Nursing students can attest to the demanding and overwhelming nature of the med school. Juggling between nurse practitioner courses, personal life, and family while maintaining a balance can be taxing. While almost everyone experiences the weight of nursing school, those with families have an extra challenge.
Without proper planning, it is easy to throw in the towel or get lost amidst everything. The good news is mums can also attain a nursing degree without necessarily abandoning their families. Here are several tips to transform your nursing school experience for the better as a mum.
Manage your time
Time is one of the scarce resources we hardly have much of. Such is apparent for students in nursing school who have volumes of books to read and clinical trials to attend to. Time management includes laying out a plan at the start of each semester, including marking important examinations and clinical.
Consider using a planner for ease of things and also organization. When formulating a schedule for the semester, including personal tasks such as dropping kids to school and ensuring such tasks align with your school timetable. Proper time management is a great way to be on track in both school and family life.
Inform your family about the changes
Once you are certain about nursing school, it would help to discuss all the possible changes your decision may bring with your partner. For example, your classes schedules for the evening may make it impossible for you to pick your children from school.
Such events call for a change of duty, whereby your partner may have to fill in the gap. The children also need to be aware of these changes for them to adjust accordingly. Younger ones may take more time adjusting to a new routine as with older kids.
Set time for self-care
The long study and learning hours can be mentally, physically and emotionally frustrating. You are bound to suffer from a burn-out if you fail to prioritize your activities. While studying hard in school is good for your scores, take some time away to relax.
Self-care may include getting quality sleep, eating healthy, and engaging in regular exercise. If your well-being is top-tier, then you have a higher chance of exemplary school performance. However, negligence to one’s care may lead to physical exhaustion and other times, frustration.
Prioritize important things
Having a priority list helps you distinguish important activities from those you can forgo because trying to do everything while also managing your family can be draining. However, you can prepare a list of all activities in their order of priority – from the urgent to not-so-urgent ones.
This may mean you have to sacrifice other things such as hanging out with friends, spending the entire weekend with extended family and engaging in your favourite hobbies like swimming. However, this does not call for self-care negligence. Allocate some time for your things like a morning jog and meditation.
Develop a routine
Every day, following a particular routine, will help you stay on track amidst the many things you have to do. Like developing a plan, you can ensure you have your group discussion bi-weekly in the evenings or study for at least an hour each day.
A routine keeps you grounded and allows you to go through the semester a day at a time without feeling overwhelmed. Students with schedules are usually organized and more productive, unlike those without a routine. While most nursing students tend to develop a routine during the exam period, sticking to one from the beginning of the semester is more helpful.
Register for a part-time program
Sometimes family responsibilities may not allow you to enrol in a regular nursing program. For example, it can be challenging for a new mum to tend to her baby while at school. However, do not despair because you have a whole lot of options to choose from. For example, you can register for a part-time program or consider an online class.
Part-time programs require you to attend classes a few times during the week, allowing you to incorporate family and personal business into your schedule. Certain schools offer online programs for their students, which are flexible since schooling from home will enable you to attend to other things.
Since being a mum is a job in itself, adding schooling to it can be taxing. However, nursing school can be feasible for mums with the above tips like time management and prioritizing important things.
