Tips For First Year Nursing Students

Nursing Students – First Year Tips

Content shared from nursecrets

So, you have been accepted into nursing school. First of all congratulations! You have made it through the process, so now what?  After the excitement has diminished you may begin to wonder “what have I gotten myself into?” We have put together Tips for Nursing Students First Year of nursing school.

You probably would like to know what to expect in your first year of nursing school and how to survive. These tips will get you started on your journey and carry you all the way to NCLEX.

The first things you may remember are all the voices that tell you nursing school is hard. You didn’t let those voices stop you from completing the admission process, so don’t let them stop you now.

Don’t get me wrong, nursing school will be tough. You will flex brain muscles you didn’t know you had. But, just think about all the nurses in the world and remember that we all began at this point. We made it through and so can you!

1. Begin with the attitude of building a solid foundation.

This is the first tip because I believe it is important and not often spoken. Nursing school is like no other degree program. In nursing school, no class is an island. Each class builds upon the previous one. You don’t get everything in one class. You may even learn information that you have no idea what to do with. Keep that information. YOU WILL NEED IT!

For example:

• First, you will learn what a normal and abnormal blood pressure is and how to take a blood pressure in one class.
• Secondly, you will learn how to assess a patient to see if a blood pressure is normal or abnormal in another class.
• Thirdly, you will learn about disease processes related to blood pressure such as hypertension in another class.
• Fourthly, you will learn how to treat hypertension such as with medication in another class.
• And finally, at the end you have a NCLEX question in which you will need to know all this information to answer the question.

So, if you slack on any of these classes, then the questions appear to be hard. If you build a foundation with this information, the questions will be easy.

Also, when an instructor is teaching you about a disease process, they go on the premise you already know what a normal and abnormal blood pressure is and how to assess for them.

This information will not be taught to you again in each class.

2. You will feel overwhelmed from day one.

Every nursing student has felt this. A lot of things are thrown at you at one time. You will feel stressed the first day and on occasion throughout your program. The main thing is to take a deep breath and don’t let anxiety get the best of you.

Don’t get wrapped up in trying to be perfect. You are learning a new topic. You are not going to be perfect at everything. Remember to learn from your mistakes and keep going. Don’t beat yourself up on things that have passed or things you didn’t get right. You don’t have time and this can drain your energy.

3. Don’t place so much focus on grades

As mentioned in #1 nursing school is cumulative. It is important to not only memorize but to comprehend and assimilate the information you receive.

Everyone wants to do the very best, but don’t get bogged down in the grade game. You will be taught a different way of thinking and a different way of taking tests. You may see a dip in your grades and this may be hard if you have been a straight-A student.

If your grades drop, don’t let it stress you out. Try not to obsess over grades and focus on learning the material and building a foundation.

Probably the hardest thing you will have to face in nursing school is that learning and test-taking will not be the same as when you were in high school or any other program. Face this sooner than later and you will begin to see a shift in your grades.

4. Become more organized.

If you don’t have great organization skills, now is the time to learn. You will need to organize all the information you receive so you don’t miss deadlines and just to know where you need to be and when.

You are developing a skill that will carry you throughout your nursing career. This will help you care for more than one patient efficiently and even to care for a critically ill patient as a nurse.

Yes, you will need a planner whether it is digital or paper. Planning ahead is the key to making nursing school more manageable.

Certain things in nursing school will require different amounts of study time. Don’t think you can do everything at the last minute. This can get out of hand quickly. It is important to acquire good organizational skills in nursing school and stick to them.

Resources: 8 Planner Tips For Student Nurses

5. Learn to prioritize

There will be some things that will have to take a back burner at times. Prioritize the things that you must get done. Becoming more organized will eventually keep you from working on things at the last minute all the time.

Create a list of all the things you need to do. Highlight the things you “have to do soon” in one color and the things you “need to do” in another color and the things that can wait until you have downtime in a different color. You may have to make some tough decisions. But it will get easier as time goes by. This is where having a planner really helps.

6. Manage your time

Your time is a priority while in nursing school. Just about every minute will be accounted for. You can’t just glide into one week after another without a definite plan.

Create a schedule and stick to it. Don’t make a habit of waiting till the last minute telling yourself you work better under pressure. You will actually feel better when you are on time or ahead of time.

Tips to manage your time better.

• Plan ahead. Having a calendar and reviewing it daily or weekly will keep you focused with no last minute suprises.
• Block time out for studying daily. Whether it is reading or reviewing notes, make sure you are consistent.
• Be effective in your studying. Don’s spend unnecessary time studying information you already know.
• Avoid getting distracted with things you don’t need to know. When you see a photo in you textbook, don’t stop and spend time on it if it is not related to what you are working on. Don’t worry you will get to it.
• Avoid distractions with social media or text. You can still have time for those things in moderation but make sure you have good periods of focused time spent on studying.

7. Manage your Reading

Reading will take a lot of your time. The number of reading assignments will be overwhelming. Your first thought will be you will never get through this information in the amount of time given. The good news is that these reading assignments can be managed. Here are some tips for nursing school success.

Divide the information into chunks to conquer.

You will receive a syllabus for all of your classes on the first day. This is the time to figure out how much time you will need to spend on each class. The worst thing you can do is try to read your entire reading assignment for a test at one time.

The key is to break the reading up into manageable segments. You will retain the information better by reading over time instead of all at once. Plan your reading schedule in your planner.

Reading is one of the main things that you will need to map out from the beginning. Once you begin and see what is expected, you will be able to create a better and better plan.

Try to read before class.

This can be hard. However, if you start off doing this from the beginning the payoff will be great. If you read before class, the lecture becomes the second time you have come into contact with the material. Then you are able to be more efficient in class. You can then focus on the information covered in the lecture because you have a foundation for the lecture.

