The Importance of Backing Up Your Work

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

As I work on my final portfolio for my MSN, I hear stories from my classmates about computers that crashed and now they can't access papers from previous classes that are to be included in the portfolio. Fortunately, they do have another method of obtaining the papers from the school- for a price. But to them, it's worth it to be able to complete the portfolio and graduate, although some may not get them in time as there is quite a backlog of support requests for previously submitted papers.

I have been a victim of a hard drive crash prior to becoming a student (again) that led to an emotional roller coaster. First, heartbreak over losing pictures that could never be replaced, to elation over finding a service that could pull as much uncorrupted data as it could, to shock at the price (which was totally worth it, but a hit to my bank account), and finally to anger at myself for not having backed up those irreplaceable and important files.

This experience has led to me being obsessive about backing up each and every assignment. I save them to my computer, I save them on a flash drive that is stored in a waterproof/fireproof lockbox, and I upload them to an online backup service. I also have a physical paper copy that, as a last resort, I can type in again. It gave me peace of mind that it would take multiple catastrophic events for me not to have access to these papers to complete the portfolio requirements.

While my primary purpose of backing up files was to have access to them for the portfolio, those files are also evidence of my growth both academically and professionally. Some of them may even lead to professional publication, another important facet of the nurse-scholar-practictioner.

So, take heed from my experiences and those of my classmates- back up your work. Make sure you can always access it, whether your computer is stolen, your hard drive crashes, your computer gets a virus, your house burns down, or any other catastrophe that can strike. Nursing school is stressful to begin with- no one needs the added stress of finding out that paper you wrote three years ago is needed for your current class, and you can't access it.

[mama.RN]

Agreed, very important. I say this as someone who still can remember the horror of losing a good chunk of a completed senior thesis many years ago (non-nursing) due to a computer virus and having to redo it. Wished I'd had a backup. Another option for storage/backup is online...there are some free options: e.g., http://mozy.com/free

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

My computer and cameras were stolen during a home invasion a few years ago. I lost all my photos except for the ones that I'd saved online and those I had on an old memory card. Plus my power points for teaching classes, all of my banking passwords, the minutes of the committee I head . . . what a nightmare!

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

my computer crashed while writing my thesis in grad school. Luckily it was backed up. But I get jitterey just thinking about "what if?"

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

my computer crashed while writing my thesis in grad school. Luckily it was backed up. But I get jitterey just thinking about "what if?"

I finished grad school in 1989. I had my thesis all written and printed out, sitting in a nice, neat pile and ready to go to Kinko's to be copied and bound. (Anyone else remember those days?) My golden retriever, annoyed because she wasn't getting enough attention, chewed the corner off of every single page! In those days, graphs couldn't be saved to computer disk (the 5 1/4 inch floppies). I had to re-create every single graph, insert it where it had to be, and then print the whole thing out again. I was up all night!

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Heck yeah - testify . . . I am right there with Ruby - can distinctly remember going all vasovagal when the power blinked off late one night as I was making final edits on a major paper. Well, as it turns out - they weren't so final after all since I had to recreate everything in that dagnabbed corrupted file.

I swear by my cloud drive(s). Don't even have to worry about misplacing the backup disc. Try it, you'll like it.

When I was in school, I would make daily back-ups of my "My Documents" folder.

I would also e-mail myself copies of my critical papers and such.

These days, with how cheap are physical media and the ease and low price of cloud storage, there's no reason not to be adequately backed up... even if you're like me and hold many terrabytes of digital data.

I even keep my phone backed up.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Bumping for new school year as great advice. I'm an email and flash drive backup. heavily thank my IT son for keeping my computer in tiptop shape---and having enough storage.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Once a month (I should probably do it more frequently), I back up my important documents and pictures on a 64 GB jump drive that I store separately from my computer.

[dorkypanda]

Thanks for the reminder of doing so! All that time spent on thinking about what to say and type out is a lot of time. I also have the tendency to email documents to myself

[phoenoryker]

Thanks for this post...as if completing the work isn't hard enough, we have to not lose it as well. Does anyone recommend anything other than flash drives or emailing yourself??

[VivaLaVespaGirl, BSN, MSN]

Because I have multiple computers and like to be able to access school and personal files at work as well, I use dropbox. Since I got dropbox 2 years ago, I have not saved a single personal file on any of my computers (other than the local dropbox folder that is automatically backed up to the cloud) and my files are always backed up and accessible no matter where I am. It is pretty rad. I highly suggest it. However, I would not suggest storing any personal nudes there... :)