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Tips for Staying Motivated in Nursing School

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We’ve all set goals for ourselves in the past but soon lost the motivation to reach those goals a couple of months into the year.

One place where you can’t afford to lose motivation, however, is when you’re attending nursing school to become a nurse or a nurse practitioner.

The pace is so fast and the work so challenging that it’s a struggle most of the time to keep the motivation to make it through. Whether you’re studying Pharmacology or frantically completing your ANCC practice questions, motivation can be sorely lacking if you don’t have something to help.

In this blog, we’ll give you a few tips for keeping yourself motivated and getting through nursing school with your sanity intact.

Ask for Help With Those ANCC Practice Questions and More

It’s important to realize when you need help. For example, if you are having a hard time with the ANCC practice questions or need help studying for that big anatomy test, don’t hesitate to ask for it. Whether it’s friends, family, or other students in your class, you can be sure they have struggles too, so ask for help if you need it.

Asking for help also means talking to a professor, teacher, parent, or even a friend if you’re feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or depressed and having a hard time staying motivated and on track. Remember, there are others going through what you are out there, and you’d be surprised at who is willing to listen and give you a shoulder to lean on.

Set Goals

As mentioned at the beginning of our blog, it’s important to set goals. Long-term and short-term goals are needed if you’re going to get through this and come out on the other side with that hard-earned diploma in your hand.

Of course, you’re probably thinking, “I am setting goals! That’s why I’m in nursing school, to begin with.” However, that’s a long-term goal, and while that’s what you’re reading for, you need short-term, smaller goals to get you to your end game.

Stay Focused

It’s hard to stay focused when you’re tired, stressed, overwhelmed, and have a big practical coming up the next day. It’s even harder to stay focused when you’re studying for that big test, and your phone’s notifications keep going off, the kids are bellowing, the doorbell is ringing, and somewhere in the house, someone is watching your favorite TV show.

This is where you have to put your foot down, turn off the phone, close the door and just buckle down. Those medical vocab words aren’t going to learn themselves, so try shutting everything else out and get it done.

Take Breaks

You really can’t do any of this if you don’t take care of yourself. Whether you’re taking a walk on the beach or soaking in a bubble bath, you need to take breaks from studying and worrying about studying. This may be a little easier if you’re living on campus, but either way, taking care of yourself is key to staying motivated and graduating as well.

Celebrate Your Successes

You’re going to have a lot of little successes along the way to graduation, and it’s important to celebrate each and every one. You’re going to have days that are harder than others but celebrating the successes will make it a bit easier.

For example, you made a 95 on a biology test that you studied hard for, for days, reward yourself with a night out at the movies or buying and starting the newest bestseller from your favorite author. Rewarding yourself for a job well done will keep you motivated like nothing else can.

Nursing school is hard, but the effort is well worth the reward. Study hard, stay motivated, and know that you can do this!

 

I'm Nikos Alepidis, blogger at motivirus. I'm passioned for all things related to motivation & personal development. My goal is to help and inspire people to become better.

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