Your note-taking will be better because you won’t have to try to write down every little thing because you will find you already know and understand some of the material. Also, you won’t be afraid that something is covered in class that’s not in the book because you already know what’s in the book.

When you have this foundation you can listen more than you write and have the perfect notes for exams.

Resource: 8 Note-Taking Skills for Nursing Students.

8. Don’t fall behind.

Falling behind will cause your stress levels to go through the roof. There is nothing worst than trying to do all your reading and studying for an exam the weekend or even the night before your exam.

The amount of information you will comprehend and remember is decreased drastically. Make a reading and studying schedule and stick to it. And remember to make your goals realistic.

For instance, don’t think you will be able to study all day Sunday. This is the time that something always happens to keep you from your studies. Sometimes it is just the idea that you have all this time and you can have a hard time starting and the time dwindles until maybe that evening.

9. Communicate with your Instructors

One of the best things you can do is establish a professional relationship with your instructors.

However, the instructor cannot solve all your problems. And they can’t dig you out of a hole at the last minute. But, they can give you the advice to keep you out of a hole and resources that can help.

It’s important to establish a relationship before the last minute. The Friday before the final exam when you need a high score to pass the class is not the time to establish this relationship.

Your instructor can give you helpful tips along the way to overcome some learning blocks or just give you a different way of thinking about a topic. The smallest tweaks can make the biggest difference.

10. Join or create a study group

It’s important to join a study group that actually studies. Sometimes a study group can become a gripe session. You do not have the time to spend an hour or two talking about what you hate about nursing school.

Also, if you find yourself teaching information you already know to others, it’s time to find another group. You have to understand that your friends will not take the NCLEX for you. This is something you will face on your own and you have to spend your valuable time moving toward that goal.

If you cannot find a study group, create one with people who are like-minded. You need a study group that moves you forward in your studies. You don’t want to spend less time with family, friends and doing something you love just to spend your precious time bemoaning the last exam.

Resources:

Caffeine. (2021, September 21). MedlinePlus. Retrieved December 30, 2021, from https://medlineplus.gov/caffeine.html

Disclaimer: The information contained on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitution for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained is provided for educational purposes only. You assume full responsibility for how you chose to use this information.

Tips For Working While In Nursing School

5 Tips for Working While in Nursing School

Information and article shared from Indeed.com

Here are five tips for being a successful nursing student while working a full-time or part-time job:

1. Review the time commitments in your life

Choosing to work and attend school requires you to make a careful review and assessment of your commitments in life. Determining what is essential in your day, prioritizing your daily and weekly tasks, and taking stock of the people and relationships that are most important to you in life will drive you towards the right decision for you.

2. Consider a part-time school or work commitment

When choosing to attend school and work simultaneously, it’s important to consider the demands of your personal life and your career goals. Think about the best way to allocate your time. For example, after evaluating your aspirations and personal circumstances, you may find that attending school full time is the most beneficial option for you. Going to school full-time ensures the quickest and most direct route to earning your nursing degree. By working part-time simultaneously, you can still earn some income. This can help pay for day-to-day necessities and school-related expenses.

Conversely, you may find that attending school part-time is a better choice for your lifestyle. Working full-time while attending nursing school part-time provides financial flexibility. Earning a steady income may allow for a transition into earning your nursing degree. Choosing this option is a sound choice for adult learners or those with significant personal or family obligations. While attending nursing school part-time will prolong your degree program, it offers people the opportunity to achieve their academic and career goals.

3. Reach out to your support system

Becoming a nurse is a significant undertaking. Whether you plan on attending school full-time or part-time, it is important to identify your support system before you need them. Defining who is in your support system means evaluating who your friends, family, and acquaintances are and clearly understanding how they can help you most effectively when needed. Here are eight interpersonal relationships that regularly make up an individual’s support system:

• Relatives

• Friends

• Teachers

• Peers

• Colleagues

• Mental Health professionals

• Academic advisors

• Religious leaders

4. Design a schedule and routine

Students who work and go to school full time must design, implement and maintain a disciplined schedule and daily routine. Create a comprehensive scheduling resource on paper, a computer or mobile phone that defines and outlines your responsibilities daily, weekly and monthly. Leverage tools like calendars, alarms, emails or text message reminders to stay on task and motivated. Assess how your schedules and routines are working periodically to make changes and adjustments where necessary.

5. Remember to take care of your well-being

When committed to a variety of important responsibilities, it’s essential that you make time and meaningful effort to include self-care, relaxation and personal hobbies in your schedule. Explore various outlets and activities for stress relief, such as meditation, yoga, exercise, sports leagues, social clubs and mental health support groups. Make time for family, friends and social gatherings as well as being alone. Taking care of your overall mental, emotional and physical well-being ultimately increases your academic ability and work performance. Taking the time to recharge boosts your positivity and may allow you to refocus your energy and improve your productivity.

Working While In Nursing School

Pros and Cons of Working While in Nursing School

Information and article shared from Indeed.com Editorial Team

Nursing school provides an avenue for aspiring nurses to grow and learn. Working while also attending school affords students options relating to their personal lives and financial needs. If you have a passion for science and medicine and you enjoy helping people, you may consider becoming a nurse. In this article, we describe the benefits and potential challenges of working while in nursing school and offer five tips for being a successful student while also employed.

pros of working while in nursing school

Many students in nursing school choose to work in paying jobs while simultaneously attending classes. There are a number of benefits and challenges to working while going to school and each student needs to weigh each to determine what is best for them. Here are six positive effects of working while attending nursing school:

Improved time management skills

Balancing between professional and academic obligations provides learners with an enriching opportunity to enhance their time management skills. By creating a daily schedule, prioritizing duties by necessity and applying creative problem-solving skills, people who work while attending school can improve their skills. Cultivating healthy time management strategies can help advance your success in school and in your career.

