Get to Know Nurse Bri! (& tips to succeeding in a BSN program)

 Welcome to my blog!

My name is Bri, and I am a nontraditional BSN student who is days away from graduation! Before nursing school I was an NCAA Division I student-athlete for four years while I completed my first degree, which is a Bachelor's of Science in Biology. In a couple of days I will be adding a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing degree too!

I am graduating as a student who was on the Dean's Honor Roll for 3/4 semesters, was a tutor for my peers, and passed my NCLEX in 75 questions (more on that in a later post 🥳). I also have a job lined up at a large hospital network in my area! 2020 (aka the year of the nurse) has been a crazy year, and surviving my last two years of nursing school during a pandemic was far from ideal. BUT, I do think that there are some things that I have learned that could help you guys! So, without further ado, here are some of the top things I learned in school.

1. Get yourself a planner! (and use it lol)

• Not a planner person? Well you are now! One of the hardest parts of nursing school is staying on top of the schedule and keeping track of due dates/tests/clinical dates. My all time favorite planner is from Personal Planner! They have customizable planners, and you can really set it up any way you need to so that your life is organized. It really doesn't matter where you decide to get your planner, as long as you get one AND USE IT. Organization is a major key to succeeding in nursing school. 
• Here is a link to the planner that I love and have been using for two years now: https://www.personalplanner.com/US/planner 

2. Print out your powerpoint slides BEFORE class

• Let me tell you, when I started printing out my powerpoint slides and bringing them to class it was a ✨GAME CHANGER✨.  You know how sometimes you'll take notes on your powerpoint slides on your computer, just to find out later that they didn't save? That's not a problem if you physically take the slides with you to class. Plus, studies have shown that actually writing out your notes versus typing helps you to retain the information better. And the big way that printing out note slides helped me, was that it prevented me from being on my computer. I'm not going to lie, I'm guilty of online shopping in the back of the class during lecture. 

3. Schedule in your study time

• Remember that planner I mentioned earlier? Yeah, this is where that comes in handy. Scheduling in my study time is what made me sit down and study. On days where I didn't have study time scheduled I would always talk myself out of studying saying, "oh I studied enough yesterday, I'm probably fine." But those times where I did not schedule my study time, my exam grades reflected that (and it wasn't pretty). There is A LOT of content to cover in the four semesters of nursing school, and by studying a little bit every day you will actually remember it long term. If you try and cram studying into the night/day/weekend before the exam, you will just brain dump and end up forgetting things down the road. And the NCLEX is the biggest test of your whole nursing school career, and you miiiiight want to put in the time now so that you don't have to cram for that big test. Because that will come back to bite ya. 

4. Find which learning style fits you

• Living in 2020 there are so many different study materials out there! Do you learn best by listening to lectures? Ask your professors if they would mind you recording lecture on your phone. This works really well for students who have a commute, because you can use that time to and from school to listen to lecture again. More of a visual learner? Youtube is the way to go sis. I personally watched just about every single video posted by both RegisteredNurseRN and LevelUpRN. They do a great job of explaining things and hitting at the really important info. If your nursing school uses ATI, LevelUpRN also does a really great job of focusing her content on that learning program. My point is, in the age of technology you literally have the world at your fingertips, and it really only is a google search away to find study materials that will help you be a great student.

5. Lean on your classmates

• Nobody will understand what exactly you are going through like those who are doing it along side of you. I know some of you will say "I just want to get through school and start working as a nurse, I just have to get through this." I am going to tell you right now I had that exact same thought and I was WRONG. There is absolutely no way I could have succeeded in nursing school without the support of others in my class. Who knows exactly what you're going through when you just failed a big exam? Your classmates. Who is there to hype you up before you go place that first IV? Your classmates. People who you meet in nursing school will truly become some of your best friends in life, and the support that they give you is irreplaceable. 

6. Don't forget to give yourself grace

• Going through any nursing program is HARD work. There will be lots of highs, lows, and everything in between. You have to put in a lot of time between clinical, class time, and study time. And it really is important to put in the time and the work so that you can be successful not only as a student, but as a nurse for your future patients. BUT, don't forget you are human too. You need rest, and downtime, and encouragement, and all of those other things that make us human. So give yourself some grace and believe in yourself. You are going to make it through, you will pass those classes you think seem impossible, and you are going to be a phenomenal nurse!

I'm so excited to share with you all of the things that I have learned in my time as a nursing student, and moving forward into my nursing career. If you have any ideas/questions/want to reach out to me, you can follow the links on my page!

💕 Bri