This is a long one so please sit back and enjoy the tips.
My journey to nursing school is still in motion and has not been a
smooth ride. Many hurtles have been jumped over and I am still getting over
many humps. When I initially started on my journey, it was not smooth. I had
been out of secondary school for a long time. My days of writing university
papers and taking tests were a thing of the past. As an adult, I was dealing
with work-place bureaucracy and politics. Trying to break through that
ever-heightening glass ceiling. Travel. Bills. Being an adult. So, when I chose
to return to school, I had to mentally prepare myself for change.
Change came in the form of receiving less income. Revised, less
or no health care benefits. Long hours tackling homework and
assignments. Carrying a very heavy backpack. Loud younger people. Long hours
glued to a desk. Initially, I felt out of my element. I couldn’t get a firm
grasp on my life. I was all over the place in a huge sea and sinking fast. May
sound dramatic, but as an adult out of school 10+ years, it was a reality. After
getting help from the school advisors (employ their skills as this service is
already factored in the tuition you paid), I felt a bit better. I remember taking a
Friday night off (something I never did again) and relaxing. The next day,
after work, I sought out ways that could help my journey. I needed help. If you
need some assistance as a mature student returning to school, here are a few things I did
that greatly helped me.
Firstly, invest in and USE got a good planner. You don’t need to go all Erin Condrin (although she
had amazing planners) but something with enough space so you can write out what
you need to do daily, is ideal. Also ensure your planner has a month at a view
section with enough space for writing in per month. This is where you will
record your tests, exams, quizzes, due dates for all assignments - per month. Take a
look at this page at least daily to ensure you are know exactly what is coming
up when.
Creating a daily or
weekly schedule. This may sound weird but having a schedule that is created
once a week or daily with homework assignments and to-do’s is a good thing to
have. (At the end of this, I will have a link that explains exactly how this is
created)
Invest in a desk calendar. I bought a $5.00 desk calendar and mounted on my wall in front of my desk. This was a nice visual remider of what I needed to do while studying. It kept me organized and I never forgot an assigment. HIGHLY Recommended.
Get the proper
calculator that your professors advises (wait until your first math class
before you actually make the investment and heed the advise of your professor).
Also, take the time and get to know how your calculator actually
works. Sounds easy but trust me; you do not want to be trying to figure out
what key is needed to change a formula to scientific notation during the middle of a lesson. Save time and
jump on youtube to get a tutorial.
A set of good
tools - pens, pencils, sharpies and high lighters. Don’t cheap out here
because you will be doing a lot of writing and test taking. Get the best that
you can afford so you don’t have to deal with broken lead or crappy pens or
color running out in the middle of a rock-star study session.
A desk. I was
gifted a used desk but it was just all wrong for my purposes. I needed
something that was long enough where I could spread out my laptop, multiple
books and papers while doing homework. Even online assignments require a good
amount of desk space. The ability to stretch out and not be limited by surface
space will be a life saver.
Creating study
guides. This was something that I had never heard of before but found out
about on a YouTube channel and loved. This can be a long process but the
material will be cemented in your brain after reading direct from the book,
creating study notes and re-reading on your down time. This is key. I have included a link on how to create these guides below.
Audio recording notes.
At my school, recording lecture was not really prohibited unless you had a
learning disability. So, I had to be creative. Before school started, I had
invested in a small recorder (but a cell phone is more than fine) and needed
to use it. I ended up recording the systems of the body and how they worked (i.e.,
the circulation of blood in and out of the heart) and lessons from chemistry on
my recorder. Chemical reactions and chirality, to name a few, did not come easy
or natural to me so I recorded myself reading my lectures notes. On my way to
and from school, I listened to my recorded notes.
A good backpack or
rolling bag. I initially was using my younger sister’s old bag and it was
not good for me. I needed something with more support so I invested. Backpacks can
be very expensive so wait for holiday sales. I got my Swissmar backpack for 60%
less the price which is amazing and saved my back.
Comfy clothing. You will notice almost immediately how
uncomfortable your clothing will be after spending hours in a library. One of
my best investments was treating myself to some soft and comfy sweat clothing.
I really enjoy the styles that Roots supplies but I can’t always afford them.
The goal is not fashion (ok, it is but not imperative) but feeling relaxed during hours of study is. Heed my advice on this
one.
Here are some really helpful websites that I look to for
help and resources on my journey to becoming a nurse. I think they will help
any student, mature or not. Enjoy.
Sharpie Retractable Highlighters - the best!