Related: 6 Tips for Writing Nursing School Resumes (With Resume Example)

Ability to pay for your daily expenses

Working while attending nursing school can help to offset the standard expenditures of being a student. Your salary or wages can go toward the cost of tuition, have and classroom materials like textbooks or software programs. With an income, you will be able to pay for any daily expenses more easily. This can ease financial stress, and it may even allow for more a person to direct their focus on completing classwork and acquiring the hands-on skills necessary to become a nurse.

Can help avoid burnout

Having a job while going to school can also give you the opportunity to focus your energy and mental efforts on tasks that are unrelated to your studies. By diverting your attention, you can potentially avoid burnout. Burnout is the temporary mental, emotional and sometimes physical fatigue that can occur from immersion in arduous situations or scenarios. This temporary fatigue is common and can be preempted through small lifestyle changes.

Having a full-time or part-time job naturally creates variation in a person’s routine. In this way, working can potentially help keep your mind from getting fixated and stuck on schoolwork, research or other academic responsibilities. This allows for a positive attitude towards your coursework and increased performance.

Related: 20 Types of Nursing Positions

Increased accessibility to continuing education

Students sometimes take out substantial loans to fund their nursing school education. These loans must be paid back over time and can represent a large monthly payment owed. Working during nursing school can help lessen the loan amount that a student may need for school.

It may also allow people to avoid interest on their loans but making payments toward their principal balance while attending school. This is a great option for people who wish to pay their loan off sooner. Additionally, by lessening the future burden of loan payments, you may be better situated to further pursue your education. If you choose to earn a master’s degree or Ph.D.

Potential access to industry professionals

Having a part-time job in the healthcare industry is likely to help you make connections with nurses, doctors and physicians assistants. These colleagues can become important contacts within your professional network. Expanding this network can lead to career opportunities, mentorship roles and references.

These relationships can also help you determine what specialties interest you most. By allowing you to ask questions about other people’s career trajectories and histories, nursing students can solicit advice on how to recognize their primary interests and potential areas of specialization. This is a crucial step for realizing your career aspirations and goals.

More distinguished resume after graduation

An impressive nursing resume highlights your educational background, accomplishments, talents and skills. It should also include nursing license and certification details and membership in any professional organizations, associations, or societies. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, positions for registered nurses are projected to increase by 7% through the year 2029. This is nearly double the average growth predictions for other careers. However, entry-level positions for home health aides, personal care helpers, nursing assistants and orderlies are predicted to increase by 25%. This percentage is nearly seven times the average national growth rate for other jobs.

Working full or part-time in a health-related field while earning your nursing degree can help you build your resume, increase your viability as a candidate and show potential employers evidence of your dedication to hard work. It also showcases your ability to multitask, your commitment to time management and your willingness to accept challenges, which are all attractive qualities to possess.

Cons of working while in nursing school

Here are three things to consider before deciding to work while also attending nursing school:

Work may interfere with the nursing residency program

Most nursing school programs require the completion of a specific amount of fieldwork or hands-on training hours in order to earn your degree. Because this fieldwork is used to get students prepared for the rigors and responsibilities of professional nursing, working could interfere with the hour requirements of nursing school. The additional mental and physical efforts of a job could also impact your ability to successfully execute the residency program requirements.

Personal time may be impacted

Nursing students have a significant amount of hours accounted for in their day between classes and residency programs. Many students find the amount of support, organization, and planning needed to achieve strong academic performance is quite high. Finding time for one’s self, be it to spend time with family or friends or simply focus on personal interests, is important for a balanced and healthy lifestyle.

Including a full or even part-time job on top of nursing school commitments may leave you with very little time for personal matters to be attended to when needed. Be sure to be mindful of this reality when prioritizing commitments.

Work schedules may not align well with class schedules

Workers regularly have one set schedule for the year. Other times, people may have work schedules that change from week to week. Meanwhile, school class schedules typically change from semester to semester and your individual class schedule will vary based upon course availability and requirements. For example, if you must take a certain course necessary for graduation that’s only offered once during the week, you’ll have to do so. This can create challenges in balancing work schedules with school schedules.

Scheduling conflicts can impact your relationships at work and may influence your perception of yourself as a worker. They may also affect which courses you’re able to register for if an unsolvable conflict of timing arises. Delaying the taking of courses in favor of working can prolong the time it takes for you to complete your nursing program.

Nursing Assisting Median Annual Salary

Nursing Assistant Program in Arizona

Sumner College offers a Nursing Assistant Program on the Arizona Campus.

If you’re looking for a career where you can make a difference in the lives of others, a career as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) or Licensed Nursing Assistant (LNA) may be perfect for you. CNAs and LNAs work alongside nurses and physicians to ensure the comfort and safety of people who are often at their most vulnerable. Through direct interaction, they are a vital link between nurse and their patients.

This four-week program will provide you with knowledge and skills including patient safety and rights, diet and nutrition, ambulatory transfers and CPR. Sumner College is licensed by the Arizona State Board for Postsecondary Education and is approved by the Arizona State Board of Nursing to offer the Nursing Assistant Training Program.

Source: The U.S. Bureau of Labor & Statistics

The median annual wage for nursing assistants was $30,310 in May 2021. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $23,880, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $44,240.

The median annual wage for orderlies was $29,990 in May 2021. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $23,970, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $46,470.

