I am so glad to call you my peer in this rewarding career that is our nursing profession. So, you are in nursing school one more time. Nursing education is endless (this is a good thing) and Graduate school is no joke. Add small kids, single parenthood, bills, a full-time job, and all the life ‘things’ that can happen, and being a nursing student becomes even less of a joke. Even if you take away half of the just mentioned factors, graduate school can be intense regardless of the nursing program or nursing school you choose. I would like to share what worked for me specifically.
Thank you for reading this post, don’t forget to subscribe!Upfront disclosure: this may not work for you, and I am just sharing what worked for me in Graduate nursing school. My field of focus was Nursing Leadership. However, I think the framework for surviving the nursing school journey may look very similar regardless of which nursing focus you are studying. I would like to share my academic nursing school journey of my Doctoral Nursing degree. In my experience, each degree (ADN, BSN, MSN, DNP) is unique in its own way and what they require. For now, let’s dive into the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and explore some of the nursing school survival tips that worked for me.
Nursing Degree
I think the first hurdle is figuring out which Doctoral program to pursue. There are different career paths to look at. It is important to consider your long-term goals along with personal needs when you decide to go to nursing school, or back to school. I know several colleagues who opted for the PhD and others who chose DNP. My interest was in the DNP in leadership. In this journey, I learned the foundation for translating evidence into practice. This turned out to be the right path for me because it still gives me the flexibility of different fulfilling career options such as teaching or continuing to manage.
My nursing school program required traditional Fall/Spring/Summer semesters where I attended full-time for a total of 9 credit hours each Fall and Spring Semester and one course (3 credit hours) in the Summer. I am not too fond of an accelerated nursing program only because I fear that I would not be able to keep up with the condensed material. As you all may know, nursing school is not the place where you can fail one class and keep going. All courses have to be passed simultaneously.
Nursing School
It can make or break your journey which nursing school you choose. My best piece of advice is, talk to your peers about which nursing program they enrolled in and what their experience was like. Identify areas that you like about each nursing program or nursing school and make a choice that best suits your needs. Regardless of the nursing field or career path chosen (DNP or PhD), I can tell you that the clinical experience will be smoother when you have engaged faculty members. My nursing school had faculty members that truly cared, and I can honestly tell you that I owe my graduation to my mentor and the Dean who were very involved and motivated about the success of the nursing students. The faculty members at this school adapted to different learning styles to make sure my class entirely was successful in the program.
1. Time Management
To survive nursing school, time management is key. Nursing school requires dedication, focus, and drive regardless of which degree you are pursuing. At the Doctoral level, a lot of time is spent searching for evidence, reading, participating in online forums, and writing. One of the best pieces of advice I followed was to make time each day early in the morning to dedicate to homework. You might have heard different podcasters talk about how our brain focuses best for a period of time in the morning. This is true for me as well. I made it a point to wake up at 4am on specific days of the week to focus on nursing school alone. Once you get in the habit, you will see how helpful it is to have an organized routine. Get excited about it. Brew you a cup of coffee and just do it.
Count each day at a time with a positive attitude and do not stress about the countless number of papers you have left to write in all of your nursing courses. You will pass nursing school and succeed if you just take it one day at a time. Let that be your nursing school survival guide and go find the study schedule that best works for you. I recommend that you prioritize tasks such as carving out early mornings to accommodate your study schedule.
2. Learning Style
Like many nurses, I am a visual learner but also a hands-on learner. In the graduate nursing classroom, there are no basic clinical skills to learn like in the beginning of nursing school, but I learned a lot reading the class discussions online and reading the assigned course material. I did not have clinical shifts with patient care like in the associate degree. The point in this section is simply this: find the learning style that most draws your attention and don’t skip the work.
Do the readings, form study groups, read your peer’s feedback in the discussion boards, take class notes, strive to understand the course material, etc. I can’t tell you how many times I was glad I paid attention when we learned about Ghantt charts and getting buy-in from stake holders, or the lesson about building relationships. In building and in trying to spread the use of the analytical tool I am working on; all of these lessons served me well. As is the case for a lot of nursing programs, my nursing school only accepted 12 nursing students per year. We were our own study group. We had a group chat separate from our online forums and this is where we asked each other questions, clarified assignments, suggested time management strategies, discussed clinical hours, etc.
3. Breaks and Nursing School
When you can reasonably take a break from nursing school, do it. Your future patients will thank you for it. Mental well-being is just as important as physical self-care. Get adequate sleep the few or many times your personal and home situation allows. There will come a time when the house will be clean, and the kids will be grown, and you won’t need to worry about a messy house. For the time being, get through the process of reaching nursing school graduation as you best balance your home, school, and work life. Taking breaks is necessary in reducing stress. Time management is of the essence when it comes to assignments and breaks as well.
4. Personal and Professional Growth
What was interesting is that in my DNP journey I learned more about myself that I ever imagine. I started the nursing school program wanting to change the staffing ratios of the world and I graduating with more progress in changing myself that I ever imagined. As I continue to listen to self-development podcasts (this is what I am into these days), I realize the importance on working on myself before wanting to change others. You can’t change other people, but you can change your reactions and perceptions to others. Your level of empathy and understanding also changes when you learn to see the world through the eyes of others.
Out of all the degrees, the Doctoral program is where I believe I experienced the most personal growth. It not only changed my view of many interactions at work. More importantly, it changed my relationships with my family. I learned to view my parents with a little more empathy and understanding. I validated my search for a gentle parenting style when I had a deeper understanding about the end outcome of regulating my emotions through grounded reactions. I believe it made me a better parent. I am so thankful for each nursing school journey so far. Each has taught me valuable lessons.
