So you’ve been admitted to nursing school, but do you have what it takes to actually succeed? Rasmussen College’s Vice President of Nursing, Joan Rich shares the common mistakes students make that end up costing them their degree.
Failure to Prioritize
“Getting into nursing school is difficult, and there’s a reason for that. I feel that some students really struggle, because even though they did well to get in, they pass their entrance exam, their GPA was fine, they didn’t plan for overload that’s involved in the school of nursing. For example, if you have children, who’s going to care for them and when? What about after school? You may not be able to pick them up anymore. You might be in a clinical. You can’t just say, excuse me, I have to leave now. It doesn’t work that way.
Studying, you’re going to study more than you ever thought your brain could handle. It’s very important to plan your studying. Are you a morning person or a night person? You have to figure this out. You have to map out the next year, two years, three years, four years, whatever you’re invested in and do it well. And some of our students did not do that. It’s very important that you truly understand the expectations that will be asked of you in a nursing school.”
Failure to Study the Right Way
“The study commitment that you will have is going to blow your mind. For every one credit you can expect to spend two to three hours of study time for that one credit. So imagine if you have a four-credit class, and that’s per week. Figure that out how many classes you’re taking and how you are going to organize your studying.
Another area that students underestimate is the number of articles and books that you’re going to be reading. It is very important that you get your readings done, because schools of nursing are going to expect you to come in prepared. If you didn’t read what the professor’s going to be talking about, you’re going to be lost.”
Failure to Embrace Self-Care
“Nurses are great at taking care of others, but not so great about taking care of ourselves. So I want to remind any student coming in, try to take care of yourself. You’re going to be stressed. You’re going to have lots of studying. So we want you to find a way to de-stress, whether it’s yoga, some type of exercise, getting your sleep, eating well – plan some type of de-stressful exercise during the week.”
Failure to Finance Properly
“Another area that you need to think about as a student enters nursing school is the area of finance. You need to look at the tuition costs, books, fees, etcetera, add them up, figure out how you’re going to pay for it. And then if a bank or lender approaches you and says, well, you’re eligible for $40,000 a year and you only need $20,000 you don’t need to borrow more and buy that car. Save it. Only borrow what you need to be successful in nursing school.”
One last piece of advice from Joan to remember, “I believe that nursing is the best profession in the world. Where it can take you is endless. You just need to be prepared for that schooling. And once you graduate, you are going places that you never planned on before.”
Did you miss part one of our interview with Joan Rich? We explored the nursing school admissions process and what it takes to be a nurse. Check out part one of her interview here.