In May 2021, the median annual wages for nursing assistants in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Government	$37,310
Hospitals; state, local, and private	35,870
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities)	29,970
Continuing care retirement communities and assisted living facilities for the elderly	29,900
Home healthcare services	29,280

 

In May 2021, the median annual wages for orderlies in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Government	$36,950
Hospitals; state, local, and private	30,010
Ambulatory healthcare services	29,620

 

Although most nursing assistants and orderlies work full time, some work part time. Because nursing and residential care facilities and hospitals provide care at all hours, nursing aides and orderlies may need to work nights, weekends, and holidays.

 

• Nursing Assisting Median Annual Salary
  • Types of Nursing Assistants
  • Nursing Assisting Median Annual Salary
  • Nursing Assistant Skills and Qualifications
  • Being a Nursing Assistant

10 Nursing Podcasts to Help You Succeed

Everyone needs some words of encouragement from time to time. Life can be hard, and hearing stories and advice from someone in a similar position can often make a world of difference when things start to get tough.

Travel nursing is a unique profession and one that isn’t an exception to difficulties. On a daily basis, you face a dozen obstacles and challenges that the average person may never encounter in their whole life in a non-nursing profession. From the physical demands to the emotional strain, working as a nurse is not easy. Add on top of that the tedium of traveling once or twice a year, and you have yourself a recipe for some much-deserved self-care.

And podcasts are a great way to renew your sense of encouragement and gratitude for your nursing profession.

What many nurses don’t know is how many podcasts are out there specifically made for those in the medical field. If you’re looking for something new and relatable to listen to during your travels or daily commute, read on for the 10 best podcasts for nurses!

#1. Daily Nurse – NurseCasts

Number one on the list of the best nursing podcasts is a show called Nursecasts. Episodes of Nursecasts can be listened to on the website DailyNurse. The podcast is hosted by Joe Morita, the senior acquisitions editor of Spring Publishing. Each episode features interviews with real nurses and discusses the daily life of working as a healthcare professional and their nursing experience throughout their career.

NurseCasts usually focus on a particular subject each day, whether it be about mental health,  travel nursing, or the nursing experience of a graduate. For example, the very first episode discusses why so many college students are studying to enter the nursing field. In addition to these interesting discussions, NurseCasts also offers actionable advice to listeners, such as:

• What are the best scrub brands
• Where to get the best shoes for nurses
• Why nurses should wear compression socks at work

Listen to new episodes of NurseCasts daily for helpful information and unique stories about working as a registered nurse.

#2. Good Nurse Bad Nurse

Good Nurse Bad Nurse is a podcast for those who love interesting stories about the healthcare field.

Hosted by two registered nurses, Tina and Sam, every episode has each of them tell a story about working as a nurse. One story, told by the “good nurse” will be uplifting and inspiring. The other story, told by the “bad nurse,” will typically explore the darker side of the healthcare field—such as complications, mistakes, and dangers on the job. This podcast discusses hot-button issues in the medical field and features special guests and interviews with other people with a nursing career.

The next time you’re looking for a gripping but fun podcast, with just the right amount of light-heartedness, check out Good Nurse Bad Nurse.

#3. The Nurse Keith Show

For nurses who want a podcast that focuses mainly on career advice, check out The Nurse Keith Show. Nurse Keith is a registered nurse, board-certified nursing coach, and specialist in holistic healing.

The Nurse Keith show helps nurses make the right choices for their own success and encourages listeners to advance their careers and find their own path. In addition to career coaching, the podcast also explores current topics in the medical field and interviews other healthcare professionals.

This is a podcast with a charming balance of being entertaining and informational.

#4. Nursing Show

Nursing Show is one of the best medical podcasts on the scene. For the nurse who wants a clinical skills podcast, Nursing Show offers educational discussions about the healthcare field. Medication usage, helpful tips on daily procedures, and information on medical conditions and modern medicine are all featured topics on this podcast that are accompanied by a lot of insider knowledge.

In addition to educational topics, Nursing Show also offers:

• Interviews
• Medical news
• General advice on managing and advancing your career

You can listen to Nursing Show on Stitcher. The podcast no longer airs new episodes, but there are over 400 episodes currently available for listening. If you are a graduate nurse, this might be a great listen to gain some valuable information on topics that range far and wide.

#5. Nursing Uncensored

Nursing Uncensored is not for the faint of heart. The podcast is hosted by Adrienne Behning, a registered nurse, and entertainer who believes in combining healthcare and humor.

Nursing is a serious profession, but that doesn’t mean you can’t laugh about it sometimes. Nursing Uncensored is one of the best comedic podcasts for nurses. With interviews, relatable stories, and the occasional curse word, Nursing Uncensored is for healthcare professionals who aren’t afraid to tell it like it is.

#6. Real Talk School of Nursing

The Real Talk School of Nursing podcast is a bit different from the other podcasts on this list. That’s because, instead of focusing on life on the job, it focuses on life around the job. This podcast is for nurses who want to hear relatable discussions about balancing their work as a nurse practitioner and personal life.

Real Talk School of Nursing also interviews professionals in the medical field and discusses people’s personal experiences in this line of work.

New episodes air every couple of weeks, and you can listen to them on the Real Talk School of Nursing website.

#7. Straight A Nursing

Straight A Nursing is a podcast that will help nurses and nursing students do their best at work and get through nursing school. This podcast is essentially a mobile learning lesson each week, but with more entertainment.

Hosted by Nurse Mo, this podcast series delves into educational aspects of the nursing field and offers helpful refreshers and much-needed new information about healthcare work.

New episodes of Straight A Nursing air each week, and you can find them on all your favorite podcast services:

• Apple podcasts
• iTunes
• Google Play
• Stitcher

#8. Stories of Self Healing With Nurse Kristin

Nursing podcasts don’t always have to be about succeeding at work. Stories of Self Healing with Nurse Kristin is a podcast for nurses who want to turn their focus inward and work on their own personal triumphs. Kristin’s podcast series focuses on life outside of nursing care and how to balance a career in nursing and your physical and mental health.

