Students who need to work while they are in school to become a nurse can’t just haphazardly attend class and go to work and study whenever they have time, because they will find themselves without any time to study!
The first step to successfully balance work and school is to determine where the required activities will fit (and if they fit!) This process is explained in this post.
After the skeleton outline of time allotments is complete, the key is to use the time you have well and find hidden time in your schedule to maximize your productivity. The following are tips I’ve used to manage my time, thus far on my journey to become a nurse.
Planning Tips on Working While in School to Become a Nurse
1) Make sure that your schedule allows for sufficient time to study. It is generally accepted that each hour in class should mean 1-3 hours outside of class studying. This means that if you are taking 5 units, you will need to study 10-30 hours each week, depending on your major and your intrinsic abilities. As a student who needs A grades and is enrolled in prerequisites to become a nurse, I studied over 30 hours per week during my last 4 unit science class.
2) Develop a written study schedule so that you know what you’re going to do before you sit down to study so that you don’t waste time figuring out what you are supposed to be doing. Since many of the classes that you take to become a nurse are science based, you may need to approach studying in a systematic manner to be able to study appropriately while working.
3) Organize your time.
4) Follow a schedule.
5) Consider the best use of your time when developing your schedule. Determine which study activities require your total focus and which can be done while multitasking on other activities. For example, I can review flash cards while walking through the parking lot to class. But I’m not so good at reading my textbook while walking to class. However, you might be able to read your textbook during your lunch break. When I was in college before, I had a job that allowed me the time to write out checks to pay bills during downtime at work.
6) Split your study time. Studying doesn’t need to be done in one multi-hour sitting. By breaking up study session between before and after work sessions, you may be able to squeeze more study time in.
7) Don’t underestimate the power of studying for short periods of time frequently! All those small increments add up.
8) Put time in your schedule to read the textbook multiple times. This is especially effective if the topic is complex (as many of the science classes that people must take to become a nurse are) and your teacher wants you to be able to understand and apply the information. If the teacher doesn’t use the textbook or just wants you to regurgitate her ideas, then disregard this idea and don’t spend time reading the textbook. It only takes me 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours to read a chapter, depending on if the it is my first or second time reading the chapter.
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