Being in nursing school is just challenging. The year 2020 even made it more challenging with the eruption of COVID-19 virus. It forced many schools that used the traditional way of learning to adapt to a more digitized method. Online learning has several benefits, but it poses challenges without discipline—some may not be able to effectively study, and there might be no morale in their studies.

However, there have been concerns about how practical online nursing is. Students learning on-campus and those undertaking online learning don’t experience a lot of differences because they get the same skills and experiences.

But, for you to become a registered nurse with online courses, you ought to check the nursing program's accreditation. Without an accredited program, be sure not to obtain the necessary professional certifications and nursing licenses to be able to practice your nursing.

So, how do you become a self-driven student, stay motivated with your nursing studies, and eventually become a professional nurse?  Here are six tips for achieving online nursing school success:

1. Your Time Well

The flexibility of e-learning portrays a challenge to everyone because they can work at their convenient time. Thus, have a time management strategy to assist you in being more productive with your time. It means that you’ll have time allocated for a specific task to avoid getting distracted, helping you finish it on time.

For example, you have three tasks to complete before the session ends. A session might be an hour long. Take 30 minutes to study, 15 minutes to answer the topic questions, and 15 minutes to reflect on your general understanding of the topic. 

Additionally, if you can’t be disciplined enough that you keep diverting your attention to other unnecessary things, you can use time-blocking apps to keep you on task the whole time.

2. Create A Study Space

Are you finding it difficult to concentrate while studying at home?  Home might not be that conducive because of distractions from family members or other house chores that you’re supposed to be doing.

Having a silent study room at home would be perfect. Therefore, you should look for the best place that poses little to no distractions to keep your mind fully focused on your studies. Also, ensure that the area has great Internet connectivity and is well-equipped with all the required learning resources.

3. Be Strict On Your Assignments

School offers different kinds of assessments to gauge the student’s capability. Assignments are part of the assessment to credit a student a good score in the final year. Most students have the mentality of procrastinating when it comes to assignments, which is dangerous.

Being strict about your assignments will get you on board and help the tutor know your strengths, as well as identify where to provide help.

4. Connect With Accountable Students

Why connect with accountable students?  Being self-driven and staying motivated might be a challenge to you. The solution to this problem is knowing who can be a responsible partner to help you keep up with the pace. On the other hand, you’ll be able to form a productive discussion group for your studies, and from which you can seek help.

Having the same goal as a discussion group will make everyone responsible for one another. And, whenever you miss out on something, they’d look out for you and find out the reason for such.

5. Have Sessions With Your Tutor

Sometimes, you might be experiencing difficulty in understanding a particular topic. It also happens that most of the tutorials you use are recorded. Therefore, you don’t even have a one-on-one conversation with your tutor.

It’ll be your task to look out for your tutor, and seek guidance or clarification over something pending. Some tutors might not be accessible, but being persistent would help get you the necessary help you need for better grades.

6. Expound On Varied Learning Strategies

A good nurse has to have a vast knowledge of the different medical theories and solid experience in clinical skills. Online learning might limit you to only theoretical work, and you may end up not getting your coursework's practical skills. During the pandemic, nursing students could only do the classwork—no clinical exposure.

Be sure to engage yourself in the varied learning strategies to sharpen your practical work. Clinical work can be done through virtual simulations, but might not be effective if not done more often and creatively. For instance, watch a simulation of the application of first aid, then practice by doing it on a friend or family member.

Also, while studying a particular disease, it’d be perfect to find someone suffering from it, do a virtual interaction, and know exactly how they feel. Getting to know their experiences equips you with vast knowledge about that disease.

Conclusion

Online learning doesn’t mean that you’re independent. Asking for help would save you the frustrations and ease the pressure for a better learning experience. At the same time, you should avoid the online mentality that ‘this class is easy. Take your school works seriously and always stay ahead of schedule to have a smooth school life. In no time, you’ll be finishing nursing school with flying colors!