Nurse Kristin specializes in nutrition and offers helpful advice on eating right, feeling your best, and switching to healthy and plant-based foods.

This podcast is a perfect balance of remaining in the nursing field while also taking listeners’ minds off work. Stories of Self Healing with Nurse Kristin will help nurses take care of themselves, so they have the energy and focus to bring their all when working as a nurse or travel nurse.

#9. Nurse Talk Media

It’s no secret that healthcare is heavily politicized. Nurse Talk Media is a politically centered nursing podcast that covers news, work, and experiences from real nurses. Some topics discussed on this show include:

• Medical marijuana legality
• The cost of healthcare and insurance in the U.S.
• The pharmaceutical industry
• Nurse and patient relationship building tips
• Workplace safety standards

Nurse Talk Media is a podcast for nurses with strong political beliefs who are looking for engaging discussions and up-to-date stories about the current state of healthcare.

#10. Your Next Shift: A Nursing Career Podcast

Make each workday better than the last with this helpful nursing podcast that’s full of career advice. Host Elizabeth Scala presents new ways to approach problems you face working in the healthcare field and encourages listeners to bring a proper mindset into their work.

A wonderful combination of practical advice and psychological elements, Your Next Shift is the perfect podcast for nurses looking to feel good about their career and continue to make strides toward the life they want.

With new guest speakers each episode, and a ton of thought-provoking topics, you’ll find yourself itching to listen to the next episode.

Fortunately, new episodes of Your Next Shift air each week on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, and Stitcher.

There’s Plenty to Choose From

Travel nursing jobs are continuing to be readily available. Each year, more and more nurses enter the field—ready to do everything they can to help people feel their best. While the work is hard, and you may not always feel your best, you have to remember that there’s always someone out there who will understand.

Listening to nursing podcasts will help you feel more connected, provide advice, and entertain you with relatable stories for hours on end. Some of these podcasts can even help answer typical nursing questions such as what are the top compression socks for nurses or the best scrub brands.

Now that you have this list, you can start listening and find the perfect nurse podcast for you, and make life as a travel nurse all that much more enjoyable.

Check out more of our articles on healthcare topics to help you get all the information you need to tackle your job as a nurse or travel nurse with comfort and confidence!

Something to Listen to While You Travel

Are you a nurse who’s always wanted to travel the country? Does listening to these podcasts on a ten-hour scenic drive to your next 3-month hospital stint sound intriguing?

At Host Healthcare we strive to help professionals in the healthcare industry find their dream jobs and offer support every step of the way. Whether you’re looking for a job during the COVID 19 pandemic, or you want to switch from a perm position to a travel position, we have your back. Find the perfect position for you with Allied Travel careers. Consider becoming a travel physician assistant, critical care nurse, primary care nurse, or other medical professional.

After looking through these nursing podcasts, you might want to check available travel CNA jobs that you might consider in the future.

Times School Nurses Are Not Enough

There is no better time than now to bump up the health resources for children in schools, experts say.

School children have had an especially challenging time navigating the tedious months of the pandemic, with recent reports showing that students fell four to seven months behind in math and reading compared to previous years, and with the most vulnerable students showing the steepest declines.

But while schools have typically tried to improve student achievement by focusing on academic testing and additional classes, they’ve too often neglected a major factor in their success: physical, mental and social health. This is especially true for children living in economically disadvantaged communities, who unlike their peers in wealthier communities often lack access to quality health care and resources.

There are many reasons such children often struggle to do well in school, but education specialists say there is no better time than now to devote more resources to their often-limited access to needed health services. Just as shouting doesn’t enable a deaf person to hear or better lighting a blind person to see, feeding facts and figures to youngsters with untreated health problems is unlikely to help them learn.

Charles E. Basch, a professor of health and education at Columbia University’s Teachers College, wrote in a special issue of the Journal of School Health in 2011: “Healthier students are better learners,” a fact he called “a missing link in school reforms to close the achievement gap.” In the report, he said that schools trying to enhance academic achievement should target their efforts on reducing health disparities that might impair a student’s education.

“The health needs of children have not been considered a central mission of schools,” Dr. Basch told me. “Yet there’s a clear connection between mental and physical health and the ability of children to learn.” And by not adequately addressing such needs, he said, “society is losing talent.”

Bringing health care to schools

Enter school-based health centers — facilities either in the school itself or nearby that not only tend to acute health issues like cuts and bruises, but also provide a suite of health services including primary, mental and dental care; substance abuse counseling; nutrition education and more. “They bring health care to where the children are, and they’re a very good way to provide health care to children who might not otherwise get it,” said Nicholas Freudenberg, a professor of public health at the City University of New York School of Public Health.

School-based health centers are a cardinal feature of community schools and other public schools that have increasingly recognized how difficult it is for many children to get their health problems adequately detected and treated. Such challenges may be especially acute for those living in low-income urban centers or rural areas. If a parent has to take time off from work or find a babysitter, or if transportation is unavailable or unaffordable to get a child to a medical visit, needed services are too often neglected until there’s a crisis, experts have said.

The nonprofit Paramount Health Data Project, which recently published a report on students’ health conditions in public and private schools in Indiana, found that the more often children visited the school nurse, the poorer their academic achievement on statewide tests, Azure Angelov, the project’s director, told me. The project’s data suggest “that students who are frequent visitors to the school nurse are simply unhealthy and frequently do not feel well during the school day,” Dr. Angelov and colleagues wrote in the report. “This is impacting their ability to learn.”