5. Mental Health
Mental health is everything and there are things to work towards to help you stay sane during nursing school. Emotional support is so important, and I hope you have a support system. Where I grew up, I don’t have an extended family, but I did have my immediate family that included my parents and siblings. I am beyond lucky that my parents who always supported me with their time and advice. I leaned on maintaining connections with friends and family. It is hard to be out with friends when you have such busy academic commitment to nursing school, but I talked to mine on the phone enough to stay in touch and lift each other’s spirits.
6. Stay Focused
I cannot stress the importance on keeping an eagle eye view on your goal of completing your nursing school program. Find your ‘why’ and remember it each time it gets tough. My family is my why. I can’t count how many times I cried or felt frustrated. Yes, it was that many. I remember weekends when I would ask the elementary age children to please forgive me but that as soon as mommy was done doing ‘homework’, we would go out. Many of those times I spent half of the day inside finishing as I battled the anger inside before being able to go out and enjoy some sun. I remember an all-nighter when I literally finished a paper at 5am, hit submit, and headed for work. This was neither safe nor healthy and I should have done something different that week. I don’t remember if I had many options to not do that. Some days I just shed single tears when it all felt heavy at the end of the day and then one day, it was over. You complete the journey and weight on your shoulders becomes lighter.
Some days you might need to give up a weekend party, or part of the day enjoying the nice weather with your kids. In an ideal world, I would have completed all the nursing school phases before having kids but I didn’t. Do the best with what you have and with the situation you in front of you. Stressing about what you don’t have will get you nowhere. Remember that this is only temporary and this too shall pass.
7. Emotional Support
The bills, the chores, the laundry, the unfinished errands, being short on money, the multiple clogged sinks and shower that eventually became an expensive home foundation repair, the unhealthy inability to identify what a healthy dating relationship should be, the bitterness and recovery over a break-up of what wasn’t even a relationship but more so imaginary dating, the many spiritual counseling sessions, the personal awakening process that thankfully changed my depression to a better mindset, the stress of single-parenting, the pain of watching your young kids suffer the emotional consequences of your divorce, the unexpected snowstorm that caused a busted pipe to flood and ruin my kitchen and living room floors, and having to move to my parents for a year and a half because of home repairs, among many other things. Life things are going to happen left and right, and they always seem to come at the most inconvenient time. Your nursing school phase is not the exception. Take time to practice self care and stay close to your support system.
My mom was angel this entire time as it was the case all of my life until the day she left this Earth last year. She always encouraged me and told me to finish each nursing school ‘time will pass, keep going’. Might I that I am forever thankful for that snowstorm that ruined my home and forced me to move in with my parents during the lengthy repairs. I got to spend more time with my mother than most people spend in a lifetime, and I am forever grateful. Both of parents were my greatest support system during each phase of nursing school. I hope you have one too.
Seek mentorship from someone who has done it, ask for constructive feedback from your clinical instructors, get to know your very small nursing school class and get a group chat started, not for group study but for support. My group chat saved several of us on many occasions when we helped each other out during Graduate nursing school in understanding assignments, deadlines, etc. Make the best out of your nursing education.
8. Regular Exercise
I know you think I’m pushing it but I found that to get through nursing school, I had to keep an exercise routine to reduce stress. You just have to pick 3-4 days out of the week and commit to that too. It’s doable to squeeze 20 minutes to take a jog down the street. I live in a small town, and I would jog a little over 2 miles in those 20 minutes. It doesn’t matter how far you run, what matters is the time you spend moving. When I was a teenager, I unknowingly already suffered from feeling ‘low’ I think. Running track and Cross Country all though Junior High and High School saved me. All I knew is that I always felt better afterwards.
Today, in my young 40’s, I no longer suffer from depression. This was cured by training my mindset. I learned to control my thoughts or at least to understand them so that a negative feeling doesn’t follow a negative thought. If a negative feeling follows, it doesn’t stay. As a registered nurse, I take my physical and mental health seriously. I prioritize my personal well being because it’s the only way I can prioritize my kids and family. There is no better feeling than being a health-conscious role model for my kids, at least to the best of my ability. I reduce stress from the job and everyday life through a consistent exercise routine that includes spinning and weightlifting with an accountability partner. Regular exercise has saved me in my teens, in nursing school, and still does not from the daily stressors of life. I don’t always want to do it but I never regret it once it is done. Your physical health deserves it. Your mind needs it and it will make nursing school a bit more bearable. Your family will enjoy a healthier you.
Pick Your Exercise Routine
Now remember this is what worked for me. If spinning and weightlifting is not your cup of tea, find what is. Identify areas that you like the most and stick to that. I wish I had the time to do several classes at a time and I am a bit envious of those elegant yoga moves I see on social media. Go at your own pace in your exercise journey and manage stress well.
I started meditating recently and I find that it grounds me and helps me maintain ‘the calm’. If was still i a nursing student in Graduate school, introducing this to my jogging mix would have been a nice routine. Keep your body hydrated and keep it moving. Taking a walk under the sun can be enough. Life is what you make of it.
Keep Moving
This is meant literally and metaphorically, just keep moving. Keep doing the homework, keep moving your body, keep taking the courses as you breathe through the process. You can do hard things and if accepted to a Doctoral program, you are simply meant to be there. I am rooting for you!