I am retired after many years of nursing practice. Reflecting back on my life, I know I made the right decision to enter the nursing profession. Every day was a new learning and rewarding experience. I have the urge to further my nursing education and reenter the always evolving nursing profession. Many changes have happened since I last practiced regarding nursing education levels and each’s scope of practice. After researching many nursing programs across the United States (US), I found Grand Canyon University (GCU) nursing programs to be the most affordable, resourceful, and user-friendly, especially the associate degree (ADN) to baccalaureate degree (BSN) five-week course online program. I have concerns regarding my lac of computer skills and potential difficulties such as loss of internet connection or program lag. I know my first week will be the most difficult, since it has been many years since I have attended an educational program, and this is my first online learning program.
Understanding and consistently implementing characteristics of successful students is important to being a successful student. An important characteristic of successful students is to be realistic, with time management being a priority. Remembering to allow sufficient time for yourself is crucial for good health and well-being, leading to having a clear mind and ability to focus on learning. Taking breaks when doing tasks at hand, rather than attempting to do it all at once or to multitask is important to help balance school and life’s happenings. Let those close to you be aware of your schedule and school demands (Sanders, 2019). Divide each day into sections of time and prioritize things to do for each section (Murphy, 2015). Monitor assignments and due dates. Study efficiently by having a designated, quiet, organized, well-lit study area (Sanders, 2019). Learn the resources and services available, and utilize them (Sanders, 2019). Requesting help is not a sign of weakness or failure (Murphy, 2015). It is part of being proactive and a characteristic of successful students. Acknowledge and make positive use of feedback (Sanders, 2019). Feedback helps improve the learning process by better understanding each assignment, knowing what was done correctly and what needs correction or improvement. Feedback also positively influences future programs by troubleshooting and improving the current programs. Developing a personalized study system, and consistently implementing it, can make the nursing program less challenging (Murphy, 2015). It is necessary to be realistic and understand that this is not a perfect world. Distractions and disruptions will happen.
Maintaining my health and well-being, time management, and studying effectively, while proactively implementing resources and services available, along with remembering to take rest breaks and reward myself, are characteristics of the realistic plan I am developing to be a successful student.
Murphy, P. (2015). 7 habits of highly effective nursing students. Minority Nurse. https://minoritynurse.com/7-habits-of-highly-effective-nursing-students
Sanders, E. (2015). Succeeding in an online nursing program. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! 17(1). DOI: 16.1097/01.NME.0000549623.58762.3
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