Dosage, anatomy & physiology, diseases, injuries, nursing diagnoses, The Nursing Process, medications, interventions, patient advocacy, critical thinking skills – YIKES! How are nursing students supposed to keep up with learning all of this new information? How are nursing students supposed to balance the stress of school, family, work and play?!? It is no real secret that nursing students must be vigilant in planning out their academic, personal and professional obligations to stay focused and on track.
Let’s take a look at 5 ways that nursing students can PLAN to rock nursing school:
Invest in Tools to Help You Plan
It’s important that nursing students invest in organization tools that will help them to stay focused and timely in completing assignments, studying and life events. Investing in awesome planners, stickers, sticky note pads, colored pens and pencils, and electronic schedulers can help you organize and prioritize. Be sure to select items that you will be inclined to use. Ease of use and practicality are important to consider before you make a purchase.
Get Organized
Simplifying your life through organization is one of the best things you can do to manifest success! Be sure to start by decluttering your work space, book bag and personal items bag or purse. Put regularly used items in a set place, and tuck away infrequently used items in a drawer or closet. Keep all essential items such as pens, pencils, highlighters, stickers, sticky notes, etc. in both your book bag, as well as your work space. Keep folders or binders for each course, and be sure to save all electronic documents on your computer as well as a USB memory drive. Once you are organized, then you can begin to successfully plan for success!
Plan Ahead to Stay Ahead
Understanding what each nursing class requires of you is essential to successful planning. Nursing students must carefully and thoroughly read each nursing class syllabus so that they know what is expected of them. Be sure to plan out assignments, exams, study time, and life events/obligations at least every two weeks. If you can plan out further in advance – like a month or more, then do it. Just remember that you can always revise your plan if unexpected life events get in the way of your study time, etc.
When life events do get in the way, the best way to respond is to revise your schedule to fit in the missed study time. This may require additional planning on your part, such as asking a family member to help you with some of your obligations. Regardless of the situation, planning out for at least every two weeks will surely help you in staying focused and on track.
Make To-Do Lists
Making daily and weekly To-Do Lists will help to keep you motivated and productive. Nothing feels better than being able to check off items on the list. To-Do Lists help you to manage your time effectively, and provides instant gratification when you are able to see how much you have accomplished. I recommended that you both write, and use electronic forms of To-Do Lists for ease of access and use.
Stick to the Plan and Stay on Track
Let’s face it, nursing students are overwhelmed majority of the time with their studies. This can prove to be a major barrier in staying focused and sticking to one plan of action. As nursing students are desperately seeking new ways to retain the copious amounts of information, they can sometimes lose sight of the tools that can support them on their quest to doing well in their studies. Sticking to the plan of planning ahead is essential to the success of a nursing student. Be sure to plan out ALL life events, assignments, study time and other obligations at least every two weeks. No matter how overwhelmed you may become in all that you must accomplish, this vital process of planning ahead and sticking to the plan will provide you with structure, organization and peace of mind when you need it the most!
Best Wishes!
-Damion
