Not Every School Interviews

Whether or not you get asked to interview at the school of your choice is dependent on whether the school uses a personal interview as a data point for admission. Many nursing schools do admission interviews and others do not. There are a lot of reasons why schools may not interview potential students. Nursing School Admission Interview

The decision to do admission interviews is usually up to the faculty. In a perfect world, we would always say “Yes!” to interviewing potential students because you can get a better feel about someone when you are sitting face-to-face with them. So ideally, every nursing school would interview their candidates for admission. However, interviewing takes a lot of time and faculty don’t always have room in their schedules to volunteer to participate in admission interviews. Depending on the number of applicants — interviews could last all week!

Associate degree and baccalaureate in nursing programs can have hundreds of applicants for each admission cycle. If you are asked to interview with the admissions team – that’s a good sign! Here are some tips to get you through the process.Nursing School Admission Interview

Outline of the Seven Tips to Prepare for and Be Successful at Your Admission Interview

• Tip #1 The logistics of preparing for the admission interview, as well as smart tips to help you stand out to the interviewer.
• Tip #2 Practical and evidence-based strategies to decrease nervousness and increase self-confidence. 
• Tip #3 What to wear to your interview.
• Tip #4 Multiple tips about timing!
• Tip #5 Tips on the types of questions to expect from faculty interviewers for baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs – and things to consider when answering them.
• Tip #6 “Kiss of Death” answers to interview questions that will sink your chances for admission!
• Tip #7 Advice on how to make a final good impression in the last minutes of your interview.

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What is a Résumé? And is it Résumé or Resume?

Résumé is a French word that means “summary.” Dictionary.com (résumé, n.d.a) expands the definition to provide detail of what the summary refers to: “a brief written account of personal, educational, and professional qualifications and experience, as that prepared by an applicant for a job.” Okay, that’s fairly clear. 

In the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. résumé is another word for curriculum vitae (résumé, n.d.a). And from the Latin resumere, a résumé is a “biographical summary of a  person’s career” (résumé, n.d.b). Still clear? Maybe not. 

According to the online dictionaries I’ve noted above, you can use any form or variant of the word résumé you’d like: résumé, resumé, or resume.

Personally, I don’t like to use the word without the accents (l’accent aigu in French) because in English the word resume means to take back, and ispronounced riˈzo͞om. I just can’t bring myself to use resume when I mean a résumé; so, I either use résumé or resumé. 

What’s the Difference Between a Résumé and a Curriculum Vitae?

In many countries, a résumé and a curriculum vitae are the same things — a brief summary of your qualifications. However, in the U.S., they are not quite the same and are used for slightly different purposes. 

In the U.S., when you are applying for a job you provide the employer with a résumé. This is supposed to be short and sweet — in fact, many experts caution against having more than one to two pages! The idea is to provide your qualifications, but tailor the information so that it is relevant to the job you are seeking. 

In the academic world, for example, when are applying for a faculty position, you provide the search committee with your curriculum vitae or CV for short. However, an academic  CV is usually anything but short! It contains ALL personal, educational, and professional qualifications and experience from your entire academic career. It is usually a long document, especially if you have been teaching for a number of years! 

For example, a nursing faculty CV includes all education, certifications, previous clinical and academic positions, teaching activities, research activities (including grants and funded research), and practice activities. It contains the citations for all of your scholarly work from your master’s thesis and/or doctoral dissertation/capstone project to your publications (published abstracts, books, book chapters, and journal articles) and podium and poster presentations. Service activities are also included, such as academic committee work and international, national, regional, and local community and professional involvement. 

Résumé Style Formats

There are three basic résumé style formats you could go with a professional style that is chronological in nature, a functional style that highlights your skills, and a hybrid of the two (Hloom, n.d.). There are also formats that are a little more creative and specialized, such as a Portfolio. While some companies would want one type of résumé — let’s say a professional style — in nursing, you might present both a résumé and a portfolio. 

Professional style is also known as a chronological résumé or reverse-chronological résumé. In my experience, this is the best format to use for your basic nursing résumé (or for the résumé that you use to apply for nursing school). And use reverse-chronological order. That means put your most recent education, experience, publications, etc. first and work backward. Recruiters want to know, first, where you came from, not that you started as a candy striper in high-school. 

