and add stress.
6. Choose a dedicated study space
Always have a dedicated spot in the house or outside where you can go and study. If you prefer studying in the house, your study space should be free from all distractions. It should be far away from the TV room or the spot where the rest of your family spends their time.
Your bed is the last spot you should choose for studying. Often the temptation to snuggle in and leave everything aside is too much to handle. On the other hand, a library is a good place to spend your study hours. Its ambiance often helps concentrate on the task.
Besides the house, you can choose a spot outside too. Some students like to study in parks surrounded by elements of nature. Spending time in nature has many cognitive and physical health benefits. It helps improve concentration, mental clarity, critical and creative thinking, and problem-solving. You also get ample motivation and natural energy that helps with your studies.
Conclusion
Acing your nursing school is not a piece of cake. It needs dedication and perseverance. Cramming difficult nursing concepts, reading extensive chapters and notes, and making assignments can sometimes be stressful. You need direction and some practical tips—as mentioned above—for successfully acing nursing school. Following these study tips will give you positive results for your efforts.
Leave a Reply