Although the majority of public schools have at least one full-time or part-time nurse, that’s hardly adequate to care for kids who often have complex and interrelated health problems that can get in the way of learning. For example, a child with poorly controlled asthma may avoid exercise and have trouble sleeping, which is when the brain consolidates memory. In addition to medication and routine follow-up, that child may need dietary and exercise advice and assistance in clearing allergens from the home.

10 Ways To Increase Your Focus in Nursing School

It’s frustrating sitting there staring at your textbook and losing focus. Every nursing student has been through it and you will feel like you’re wasting time. Here are some ways to help you focus better during your studying time.

1. Get Better Sleep

We have all been there as a college student and even as a working nurse. When we know we should be sleeping, we are not. Instead we are scrolling through our phones or catching up with the latest show.

It takes a lot of discipline for us to close our phone and go to sleep. By creating small habits, we can have better self-control. Put your phone somewhere far away before you go to bed. Only allow yourself to indulge in your shows after you finished studying for the week.

Getting better sleep is all about prioritizing your sleep over everything else. Have a routine that will prepare your body for sleep. Start preparing for bed 1 hour before bedtime. Avoid having caffeine late in the evening where it will affect how well you fall asleep.

This will take self-discipline at an ultimate level but it will pay off when you pass all your nursing exams. Give yourself small rewards along the way will make it easier. Rewards are something you enjoy such as hanging out with friends or treating yourself to a nice meal.

Maybe you just need a little to rejuvenate yourself. A nap will do you wonders if that’s what your body needs. Sometimes we feel guilty for wasting time napping when we know we should be studying. The lack of focus could be that we are pushing ourselves too hard and not giving your brain a break. Schedule in a power nap to rejuvenate your brain before studying. You will retain information better with a mind at 100% capacity then a brain performing sluggishly.

2. Have An Exercise Routine

Going from classes to clinical and studying gives us little to no time to exercise. You might find that you focus better at the beginning of the semester then you do towards the end.

The time you spend sitting for class and for studying is not making enough blood flow to your brain. You will learn in nursing school that blood is the delivery system for oxygen and nutrient. This means circulation is important to the organs in your body especially to your brain. Your brain needs proper fuel and oxygen to function and learn new information.

Make it a habit to include exercise in your weekly routine. If you don’t have much time, try to fit an intensive training (HIIT) exercise in 15-30 minutes once or twice a week. A low intensity workout like Yoga or Pilates everyday for 15-20 minutes is also an option. You will feel the difference in your mind once you have a good exercise routine.

You don’t need to exert too much effort to make exercising possible. Try using YouTube videos for a quick and easy workout that you prefer. Make the process easier being in comfortable workout clothes if it is appropriate. This way you will find sticking to the routine a lot easier.

If you need to be a better environment to work out, you can check out your school gym. There are inexpensive gym membership you can try to join. Plan your studying time strategically around your workout location for better productivity. You may find that you study better before or after a workout.

3. Eat Nutrient Dense Whole Foods

You will learn that fast food has a price when it comes to how well your body performs. We have all eaten food that makes us sleepy or hungry after an hour. These type of food are convenient but will get in the way of your studying.

It takes effort to be consciously aware of what we eat and how it benefits our ability to study and perform on our test. One way is to avoid food with empty calories such as carb based snacks. Start to identify what you eat everyday and replace it with whole unprocessed foods.

You may need to set aside time to prepare food to bring with you. We all know time is limited as a nursing student. Go for pre-portioned packaged food that you can take with you. Carry packaged nuts and/or healthy energy bars to help hold you over until you get home.

Eating nutrient dense food will offer plenty of fuel for your body to function optimally. It may be a hassle to bring food with you to the library or classroom but it will pay off in the end.

4. Have An Effective Study Schedule 

To be productive, you need to learn how to manage your time. Having a strategic study schedule will give you the edge you need to pass your nursing exams. You could be running around and wasting precious time if you don’t strategize your day. Put the initial effort required to create a study schedule and you will reap the benefits it has to offer.

5. Have Nursing Study Buddies

Being in a nursing program, you will find there are many challenges to overcome. Having a group of people who are going through the same thing you are will make things easier. The amount of information that you will learn in nursing school is a lot to handle by yourself.

Finding friends in the nursing program will help you get through nursing. You may need to be selective of who your study group will be. Not everybody who get accepted into the nursing program will graduate as a nurse. It helps to know that your nursing buddies are serious about studying. You will need the mental support from each other to make it through every semester and pass the NCLEX.

Offering support to each other will also include sharing ways to study. With so many mind working towards the same goal. You will learn better ways to motivate yourself and reach your goals.

You can easily drive yourself crazy by creating the fear of failing every exam. Having a group of nursing buddies will give you back some sanity when you find you are not the only one with doubts.

6. Find Your Secret Study Place

You need to know where you study best in order to have the focus you need to process those chapters in the textbook. It will be productive to hunt down your own little study area. This could be your little secret. The right area will offer everything you need to make you feel comfortable. You will realize how zoned in you will be once you are studying in your secret place.

Having a designated place to hide away from others will come in handy. Sometimes you will find that studying in a group could come with a lot of distraction. This will result in a less productive way of using your precious study time. You may find yourself thinking of a way to sneak off into your comfort zone for an hour or two to actually study.

This secret study space of yours will take some time for you to find. You will be happy knowing there is a place just for you that will increase your chance of passing your exams.

7. Study Smarter

A popular saying is work smarter and not harder. You are not guaranteed to pass your exams just because you studied long hours. It may be counterproductive by studying until you burnout. By implementing ways to study smarter, you will find studying more enjoyable.

Understand How You Learn

One way of studying smarter is to understand what type of leaner you are. There are visual, auditory, linguistic, physical, logical, interpersonal and intrapersonal types of learners. Knowing how you learn best will make things easier for you. Once you’ve understand what type of learner you are, you can explore ways to help you study better.

