If there is one thing I know that is consistent about nursing school, it is that NOTHING is consistent! New faculty, schedule changes, syllabi addendums, and the list goes on and on. Your faculty and administration try their very best to prevent this, because in all honesty, they aren’t fond of the changes either! Unfortunately things happen and we all just have to learn to roll with the punches! I have compiled my three favorite tips and tricks for helping students and faculty stay flexible through the crazy nursing school changes! Let’s go and remember, this list may change at any moment! Just kidding!
-When recording in your planner or creating a to-do list, use a PENCIL! Most students and instructors love having a plan and we like our plan to be NEAT. Nothing is worse than a planner with things crossed off, scratched through, or words written over other words! This creates chaos and can also be anxiety inducing. Use a pencil to record your plans or lists, then check them off with a pen when they are complete! This allows you to erase cleanly and re-write when necessary. Erasable pens are a thing too, but I have yet to find one that erases cleanly.
-Communicate with your faculty and classmates effectively. Got scheduled for a skills check-off time and want to switch with someone else? Ask faculty if this is allowed, and if so, don’t be afraid to ask your classmates if someone would like to switch with you. You have not because you ask not and the worse thing that can happen, is they say no!
-And last, but not least, my favorite tip! This one sometimes isn’t practical, but it is the smartest to follow! Don’t schedule or plan anything for when you are originally supposed to be in class, clinical, or lab! Some nursing programs have flexible days for classes. If your classes only meet on certain days, then you know that you have the other days to do whatever else you need to do. But, if your program is a Monday-Friday program, then your safest thing to do is to not schedule any activities Monday-Friday during your class times. Programs that have this type of scheduling may originally not have a class meeting on a certain day, but may need to use this day if something happens earlier in the week. These are unpredictable changes and programs have to meet their hours requirements for graduation and accreditation purposes. To be safe, wait until you are 100% sure that you will have the day off (typically, this will be on that exact day!) Otherwise, keep your activities planned for days your classes never meet! I understand that this isn’t always an option, but try to stick to this as much as possible.
Nursing school is temporary! Remember, you can do anything for a temporary period of time. There are going to be changes everywhere you go. You can even expect them in your first nursing job and even in your 10th nursing job! Don’t let unexpected changes deter you from your ultimate goal! Do you have other suggestions or tips that will help with this? Leave them in a comment here or email them to us at ag@nursingforall.com.
Here’s to rolling with the punches,
A.G.