If you are a new graduate with little healthcare experience, this format will highlight that fact. But, I don’t think it matters as much because recruiters know that you are a new grad – they are not expecting tons of experience on your part. For your initial nursing résumé, I’d tell you to put down any healthcare-related experience you have – you worked as a telemetry tech or nurse’s aide or medic, and, yes, that you were a candy striper. (Later, as you get more nursing experience, you’ll take off the candy striper position!)

A functional style résumé emphasizes your skills and achievements. While that format may be great for a new grad or someone transitioning from one career to another (Hloom, n.d.), it’s not a common format used in healthcare. The functional format doesn’t emphasize experience, which is why it may seem like the better option for new grads. But because the format is different from the expected professional format, the recruiter won’t necessarily have time to decipher your résumé to find the information they are looking for and ATS systems may not be able to decipher it either resulting in a rejected application (Hloom, n.d.).

The sections of a functional résumé begin with skills and usually end with education history. The sections are (Hloom, n.d.):
– Personal Information
– Professional Profile or Summary
– Relevant Skills
– Professional Experience / Work History
– Education

Specialized Résumé Formats include a creative format, portfolio format, infographic, and ATS or applicant tracking system formats (Hloom, n.d.). The ATS formats are used for online applications. Be sure to read the directions if your job search includes an online application and résumé. (If you need to use this type of format, Google it to find out more information.)

I’m NOT recommending that you use any of these formats for your basic nursing résumé. That said, many schools of nursing are encouraging students to create an electronic professional portfolio (AKA ePortfolio) to have available for job interviews.

“A professional portfolio is an organized collection of relevant documents and artifacts that showcases your talents, most relevant skills, and charts your professional growth” (UNCF Special Programs Corporation, n.d.).

The purpose of a professional nursing portfolio is to highlight your knowledge and skills. Nursing schools may use it to provide evidence that you’ve met their terminal competencies or outcomes. In a job search, just like a nursing résumé, it is a marketing tool – a tool to market YOU! But, you don’t want to overuse it in a job interview. A portfolio is not a replacement for your nursing résumé, it’s “an extension” (UNCF, n.d.). The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) has a very helpful document if you are interested in creating your own portfolio. See the retrieval information in the reference list. 

How to Get Started

There are many ways to begin writing a résumé. The easiest is to open a new document in your word-processing program (e.g., Microsoft® Word, Corel® WordPerfect®, or Apple’s Pages) and choose a premade résumé template. The templates give you the categories to include on your résumé and all you have to do is fill in the blanks or follow their prompts. Easy. 
You can also do a search on Google or your favorite search engine for Résumé templates (resume templates works as a search term, too).

Tip #1: Stick with a Professional Résumé Style

Here’s my advice for a nursing résumé style — keep it simple and professional! I would NOT use a “Creative” or artsy-looking résumé template — that’s not the job. If you were an artist or a craftsman or a web designer, I’d say, absolutely show your creativity; but NOT for a nursing position. Seriously.

I know that some of you may be thinking that the creative style would help you stand out — I think it will, but not in a good way. Sorry. But I promise to give you tips for standing out in the next section! 

What to Include (and Not Include!) in Your Nursing Résumé

An effective nursing résumé will capture the recruiter’s attention and, hopefully, get you an interview for the position you are seeking. 

Tip #2: Don’t Include Superfluous Information!

Basic information includes contact information – name, address, phone number, and email address. If you speak one or more languages, that is relevant information too. By the way, no need to label this section; just begin page one with this personal information. Make sure that your name is on every page of your document.

Don’t put down marital status or the number of kids you have or that you love puppies. Some questions are illegal for the recruiter to ask and some info may paint a picture of you as less than serious about your career. Nobody cares about your hobbies or personal interests, either – sorry to be so blunt. If the recruiter wants to know what you do in your free time, then you can share your interests. But remember my post on interview tips — don’t share too much information!

In this day and age, social media contact information is probably okay to include, but I’d limit which ones I shared. You should definitely link to your LinkedIn profile or a business website that you’ve created. LinkedIn is considered a professional profile and useful for networking with other nurses, healthcare professionals, and recruiters.