This article Different Learning Style will help you identify your learning type. This link will take you to Time4Learning.com.

Take Good Notes in Class

Taking perfect notes in class is another way to give your studying a boost. Most information discussed in class will be on the exam. A useful hack is to learn short hand writing such as abbreviation to help you take faster notes in class. You can also try using a voice recorder in class to avoid missing anything important. Getting permission from your professor may be necessary before recording the lesson.

Use Technology To Give You An Edge

Using smart devices will make it easier to study. Having a laptop can speed up the process of creating study notes by typing them up. A laptop will also give you accessibility to the web to look up information quickly. Utilizing a smartphone with a camera built-in for a quick snap shot of notes on the board to review later. The are many apps you can use to give you the edge you need to have the information you need at your disposal. You only need to be creative with what you already have.

8. Teach Others What You’ve Learned

Grab anybody around you and try teaching them what you’ve just learned. This is a way that you can help your brain process and understand information. If you understand something thoroughly, you will be able to explain it very well.

You may find through your explanation that you don’t quite understand it yourself. That is how you can pinpoint the information you need to review. You will find your mind focus better when trying to find the answer. Your ability to recall this information is better because of the energy you put into it.

Just try it and see how well it works for you.

9. Test Yourself

Testing yourself is another way of identifying what you don’t know. Questions from nursing study guides may cover information you are suppose to know. There are options that you can use to quiz yourself.

Nursing Questionnaire Apps

Free nursing apps are easily accessible if you have a smartphones. There are different apps created for specific nursing classes. Find a good app with further breakdown that follows the chapters in your textbook. This way you can avoid confusion of getting questions of topics that aren’t discuss yet. Start testing yourself a week before the exam to help you gauge how prepare you are.

Nursing Study Guides

Nursing apps might have a limit on how well you will understand the reasoning for the correct answer. You will find a good study guide will offer the complete package to help you understand better. It will highlight information you need to know and have questionnaire with rationales. Critical thinking questions are challenging because you need to find the best answer out of the option of good answers. You will want to understand why that is the best answer to help you learn how to process questions for future (the NCLEX).

The smart way to approach this is to not over test yourself and loose confidence in what you know. Instead use it to help you gauge what you don’t know or understand. The tip is to understand why you got that question wrong and use your textbook to clear up the information.

10. Ask Others What You Should Focus On

When you look at the mountain of information in your textbook, you could get lost on what to focus on. Sometimes even with good study notes, you are still not sure if you’ve covered everything. There is just too much information in the textbook for you to memorize it all. You need to find a way to narrow your focus to what is important.

A proactive measure is to actually ask what you should be focusing on. You can ask your professor, your study buddies and even nursing students who are more senior than you. By find out what you should look for will give you the hyper focus you need to retain the information. This will also save you a lot of time and energy.

Content shared from Nurses Fix website

Managing Your Time In Nursing School

Whether your semester has just begun or your classes are in full swing, it’s never too late to revise your strategy and give your time management approach a reality check. Nursing school can be overwhelming and push you in ways you didn’t know you could be challenged. Getting to the finish line will not be easy but a clear and deliberate plan of action will help you get there unscathed.

TIME EFFICIENCY

In nursing school, everything else becomes secondary to studying. Create a daily and or hourly schedule and stick to it to be the most efficient. An hour by hour plan will help tremendously in keeping you on track to hit your daily milestones. In addition, it will be helpful to get conditioned to studying first before everything else. On days when on site classes are held, commuters should consider staying on campus to complete studying for the day instead of wasting precious time in stop and go traffic. If you stay on campus, avoid trips back and forth between classes to the your room and use small breaks to stick it out in the library. Keep flash cards on hand for quick study breaks when your schedule allows. Downloading audio lectures can be helpful for learning on the go and can be accessed on your headset or in the car. Parents should try to maximize time when children are sleeping or at school and use this time to study also. Lastly use weekends to meal prep, do house chores, prepare for the week and of course study!

STAYING ORGANIZED 

Getting organized can drastically change your nursing school experience for the better and create more time for focused learning.. Allocating specific folders, binders and bags for each class or day of the week will help you tremendously. Printing the syllabi for each course, outlining major deadlines and noting all test and assignment dates can be lifesaving. Large calendars are also great for providing a monthly view of classes, assignments, tests and clinicals. Small planners  can provide a great weekly view of your obligations and phone reminders can be essential. Organization will allow you the space and peace of mind to study. Preparing class and clinical materials ahead of time can be lifesaving.

DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE STUDY STRATEGY

Undoubtedly, studying is the most time intensive task in nursing school. There’s an exorbitant amount of info to read, digest and retain and seemingly not enough time in the day to tackle it all. Study at times that you are most energized and receptive. Create a dedicated area in your home that’s conducive to studying helps to set the tone and environment for optimal learning that’s free of distractions. It is also  important to master the skill of intaking and dumping information. Unlike your pre-nursing courses, being super detailed oriented could actually work against you in nursing school. After your first test, there should be an analysis of the materials you covered as it relates to what you were actually tested on. Let this information guide your future study habits per course. Your learning style may be auditory or visual; however, most people study best in groups and are able to grasp concepts from peers more concisely. Lastly, grab a few classmates with similar schedules to form a study group and test your knowledge by explaining and teaching one another.

