What was the most helpful thing you did to successfully pass your nursing degree?

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What was it that helped you the most to successfully complete nursing school? Was it time management, avoiding romance/family planning, studying all night and all day, working with a group of friends, was it a combination of things?

And why?

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Time management for sure and not trying to cram it all in before exams. Cramming is just not possible imho! I did my best to keep up with assignments/reading every week. I also utilized quizlet which I found extremely helpful. Studying all the time is just not feasible. You need down time for sure or you will burn out quickly. Because of my home life, I did have to study during off hours (later at night or early AM) but my preference was shorter sessions throughout the week versus longer 7-8 hour stretches. I usually shut down at the 3-4 hour mark. Everyone is different so you just need to figure out how you learn best (I am a visual learner) and what works best for you.

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It depends on the person. Group studying is NOT for me because not everyone takes school as seriously as I do. From my experience group studying leads to disaster, but I've heard opinions say differently. You can have a life/relationship/work outside of nursing school. I think the number one thing that got me through nursing school was not allowing anything to be more important than school, get your studying done and then hang out with your friends.

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I had the luxury of still living at home with my parents during nursing school. So there was a lot of stuff like laundry and dinner and taking care of the cats that I really did not have to think about, thanks Mom!

That being said, I had school from M-Th. I met with a group of about 5 other girls on and off for study group and also talked on the phone ad nauseum about care plans, etc. This was not only good for keeping me on my toes, but was a HUGE stress relief. I could not have gotten through nursing school without these ladies.

Thursday afternoon through Saturday afternoon I worked in a group home with a DD population, basically every shift for 2 days straight. So, I got paid for 35 hours in a 2 day span. I chose this job because of the flexibility.

Saturday night I went out.

Sunday was care plan day. Luckily, it came easy for me.

Looking back, I had it pretty good.

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Specializes in Family Practice.

Time management and strategically scheduling my workdays so they would not interfere with my study time. It was the hardest thing I have ever endured, but looking back I appreciated it because it is what fuels my desire to finish my FNP program now. One of the biggest things I learned is not to procrastinate in any form or fashion. Remove thyself from toxic men/women who attempt to suck the life out of you during that crazy time. Your true friends will respect your time and be there when you cross the finish line of success!!!!

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I ate a lot of fiber.

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Specializes in Pedi.

Attend class, pay attention, retain the material, apply it.

I hate anything that involves the word "group"- group projects, study groups, etc. Not for me.

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Specializes in critical care.
I ate a lot of fiber.

If you hadn't eaten it in the first place, you wouldn't have needed to go through all that, you know.

I'm going to give you what might likely be the worst feedback possible on this thread, and I don't recommend trying this in the beginning by any means. In my first semester, I studied and went through all the motions. At some point in the second semester, I realized the less I studied, the better I did. I still put my all into Clinicals and assignments, but the actual studying I put on the back burner because I realized it made me overthink everything and get too easily distracted by the tricky things the professors throw in to distract you. I gave up on As in nursing school, I accepted I wouldn't be perfect, and I learned to engage myself in more meaningful ways than memorizing a book. My final total GPA was about a 3.49, I passed the NCLEX the first time, and was hired before graduation.

My best advice? Try tricks if you have to to find your way, but you already know what makes you learn. Do that.

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Time management for sure and not trying to cram it all in before exams. Cramming is just not possible imho! I did my best to keep up with assignments/reading every week. I also utilized quizlet which I found extremely helpful. Studying all the time is just not feasible. You need down time for sure or you will burn out quickly. Because of my home life, I did have to study during off hours (later at night or early AM) but my preference was shorter sessions throughout the week versus longer 7-8 hour stretches. I usually shut down at the 3-4 hour mark. Everyone is different so you just need to figure out how you learn best (I am a visual learner) and what works best for you.

Time management and strategically scheduling my workdays so they would not interfere with my study time. It was the hardest thing I have ever endured, but looking back I appreciated it because it is what fuels my desire to finish my FNP program now. One of the biggest things I learned is not to procrastinate in any form or fashion. Remove thyself from toxic men/women who attempt to suck the life out of you during that crazy time. Your true friends will respect your time and be there when you cross the finish line of success!!!!

I agree. Cheers

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It depends on the person. Group studying is NOT for me because not everyone takes school as seriously as I do. From my experience group studying leads to disaster, but I've heard opinions say differently. You can have a life/relationship/work outside of nursing school. I think the number one thing that got me through nursing school was not allowing anything to be more important than school, get your studying done and then hang out with your friends.

Attend class, pay attention, retain the material, apply it.

I hate anything that involves the word "group"- group projects, study groups, etc. Not for me.

Very true. Group work doesn't often help. Were there a lot of group work during your nursing degree?

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I had the luxury of still living at home with my parents during nursing school. So there was a lot of stuff like laundry and dinner and taking care of the cats that I really did not have to think about, thanks Mom!

That being said, I had school from M-Th. I met with a group of about 5 other girls on and off for study group and also talked on the phone ad nauseum about care plans, etc. This was not only good for keeping me on my toes, but was a HUGE stress relief. I could not have gotten through nursing school without these ladies.

Thursday afternoon through Saturday afternoon I worked in a group home with a DD population, basically every shift for 2 days straight. So, I got paid for 35 hours in a 2 day span. I chose this job because of the flexibility.

Saturday night I went out.

Sunday was care plan day. Luckily, it came easy for me.

Looking back, I had it pretty good.

Sounds like you had it pretty good indeed.

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I ate a lot of fiber.

And why is this? And did it help you in any way?

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