Nursing School...Need some advice

cracklingkraken, ASN, RN · Oct 1, 2015

I utilized other resources to help better understand the material I had difficulty understanding. KhanAcademy was one, and our program used ATI. I also use Saunders to supplement my current texts. And sometimes you have to sacrifice some areas of your life to be successful in others. Good luck!

vacationgirl111 · Oct 1, 2015

Thank you. My program uses the Hesi. I have heard about Khan Academy. I might have to use that. Have a great day.

llg, PhD, RN · Oct 1, 2015

I sounds to me as if you are being pulled in many different directions. I recommend thinking things through and paring down some of your commitments. When we try to do too many things at the same time, we usually end up doing a bad job of all of them.

Can you slow down your schooling to take fewer classes at a time? Cut back on your work hours (and possibly take out a larger educational loan)? etc. If not, then you'll have no choice but to cut back on your social life. Something's got to give -- and only you can establish your priorities.

vacationgirl111 · Oct 2, 2015

I am thinking about having one job instead of two jobs. That will help free up some time for some studying. Thank you for the advice. I don't think my university will let me go down to half time. So, I have to keep a full time college schedule. Thank you for your advice.

applesxoranges, BSN, RN · Oct 3, 2015

Unfortunately, a lot of people who do well are able to cut back. Realize that the social life may need to take a back burner. My sister won't listen to me when I tell her that she shouldn't be working the three jobs and trying to cram in school work at the last minute. That she actually needs to get a book and not try to wing her care plans. Not everyone can work 40 hours a week and fit clinicals in.

Dedicate time for studying. Turn off Netflix. Avoid various websites. Just study. Read the material. Get a test bank. Devote an hour a day. I didn't do this but some people did and it helped.

angeloublue22, BSN, RN · Oct 3, 2015

I had to say goodbye to a social life. I let my close friends and family know before I started nursing school that I would not be around as much and they all seemed to understand. At first, I set aside one day a week to socialize and it quickly turned into one day a month as it gets pretty hectic. Also, yes you should get rid of one of the jobs. I can offer you a helpful hint for studying too. On youtube there is great nurse instructor that explains things that make it easier to understand. Just search "simple nursing". I graduated with a 4.0 when I was in trouble at first.

Leonardsmom,LPN · Oct 3, 2015

As others have said you will need to take a look to see what you can cut back on to make school one of your top if not the first priority in your life right now.

For studying plan times that you will study, this may mean that at these times you need to go some where else, the library, a place on campus, a coffee shop. This helps with being able to cut out things that may become a distraction, family, tv, Netflix and such. During your study times turn off your phone or put it on silent. During break times you can allow yourself to check your phone or social media. When studying for more than an hour at a time schedule yourself a 10 minute break every hour or so. We start to lose focus after an extended amount of time and those breaks allow our mind to rest and let us refocus.

When studying plan on specific things to study, if it is the cardiovascular system for example maybe you focus on learning the drugs for hypertension. Spend your time studying what you don't know, sometimes we tend to study what we already know because it makes us feel better. Use as many resources as you can, your text books, making concept maps, videos and definitely as many questions as you can find. Also study in chunks both the information you are learning and also time wise. Study through out the week and not just the day before the exam.

There is definitely more, but I am off to study myself for an upcoming exam on Monday.