KEEP SOCIAL TO A MINIMUM

“Do what you have to now  so you can do what you want later.” While cliche, the aforementioned expression holds true. Nursing school is no joke and is a real life commitment and sacrifice of time. Depending on the rigidity of your program, you may want to consider minimizing social outings for the duration of your program. This does not mean that you can’t have a life or shouldn’t see your friends and family; however, it does mean you should be doing so a lot less. Remember, self-care is a huge component of keeping your sanity during this challenging time.  Be sure to prioritize time for things that make you happy, recharge your energy and allow you to step away for mental breaks. Schedule your social time in advance to be sure your interactions are not becoming distractions to your focus and productivity. Also, it may not be a bad idea to limit time on social media as well. You can use various apps to track and limit your usage.

ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER

In nursing school you have countless assignments, deadlines, tests and obligations. In this environment a hectic schedule can get the best of them despite proper planning and time management. Therefore, having a human reminder  can really go a long way. Identifying a buddy in the program will be gold and in addition to helping you stay on top of all your deadlines, they can provide moral support and encouragement which can improve your nursing school experience drastically.

Tips and content shared from The Nurse Link

How to Study in Nursing School: 8 Tips from an Expert Nurse Educator

Blog shared from Nurse Jannah’s Osmosis webinar on successful study habits every nursing student should adopt. 

As you’re about to enter into an awesome and powerful field, you’re probably wondering about how to study in nursing school so you won’t get overwhelmed. Adopting smart study habits early on in your education will set you up to be a successful learner, test-taker, and practicing RN. Why not get them right from an expert nurse educator?

Why getting into nursing is a big deal

Did you know that, according to AACN Fact Sheets, nursing is the largest healthcare profession in the United States, with 3x as many RNs as physicians? This really speaks volumes about the big role nurses play in healthcare, but also about the challenging road to becoming one.

Nurses work in so many different settings and are in charge of a lot of things. They collaborate as a team, but they operate independently of medicine or other fields.

No wonder there’s tons of information to master in nursing school!

All of this can be overwhelming and confusing to any student: maybe it’s too much to learn in a short time, or maybe you’re not sure where to start. Maybe you feel like things aren’t sticking to your memory, or you don’t know what to use to learn, with so many resources available.

As our expert nurse educator shares in our Osmosis webinar: “This happens to a lot of us”. Here are 8 key tips that Nurse Jannah recommends on how to best study for nursing school.  

→ Watch the full webinar.

1. Get a head start on your course material

Try to stay ahead of the game before you even have a lecture. Read the chapters or watch videos and get familiar with the content—whatever the preparation looks like, it’s important to do it ahead of time.

The reason is that it’s really hard to catch up with the study in nursing school, as there’s a lot of ground to cover, and it goes by fast.

Some of the material you’ll learn is easier to understand than others, and that’s OK. Putting in the work ahead of a lecture is the most important part, as you teach your brain to set the right foundation for gaining knowledge. And even if you don’t understand everything, you build on that and let the lecture or next piece of learning help fill in the gaps.

2. Try making concept maps

Instead of going with the classic way of taking notes—highlighting text and rewriting pages of notes—concept maps are one fun and easy way to study for nursing school.

A concept map is a visual representation of knowledge on a subject that helps you to organize your thoughts on it. Besides being much easier, it’s also an efficient way to understand the information (rather than memorizing it).

Start with the topic you want to learn about and, first, build on it with what you learned. After that, use your notes, videos or other resources to fill in the map and get the whole picture of that topic.

3. Meet your learning objectives

This is something that probably many often ignored as students, which you definitely shouldn’t. When you stumble upon your learning objectives (LOs), paying attention to them is one smart way to study in nursing school.

Although it seems just like a list, LOs act much like your guide to studying, because they outline exactly what you should be able to do or competently discuss after successfully learning about them. This is a really good guide to follow especially when you have a lot of content and don’t know what you’re supposed to focus on.

You can find more practical and visual examples of these tips in our webinar.

4. Make a schedule (and stick to it)

Another tip Nurse Jannah has for you is making a schedule that really sets you up for success. This means one that is realistic and adjusted to your life, your time, your responsibilities.

There’s no standard timeframe for the best learning, so the key here is to focus on quality rather than quantity. If your daily schedule allows you to study for nursing school two hours in the morning or three hours in the evening, both are fine as long as it’s according to your real attention span.

Another important thing here is to make sure you can stay committed to your schedule for studying just as you commit to other obligations in life, in a practical way. This will keep you accountable as well.

5. Teamwork makes the dream work

Speaking of accountability, another tip on how to study for nursing school the better way is finding a study partner: a friend, a tutor, or joining a study group to keep you connected.

The best thing about study groups is that you can listen to different perspectives while discussing a topic. Actively listening to how other people think and apply knowledge helps you hone your critical thinking skills. This is one important skill to have in nursing school, as you’re taking different tests and answering different types of questions.

6. Find your learning style

Everybody learns differently: some students are visual learners—and Osmosis makes that easy with 1800+ animated videos for you!—while others learn better by listening to lectures or doing activities.

Try to practice a bit of self-reflection to discover your learning style and find resources that represent it, as primary learning tools. The earlier you discover how you learn best, the easier it becomes to study and not waste your time the wrong way.

7 Practice, practice, practice

Of course, it is also about practicing NCLEX®-style questions during nursing school. Not only it challenges you to apply all the knowledge you gain, but also your ability to think at a high level and analyze data in different ways.

NCLEX®-style questions are unlike any other type of questions you’re used to seeing, which is why practicing them helps to reinforce your understanding of a concept and prepares you for the final exam: the licensure examination.

8. Don’t forget the basics

Understanding the basics is the biggest starting point in your studying. You need to have a solid understanding of foundational sciences first, such as anatomy and physiology, because all the knowledge you learn in nursing school is based on these and it’s also what makes learning more complex concepts along the way much easier.

And finally… you got this!

And don’t forget to watch the full webinar here: Study for Success: Habits Every Nursing Student Should Adopt.

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Content shared from Osmosis