I wouldn’t link to your personal Twitter account, Instagram, or Facebook pages, though. Consider the impression the recruiter might have of you after viewing your tweets or pictures or pages. That’s not to say that the recruiter might not find you online anyway, even if you don’t give them your information – but the possibility decreases if you don’t provide your social media URLs.

Some formats suggest that you include a career objective statement or a profile or qualifications summary (4-5 bullet points). “To use my knowledge and skills as a registered nurse in a cardiovascular unit” or “To function as an evidence-based, theory-guided registered nurse ….” to me is a waste of valuable résumé space! I mean what else are you going to say – that you don’t believe in evidence-based care? Keeping this in is not a critical flaw and some experts recommend it, so do what you feel is right. 

Licenses and Certifications are usually found after the basic info. Your RN/APN license numbers, state, and expiration date are important to note. If you are an advanced practice nurse put these credentials first, then follow with specialty certifications.

Certifications are awarded from different certifying bodies, so specify the official name of the specialty certification, especially if your certification credential is used for multiple specialties, like RN-BC. For example, Certified Acute/Critical Care Nurse – Adult [CCRN], Certified Emergency Nurse [CEN], Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN^®), Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN), Registered Nurse-Board Certified (RN-BC), etc. Check out the article from nurse.org in the reference list for a complete list of nursing credentials. Note the expiration date of your certifications. 

If you have healthcare skill certifications, such as ACLS or PALS or any of the others, these can be listed in this section, also. But these are not more important than advanced practice or specialty certifications. 

Tip #3: Include Relevant Information

Decide on the categories of information you will include on your nursing résumé. Again, some templates will be prefilled with categories — you can edit the category labels or add others or delete as you need. 

Typically, Education is listed first, then Experience. (You could switch these if you feel the need.) Again, use reverse chronological order – your highest earned degree first, your last job first, and work backward. Be sure to include dates of attendance and majors. GPA is not really necessary — you will have to submit your transcript as part of the application packet, so they can look this up themselves.

Usually the “major” for a baccalaureate in nursing degree is recorded as Nursing; for a master’s degree in nursing though, your major is typically the program you were in — Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist, Family Nurse Practitioner, Nursing Leadership and Management, Nursing Informatics, etc. 

Any additional education or skills training can be listed after your degrees. Did you take a phlebotomy or an I.V. certification course? Did you take an advanced critical care course or complete a post-master’s palliative care certificate? Include where you took the course and dates of attendance. 

For the Experience section — put in only relevant nursing, clinical, and healthcare experience. I’m talking employment, here, not volunteer work. You may have been a medic in the military or a telemetry technician on a cardiac floor while you were in school — put that down. If you were a certified nurse’s aide or home health aide, put it down. If you were a work-study student and ran the skills lab helping other students, put it down.

Many new grads list their experiences in nursing school clinicals because they don’t usually have much nursing experience, as yet. This is acceptable. Once you start working as a nurse though, update your résumé with your registered nurse experience and remove your school clinicals from your résumé. If you took a healthcare or nursing course that was not required for your degree or you were selected for a nursing internship — this is above and beyond and special, so be sure to note these. 

The same advice goes for jobs that were not nursing-related. Don’t put them on your nursing résumé unless you feel that they add something special – something that will make you stand out and that your potential employer should know about. For a staff nurse position, the fact that you were a top seller for Mary Kay Cosmetics or a barista at Starbucks probably isn’t going to help you get the position. If you managed your own start-up, that shows entrepreneurship, leadership, and organizational skills that might work in your favor. A job that emphasized customer service (in our world, patients and families) could also be of help.

Some templates will suggest that you briefly describe your skills and responsibilities with each position you list, but I don’t know that this strategy is particularly helpful for a nursing résumé. If you list a nurse’s aide position, for example, the recruiter is going to know what a nurse’s aide is responsible for. Remember that if the recruiter wants to clarify anything on your résumé, they’ll ask you at the interview. So, again, this formatting addition is up to you. If you do add this description, make sure to use keywords from the job posting in your descriptions.

Skills Summary. Here you can identify any specific advanced skills or abilities you have. Healthcare skill certifications can go here, too. Don’t forget to include soft skills. 

