Some modern nursing schools like The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) offer online Registered Nurse (RN) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs, enabling working nurses to complete a BSN degree without attending on-campus classes. The online model offers flexibility and convenience, but coursework is every bit as rigorous as on-campus classes.
Learning how to study effectively can be one of the major demands you face as an online nursing student. Here are some study tips for online RN to BSN success.
Stay Organized
Completing nursing courses online requires good organizational skills. By keeping on top of your studies, materials, resources and time management processes, you can ensure you don’t miss important due dates.
If you work best from hard copies, print all your syllabi; get a calendar; and write all deadlines, exams, quizzes, discussion board post due dates and papers on the calendar. Keep everything in an expandable and portable file so you can take your course schedule information with you as needed.
If you are a digitally oriented person, enter deadline information into your online calendar and set prompts and reminders to keep yourself on track. Either way, you will need to schedule time both to study and to complete assignments.
Plan and Prepare
Online RN to BSN degree programs typically involve a substantial amount of writing — perhaps more than in your nursing education up to this point. Managing your time appropriately so that you’re not writing papers and discussion board posts last minute is very important.
For example, if you know you have a paper due in two weeks, schedule time in advance. Write the outline one day, complete your research and write the first half of the paper another day. Add a day to complete the second half of the paper and edit the entire draft on yet another day. You’ll have fresh eyes each day, produce higher quality work and not waste time with writer’s block because you already have a plan in place.
Moreover, research demonstrates a correlation between time management and clinical competency in nursing students. Developing your time management skills as a student can not only help you succeed in school but also help you provide higher quality care to patients on the job.
Create Your Space
Create a dedicated study space. Have your computer front and center with links to your online courses and resources bookmarked for easy reference. Post your calendar — complete with all due dates and scheduled writing and studying — on the wall above or next to your computer. Organize your digital files in folders on your computer and follow a file naming convention that makes it easy to identify assignments.
We get stressed and frustrated when elements do not work properly or we cannot find what we need. Having your area neat and tidy with everything easily accessible minimizes these occurrences.
Focus When You’re Studying
When you sit down to study, make sure it’s when you are alert. Reading when you are half asleep means you won’t retain the information. Read in short chunks, taking frequent breaks.
For example, if you have an exam that covers 100 pages of material, schedule two to three hours of time and take a five-minute break every 30 minutes. Highlight key components and schedule time to go over highlighted material for an hour the following evening. Then, try to explain the material to someone else. If no one else is available, just say it out loud to see if it makes sense.
Additionally, study in a quiet place when possible. Let family members or roommates know that you need to study. Try not to have a TV on in the background. If you need some sort of background sound or noise to study effectively, turn on a fan or download a white noise app on your phone. Light classical music is also another great option. Plus, white noise apps can help calm the mind during short meditation breaks — moments that can be helpful both as a student and as a working nurse.
Black Out Social Media
When you’re doing your work on the computer, it’s tempting to pull up your internet browser to check Facebook, Instagram or your personal email messages. The five minutes you were meaning to spend can turn into 30 minutes very quickly. Before you know it, a significant portion of your planned study time is gone.
During scheduled study times, don’t look at anything else but your material. Close all tabs except those related to your online nursing studies. Don’t look at social media during your five-minute break. Get up, walk around or get a snack. Force yourself to go without any media at all for your allotted study time. If you do this, you will end up studying more efficiently because of your increased level of focus.
The studying required for an online RN to BSN program can be challenging, but following these study tips can help you manage it. With the right preparation, organization, study space and social media-free study time, you can complete your BSN while minimizing your stress and maximizing your success.
Learn more about UTA’s online RN to BSN program.
