Nursing School Study Tips
Once you’ve made the decision to advance your nursing career through an RN to BSN degree program or earning an MSN Degree, try to create a study plan so you’ll be sure to succeed in your endeavor.
Whether you’ve been away from nursing school for a few months or many years, the idea of buckling down with the books can be overwhelming. Don’t worry! A simple plan that includes the following study tips can make a big difference in your confidence, as well as your grades.
Designate a Specific Work Area
It’s important to have an area that helps to maximize your study time. Whether at the kitchen table, in a private alcove in the attic, or even the coffee shop down the street – make sure it works for you. Some nursing school students can study among chaos, while others need complete silence.
Five Study Area Tips
- Assess your needs: Are you vulnerable to distractions when it’s too noisy? Do you need a space that is available at odd times of the day? Do you need to get away from your regular environment in order to concentrate?
- Claim your study space: If you share space with others, designate an area that’s just for you.
- Respect your study space and insist that others do too: Keep it clean and organized; let others know it is off-limits to their stuff.
- Be sure you are comfortable: is it warm or cool enough? Do you have enough room to spread out when you need to?
- Set up the space so it is ergonomically correct. Avoid repetitive stress injuries with a proper chair and desk arrangement.
Touch Base at Least Every Two Days
Pursuing your online MSN degree or an RN to BSN online nursing degree program means you can study and interact with fellow students and instructors on your own time, whenever you have the time. But it can also be a little too easy to stay away from the online classroom. So, to avoid letting time get away from you, make it part of your study plan to check in at least every two days.
Touching base through today’s technology means more opportunities to get the most out of your nursing school online classroom:
- Check message boards often for announcements or messages from students and instructors.
- Take advantage of chat rooms to “meet” with your instructors and ask questions, or let them know when you need extra help.
- Replay lectures if you’re having trouble with the subject or material. The ability to view a streaming video lecture at any time is one of the online classroom’s biggest advantages.
You’ll find that the more involved you are, the more you’ll maximize your nursing education. It’s never been easier to balance nursing school with work and family!
Been Too Long Since You Checked In?Don’t Feel Guilty
If you do let a week or so go without logging in, don’t worry too much. It’s okay to take some “me time.” But if you start feeling guilty about falling behind or not doing your homework, you can quickly begin to feel overwhelmed. If you feel guilty, it’s a sign to take action.
Many nursing schools students allow this overwhelming feeling to take control. Or they think that unless they have an hour or two to devote to studying, it’s not worth it to even begin. And before they know it, another week has passed.
An easy way to avoid this situation is to simply log into the classroom – even if you only have 15 minutes. You’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish just by reading posts, clarifying any questions you might have and communicating with your fellow students.
Create a Buddy System
Our final study tip for nursing school students is to buddy up. Making connections with fellow students is easy through email and message boards. Try networking with nursing school students who are ahead of you – they are a great source of information on courses, instructors and tips for success.
Another great way to gain a support system and make studying easier is to form a study group. Your MSN degree or RN to BSN degree program will require you to learn a great deal of information, so having two or three fellow students to share the load can be very helpful.
Study Tips for Nursing School Groups:
- Make a study plan. Decide how your group will work, according to the needs of each member.
- Limit your group to manageable number. Some experts say three is the optimum number for a study group.
- If possible, get together virtually at regular times. This will help all of you stay on track.
- Hold each other accountable.
- Create practice questions for each other, or divide an assignment among you.
- Compare notes to make sure everyone is studying the same information. Different people hear things differently.
Study Tips Can Equal Nursing School Success
Enrolling in an MSN degree or RN to BSN degree program is not only a smart move – it’s your chance to start toward advancing your career potential and transforming your life. Make the most of nursing school with these easy-to-implement study tips!