Soft skills are skills that help us work with other people and care for our patients and their families; they are components of emotional intelligence (Kroning, 2015). Strong communication skills, teamwork, leadership, work ethic, attitude, collaboration, adaptability, empathy, problem-solving and critical thinking, clinical reasoning, patient and nurse advocacy, networking, and professionalism are essential skills in the workplace and vital to healthy work environments and quality patient care (Henricks, 2017; Kroning, 2015). You can list these skills in your résumé – and be sure to talk about your abilities in these areas in your interview!

Volunteer and Community Experience should be a separate section. Volunteer work is important to note – but don’t list it under the employment experience section. In this case, the experience doesn’t have to be all healthcare-related. Volunteering shows passion and commitment and a willingness to help others — all good attributes for a nurse! Maybe you volunteer at the Health Fair each year? Or help register people for the blood drive at church? Or teach CPR to teachers at the elementary school?

Tip #4: Include Activities that Demonstrate Commitment to the Nursing Profession

I’m talking about any professional or scholarly activity that shows your dedication and desire to promote nursing and network with other nursing professionals. These activities are not that common on new graduate nursing résumés, so if you have any of these, you will stand out. 

Professional activities and involvement would include listing any professional nursing organizations that you are a member of and any activities that promote a positive nursing image. Were you a member of the National Student Nurses Association or served in a volunteer capacity in the student nursing organization at your school? Are you an active chapter member of a local specialty organization? Leadership positions are a plus. Did you attend Nurses Day at the Capital? Did you give testimony to the State Board of Nursing about the Nurse Practice Act?

Awards and Honors: List any nursing school awards or honors you received, such as Dean’s list honors, acceptance to the Nursing Honors Program, etc.Do make sure that you note if you are a Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI or Sigma) member. Induction in STTI means that you met quality and leadership criteria — only the top students are invited to membership. 

Scholarly activities include professional presentations, including poster presentations, during Nurse’s Week at the local hospital or at a conference, for example. Presentations in class, don’t count. Are you published? I know a few nursing students who have been co-authors with faculty. Or maybe you published the lit review that you did for your evidence-based practice project or the results of your capstone project? 

Save your completed résumé by clearly labeling it as your foundational résumé. Use whatever words make sense to you — résumé_first, résumé_base version, résumé1, résuméoriginal, whatever. Each time you need to target your résumé for a new opportunity, you’ll want to start with this original document. 

Tip #5: Target Your Résumé to Organizational Values and Culture

Now that you have your base résumé done, you should adapt or tailor your template to the specific institution and position for which you are applying. You do that by modifying your original résumé to target the culture of the institution and the keywords in the job posting. Why? Because a recruiter (or an ATS system) will recognize the institution’s values in your résumé and decide that you might be a good match for the organization and the position.

First, research the institution you are applying to. This is just smart and this information will help you if you get an interview, too. Find out all you can about the institution by reading their main web pages. Pull up the nursing department webpage and learn about the nursing culture and patient care philosophy. You will then want to strategically place organizational values and keywords into your descriptions of your responsibilities or qualifications in your targeted nursing résumé.

Keywords for nursing positions typically include caring, patient-centered, evidence-based, theory-guided, collaboration, teamwork, professional, integrity, critical thinking, compassionate, etc. I want you to be honest, of course. But if you share the same values as the organization, you are more likely to be satisfied with your job and the institution as a whole. 

Save this targeted version of your nursing résumé with a different file name – maybe with the initials of the hospital. For example, résuméJHN or résuméUCH, etc.

Tip #6: Keep Your Nursing Résumé Updated!

In nursing, you pretty much write your initial résumé or CV and then just keep it updated as you gain experience and take advantage of new opportunities. This is a must for faculty, by the way! (More on CVs in future posts.)

Make sure that you are updating your foundational or base version of your nursing résumé. This way, when you apply for different positions you’ll have the most recent version of your résumé to modify for job opportunities.

The post Tips for Writing an Effective Nursing Résumé appeared first on Academic Nursing Hub.

Why Go to Nursing School?

