Whether you're new to nursing school or have been through it, you know the deal. It's hard to juggle everything in your life while you're basically trying to learn everything about the human body and caring for it. I have a few tips that may help.
Be ready to sacrifice
There's no doubt you'll have to sacrifice some things. I'd be lying if I said I didn't lose a lot of my friends during college. I didn't have time to hangout with them. I was constantly studying. During nursing school, you'll gain new friends-- the people you study with. You will have an inseparable bond with these people. These will be the people you'll spend the next 4 years going through hell with. You'll experience new adventures each clinical that "normal" people would never believe. They will become like a second family to you. Lean on them.
Take time for yourself
Although there's a lot of sacrificing, remember to still have fun! I would plan out my weeks so that I would have 1-2 days to do whatever I wanted. I would hangout with friends (if they were available), go on a date with my boyfriend, or just chill at home and binge on some Netflix. I think the last option was my favorite. It's definitely important to take some time to relax each week.
Plan
Buy a planner! My planner was my best friend in nursing school. I used the Erin Condren Life Planner. Click here! It literally has everything you'd ever need. It's expensive, but very worth it if you're as in to planning as I am. It helped me to be able to visualize my weeks and make time for myself. I still use it and just purchased my 2016 planner :)
Work/ Finances
Working while in nursing school was very hard. Try to work as little as possible, even if this means you can't move into that amazing apartment. I lived at home all 4 years, which saved me a ton of money. This isn't possible for everyone, but if your college is close to your parents' home, I would really consider it. Hold off on any big shopping sprees while you're in school until you get that first nurse's check :) Try to get a job at a hospital as a PCA. I gained so much experience and learned so much from working with other nurses. Most hospitals will let you earn paid time off. I would save mine up and then use it when I really needed a break. You won't get this luxury at a lot of other part time jobs. Definitely more blog posts about my experience as a PCA are to come. I have to give it up to some of my classmates that had kids, worked full time, and still did great in school. I honestly don't know how they did it, but they did. My work and finance tips probably wouldn't be realistic for them, because I did not have a family to raise. Try finding someone who was in a similar situation that you are in while they were in school.
Study
I could write a million blog posts about how to study, but the main tip I have is to figure out what works for you. Some people do great studying in groups. I found out very quickly that I would get too distracted when I studied in a group, and I would just end up wasting time. I liked studying by myself in the library or another quiet space. After I felt like I mastered the content, I would meet with friends before the test, and we would quiz each other. It helped me just as much to ask the questions as it did to answer them when I was asked. This method worked great for me and a lot of my friends.
I hope you found these tips to be helpful.
Until next time,
Jennie
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