It’s important to know and remember all of the amazing reasons why you’re choosing to become a nurse not only to make sure that you’re pursuing the right path for you but to keep in mind along the way and in the future whenever you need a little added motivation. With accessible and flexible education options, major job demand and variety, incredible fulfillment and purpose, the super functional, fashionable and respected scrubs uniform that you’ll wear every day and so much more, it shouldn’t be hard to know or remember why you’re doing this!

Preparing to Pursue the Path

Know What You’re Getting Into

Being a nurse boasts a lot of benefits, but it’s important to consider every aspect of what you’re getting into. Being a nurse can mean getting a rush from saving lives, slowing down to fill out paperwork, dealing with emotional mental and physical burnout and more. It is essential to consider and prepare for all of these aspects, whether they are overwhelmingly good, underwhelmingly mundane or just plain bad.

Research Programs and Paths Extensively

There are plenty of options when it comes to nursing programs, and all of them offer different benefits and cater to different needs. It’s important that you take the time to research these different options and weigh them against what it is that you really need out of a program to excel. Before you begin your research, ask yourself questions like: Would I benefit from a career placement program? Would online classes work better with my schedule? What level or type of nurse do I want to be when I enter the field?

Complete Prerequisites

It only seems right that there are different prerequisites for different programs, but you can be sure that prerequisites will exist in some capacity. From program overviews and information sessions to admissions counselors and program advisors, there are many resources available to help you make sure that you have and know everything that you should before you enroll in a program.

Network

For student nurses and seasoned nurses alike, it is essential to make connections and create support systems. Whether for emotional support to help prevent burnout or academic support throughout the schooling process or to create impressions and open doors for your future, networking is a highly effective way to be proactive, no matter where you are, in preparing for your nursing career or even launching it.

Preparing for Nursing School Once You’ve Been Accepted

Update immunizations

Most programs that place you into healthcare settings require that you have the essential immunizations first in order to keep yourself, your patients and the general public safe. Resources such as the program’s admission requirements or your admissions counselors can help you to figure out exactly what you need for your specific program, but immunizations for Meningitis, Mumps, Tuberculosis, Chickenpox and Influenza are all commonly required.

Receive Certain Certifications

Along with immunizations, know that there will be other things to update before your program begins. Most likely, you’ll be required to either receive or update your CPR certification, First Aid certification, Interpersonal Skills for Healthcare Workers certification, and maybe even more before beginning your program, depending on what it is.

Get Used to the Uniform

All of a sudden your closet is going to be overpopulated by scrubs, and you’ll find yourself in them every day. When we wear new clothes for the first time it’s easy to feel uncomfortable — and when we feel uncomfortable it shows. So make sure that you start researching the best scrubs for the type of nursing you’re pursuing, start window shopping and thinking about your work/school wardrobe and maybe even start buying and breaking in the feel of your new profession.

If for no other reason, this can be highly beneficial as a motivator and to get you dreaming about your goals. While they’re adjusting, casual scrub styles such as short and long sleeve scrubs can be some of the best for new or student nurses.

Stock Up on Supplies

You’ll want to review your program’s list of necessary supplies or talk to your program advisor to see what kinds of equipment and supplies you’re required to purchase, but it’s important when entering a nursing program to be aware of the fact that there will be costs, research time, and testing time associated with finding the best supplies for you.

From avoiding embarrassing incidents in the classroom or on the floor to improving your performance and helping you excel at your career — it’s crucial that you invest the necessary resources into this step!

Make Sure You’re Preparing Physically, Mentally, and Emotionally

Studying hard and getting good grades is what it’s all about, but that’s not all that it takes. Nursing school can be demanding in more ways than one, and it’s important to make sure that you’re paying attention to your physical, mental, and emotional health if you want to bring your A-game day after day. Being a nurse requires that you prioritize your own well-being as heavily as that of your patients and preparing for and enduring nursing school will be your time to master this!

The post Tips on Preparing for Nursing School appeared first on Academic Nursing Hub.

An undergraduate nursing program is an academic program that takes place in a college or university setting (AKA higher education) and offers either an associate’s degree (ASN or ADN) or a baccalaureate degree (BSN, BAN, BS) at the completion of the degree program. The degree programs may be offered online, in a traditional classroom setting, or in a hybrid format.

An associate’s degree, typically two years in length, may be offered in a college or school of nursing, a community or junior college, or a vocational or technical school. The baccalaureate degree usually takes four years to complete.

A college is an institution that can stand alone or is part of a larger university system; a college of nursing may also be called a school of nursing in a university setting. And there are for-profit schools and colleges of nursing that are independent entities.

The Undergraduate Nursing Program Curriculum

Whichever undergraduate nursing program you attend the curriculum should be similar from school to school. For example, there will be prerequisite liberal arts and sciences courses you will need to take to get ready for your nursing courses, such as biology, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, nutrition, statistics, growth and development, philosophy, and sociology.

The Undergraduate Nursing Program Curriculum

Whichever undergraduate nursing program you attend the curriculum should be similar from school to school. For example, there will be prerequisite liberal arts and sciences courses you will need to take to get ready for your nursing courses, such as biology, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, nutrition, statistics, growth and development, philosophy, and sociology.

Accredited undergraduate nursing programs will include courses or course content on leadership and management, healthcare systems, scholarship (e.g., theory, research, evidence-based practice), use of technology and information systems for clinical decision­-making, health policy, ethics, legal issues, communication and collaboration, health promotion, disease prevention, disease management, global health issues, health behavior change, health disparities, social justice, roles of the nurse, professionalism, patient- and family-centered care, quality, safety, and nursing care across the lifespan (AACN, 2008). You can see the AACN Essentials of Baccalaureate Education document for more specifics if you are interested.

Clinical Rotations

All undergraduate nursing programs will have a clinical component so you can practice and apply what you are learning in class. In your undergraduate program, you will be exposed to caring for patients across the lifespan. You will learn about and care for adult patients, elderly patients, pediatric patients, and neonates. Women’s health and men’s health issues will also be covered. Psych/Mental Health, community or public health, and leadership and management rotations will be required. A short operating room rotation – observation only – is also a requirement. Some programs may have critical care or emergency or another specialty area as a requirement. Specialty courses may also be offered as electives to students in their senior year.

Rotations in all major patient population areas are mandatory – you can’t opt out of an area because you don’t think you want to care for a specific patient population or perform a certain nursing role. You may find that a patient population or specialty area that you thought you would not like becomes your favorite! And don’t be surprised when the reality of caring for patients is different than the media portrayal of nursing care.

By the end of your clinical rotations, you might know which area nursing you’d like to specialize in or patient population you’d like to work with — or not. The cool thing about nursing is the fact that you have a basic knowledge and skills base that you can adapt and grow with each new area of nursing practice.

General Tips for Success in Your Undergraduate Nursing Program

There are many tips I can give you to be successful in your undergraduate nursing program, but I’ll start with these general tips that will help you through your academic and clinical courses. More tips and advice to come!

Tip #1: Hospital Experience Increases Clinical Confidence

In my experience, it is helpful if you have some hospital experience under your belt before starting, or while attending, an undergraduate nursing program. Walking into your patient’s room during your first clinical experience can be a bit scary because you don’t know what to expect. Will the patient welcome me? Will I be able to handle the care I’m assigned to do? Will the family like me? Will the patient let me be his nurse? etc. 

Experience as a nurse’s aide or licensed practical or vocational nurse (LPN/LVN) will give you skills and the confidence to care for patients, as well as give you a basic understanding of the mechanics and bureaucracy of working in a hospital. In addition, your experience will allow you to support your classmates who may be anxious or struggling. Experience as a paramedic, emergency medical technician (EMT), or military medic will have the same benefits.

The caveat is, of course, don’t overstep your ability or scope of practice as a student nurse. Don’t think you know it all because you have worked in a hospital or on an ambulance crew. Don’t get cocky. Student nurses are restricted in the types of procedures they can perform without supervision or in the decisions they can make. Know the rules!

Tip #2: Be Prepared to Be Challenged!

Nursing school is hard. There is a lot to learn to be a competent professional nurse. I don’t care if you were a straight-A student in high school and you didn’t have to study much, things come easy to you, yada, yada, yada…. Nursing school isn’t high school. You will be caring for human beings and mistakes could have serious consequences – so you have to have your head in the game.

Nursing faculty will have high expectations of you, regardless of whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student. There is no such thing as a passing grade below a C in most undergraduate nursing programs. In many graduate schools, any grade less than a B is a failing grade! But we admitted you because we believe you will succeed. That means we expect you to do the physical, psychological, and intellectual work it will take to be the best nurse you can be!

To be successful, you will have to do a fair amount of reading and preparation on your own. You will be expected to take the knowledge you are accumulating and apply that knowledge to practice. This is key, so I’m going to repeat it: You will have to APPLY your knowledge every day as a student and a nurse!

Throughout nursing school, your critical thinking skills will be developed and refined so that you will have the confidence to make decisions about patient care. That’s the point of all of those discussion board assignments, case study scenarios, learning activities, and written papers you will be assigned. It’s to get you to think, to apply, and then to evaluate your learning. It’s all a process, so be ready to commit to the reading time, study time, and homework time you’ll need to excel. 

Tip #3: Schedule and Commit Your Time!

To be successful in undergraduate nursing programs you HAVE TO make a commitment to set aside the time you’ll need to do your best. Nursing school is psychologically intense and physically intense because you have to juggle school, work, play, sleep, and life!

You should expect to spend approximately 9 to 12 hours each week involving learning activities for each 3-credit course that you take. I know that this sounds like a lot – and it is – but is a conventional estimate of the time that most colleges expect of students who want to excel in their courses. Although the actual time of prep and study time may vary depending on your background, experience, and reading ability, the estimated time is based on a 3:1 ratio for a traditional 3-credit academic course. For a 3-credit course, that works out to 3 hours of in-class time and 3 (to 4) hours of work outside the classroom for each hour of class in a regular semester, per week. If you are taking multiple courses, that time can really add up. And for working adults, how can you possibly fit that in? But that’s the formula for how faculty figure out what’s “reasonable” for you to do each week.

Be aware that the majority of undergraduate students are working at the same time they’re going to school. In addition, they have similar obligations as far as family and other responsibilities, as you do; so the fact that you have to work is NOT seen as an excuse for not being prepared or not handing in an assignment on time.

So the key is to be smart about how you budget your time for reading, doing homework assignments, and studying for exams. Other than deadlines for assignments, YOU will choose when to study, how to study, where to study, and, if to study!

Schedule Reading Time, Homework Time, and Study Time! Photo by Eric Rothermel on Unsplash

Choose a day and set a 1-2 hour time frame to read your assigned readings. Again, take notes and read so that you understand the concepts presented (see Tip #4). Then block about 3-5 hours on another day to complete homework activities. Break up the homework tasks into smaller chunks, as needed so that you can see progress as you cross completed steps off your list – outline √, lit search √, etc. Finally, schedule one to two hours a few times a week to review your notes and study for the next exam.

Tip #4: Read for Understanding

First, Do the Required Reading! Faculty assign textbook readings for background or foundational knowledge about a topic. Journal articles may be chosen to supplement the text readings because the article communicates a concept in a different (or better) way than the textbook. In my classes, I assign readings that include text chapters, as well as journal articles for required reading. Readings that are optional, but recommended are also listed. I make a suggestion that students print the reading list citations so that they have an index of relevant topical readings that they can go back to in the future if needed.

You have to read in order to understand the concepts being taught and their relationships to the practice of nursing. You have to understand the concepts to make thoughtful contributions in class or via an online discussion board assignment. You may also be in a group that’s depending on you for your contributions.

Don’t think you can just attend class and get all you’ll need. First, many faculty are using active learning strategies to teach and not relying on the lecture method as much. That means that you have to have done the reading and/or homework to be able to participate in the planned activities. And second, being engaged in class discussions helps build neural connections to help you remember pertinent information.

Take notes when you’re reading. There is literature to show that when you actually handwrite things down that you’re reading, you tend to remember and integrate the concepts more readily. I write key words and notes in the margins so that I can find important information later when I review my notes.

Additionally, underlining important points seems to be more effective at keeping you focused on what you are reading than highlighting your notes. Though these methods are not particularly effective for learning, they are used a lot (Paul, 2013). Being selective in what you underline or highlight is key. See my post on taking notes for additional info.

Tip #5: Be Focused and Develop Good Work Habits

When you register for a course, you’ve made a commitment to help make that class great with your experience and insights and you’ve made a commitment to be successful. To do that you will need to plan and you’ll need to balance your life responsibilities. To that end, the biggest tip I can give you is to manage your time wisely.  Use a digital or paper planner (like Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner) or desk calendar, prioritize your work, and schedule your time to get work done before the deadline! If you can develop good work habits now, they will serve you well in school and in life!

I spent a whole month writing posts about how to be more productive, so I’m not going to repeat all of that advice here. What I will say though is how important it is to develop good work habits now!  I wish I had the routine I have today when I was in school and as new faculty! I would have been less stressed and would have created more margin in my life for family and the fun things! 

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Why Go to Nursing School?

It’s important to know and remember all of the amazing reasons why you’re choosing to become a nurse not only to make sure that you’re pursuing the right path for you but to keep in mind along the way and in the future whenever you need a little added motivation. With accessible and flexible education options, major job demand and variety, incredible fulfillment and purpose, the super functional, fashionable and respected scrubs uniform that you’ll wear every day and so much more, it shouldn’t be hard to know or remember why you’re doing this!

Preparing to Pursue the Path

Know What You’re Getting Into

Being a nurse boasts a lot of benefits, but it’s important to consider every aspect of what you’re getting into. Being a nurse can mean getting a rush from saving lives, slowing down to fill out paperwork, dealing with emotional mental and physical burnout and more. It is essential to consider and prepare for all of these aspects, whether they are overwhelmingly good, underwhelmingly mundane or just plain bad.

Research Programs and Paths Extensively

There are plenty of options when it comes to nursing programs, and all of them offer different benefits and cater to different needs. It’s important that you take the time to research these different options and weigh them against what it is that you really need out of a program to excel. Before you begin your research, ask yourself questions like: Would I benefit from a career placement program? Would online classes work better with my schedule? What level or type of nurse do I want to be when I enter the field?

Complete Prerequisites

It only seems right that there are different prerequisites for different programs, but you can be sure that prerequisites will exist in some capacity. From program overviews and information sessions to admissions counselors and program advisors, there are many resources available to help you make sure that you have and know everything that you should before you enroll in a program.

Network

For student nurses and seasoned nurses alike, it is essential to make connections and create support systems. Whether for emotional support to help prevent burnout or academic support throughout the schooling process or to create impressions and open doors for your future, networking is a highly effective way to be proactive, no matter where you are, in preparing for your nursing career or even launching it.

Preparing for Nursing School Once You’ve Been Accepted

Update immunizations

Most programs that place you into healthcare settings require that you have the essential immunizations first in order to keep yourself, your patients and the general public safe. Resources such as the program’s admission requirements or your admissions counselors can help you to figure out exactly what you need for your specific program, but immunizations for Meningitis, Mumps, Tuberculosis, Chickenpox and Influenza are all commonly required.

Receive Certain Certifications

Along with immunizations, know that there will be other things to update before your program begins. Most likely, you’ll be required to either receive or update your CPR certification, First Aid certification, Interpersonal Skills for Healthcare Workers certification, and maybe even more before beginning your program, depending on what it is.

Get Used to the Uniform

All of a sudden your closet is going to be overpopulated by scrubs, and you’ll find yourself in them every day. When we wear new clothes for the first time it’s easy to feel uncomfortable — and when we feel uncomfortable it shows. So make sure that you start researching the best scrubs for the type of nursing you’re pursuing, start window shopping and thinking about your work/school wardrobe and maybe even start buying and breaking in the feel of your new profession.

If for no other reason, this can be highly beneficial as a motivator and to get you dreaming about your goals. While they’re adjusting, casual scrub styles such as short and long sleeve scrubs can be some of the best for new or student nurses.

Stock Up on Supplies

You’ll want to review your program’s list of necessary supplies or talk to your program advisor to see what kinds of equipment and supplies you’re required to purchase, but it’s important when entering a nursing program to be aware of the fact that there will be costs, research time, and testing time associated with finding the best supplies for you.

From avoiding embarrassing incidents in the classroom or on the floor to improving your performance and helping you excel at your career — it’s crucial that you invest the necessary resources into this step!

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