Today, we will look at practical study tips for completing an accelerated nursing program.
1. Know What Studying an ABSN Program Involves
We know by now that most institutions offer two different models of the ABSN program. One of these is the online or hybrid ABSN program.
Students must complete their coursework through virtual learning platforms and assess videos, audio, video conferences, and other digital media in this model.
They connect over the internet, from anywhere globally, and view or listen to pre-recorded lecture videos or audio.
On the other hand, they can attend virtual classes in real time by utilizing video conferencing applications that instantaneously transmit video and audio data between two or more connected participants.
A second part of the online ABSN program involves clinical rotation and will require students to be physically available.
The other model of ABSN programs is the in-person model. The in-person model requires nursing students to be physically present from start to finish.
They might live on or off-campus, but they must attend coursework classes within the institution. Later, they will be required to gain hands-on clinical experiences through live practical and laboratory simulation sessions.
Knowing all of this in time will help anyone study better for an accelerated BSN program. Here is how:
2. Choose Which Program Model Suits You
There are several considerations when choosing a suitable ABSN program model.
One of these is to determine if you are more generally interested in online or physical activities. For instance, you will likely want to consider the online ABSN program if you are shy or introverted.
However, if you love to socialize, take on roles, and be actively involved, you would likely prefer the in-person ABSN model.
Your general interest in online or physical activities will affect your attention span. Precisely, this will determine three things.
How much do you enjoy the online or in-person ABSN model, how long does it take before you feel bored about a lecture or practical session, and how long before you thoroughly get distracted?
A good way of determining this is by asking how you would feel from watching a lecture on your computer screen and if you feel the same about being in a physical class.
Another significant consideration is your skill level when handling and working around technology. It is important to note that the nursing career has evolved to incorporate a wide range of technologies.
For this reason, you must develop your computer and technology usage skills. You can use the essential functions in all the different technologies available to you as a nurse.
3. Develop the Necessary Skills
Talking about computer and technology usage brings us to the aspect of skills. We can describe a skill as knowledge applied competently in executing a task.
Knowledge, on its own, is broadly divided as explicit or implicit, with the first relating to ideas expressible through words and figures and the second relating to ideas that only come through experience.
For your nursing career, you would need both categories of knowledge, which means learning many skills and developing the ones that are natural to you.
According to the Concordia University website, the skills you need to become a nurse are:
Soft Skills:
- Time Management Skill:
As a nurse, everything about your career is time-critical, so you do not want to be caught lacking this skill.
You need to utilize your time every time, never fail to keep to a schedule, and always be available on time, not just on time, to deliver your attention or services as required.
- Communication Skill:
Your communication ability goes beyond just talking or asking questions and transcends into listening, understanding, and encouraging people to open up about their problems, opinions, and concerns.
Having all these qualities makes you a cutting-edge nurse. It is what employers look for, considering the growing priority for compelling patient interviews and interrogation.
- Resourcefulness:
Nurses need to understand that patient needs will vary. Also, the right resources might become scarce or completely unavailable depending on the number of active patient users.
This factor makes being resourceful a critical skill for every nurse. You must quickly identify low resources and potential resources and apply them usefully.
- Good Assessment Ability:
Nurses often need to make difficult decisions from time to time.
For instance, when prioritizing emergency treatment for one patient over another or restricting certain medications or procedures.
Whatever the case, nurses need to have good assessment ability, which means understanding the situation on the ground correctly, thinking on the spot, and making a quick, responsible, rational, or reasonable judgment.
- Compassion:
Love is a language that every human understands. It naturally brings about compassion, and to truly connect with a patient, nurses must sincerely express love and compassion towards them.
People in one situation show sensitivity to expressions of love and compassion—for example, patients and their families or friends.
Scientists at the Ohio State University Medical Center have reportedly proved this after realizing that blister wounds on happily married couples tend to heal faster.
- Self-discipline:
Nursing is one of dignity and honor; therefore, pursuing a nursing career requires you to maintain both.
Nurses are to be timely and well-mannered. They are to keep a high communication standard at all times and maintain a healthy but professional relationship.
- Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Ability:
Creative problem-solving is the core of most high-rated courses and jobs available today. It can naturally solve challenges you are not trained for or have not encountered.
This ability can also be purposefully developed, and nurses must do that.
Hard Skills:
- Basic Computer Operation Skill:
Healthcare delivery constantly receives new tech, all fully or partly controlled using computer systems.
As a result, nurses are encouraged to advance their computer usage skills to meet the demand of working with these technologies.
- Microsoft Office Skill:
There is such a thing as Microsoft Office skills. It can use software like MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and others.
This set of software has been adopted for use in offices for record-keeping, data analysis, and presentation. As an accelerated BSN student, you would need it too.
Maintain a Balance
If you want to study in an accelerated BSN program and do it right, you must maintain a study-life balance. What are we trying to say?
Accelerated BSN programs are often full-time, course-intensive programs. If there is anything you need aside from more studies, it is knowing how to relax and put your whole life, family, and kids into the rest of your schedule.
The right way to do this is by developing a strong sense of value by eating right, having consistent and sufficient sleep and workout times, maintaining an upbeat spiritual life, and knowing how and when to cool off.
You can go about this by practicing:
- The use of to-do lists:
A to-do list is simply a list of things you want to do. It could include shopping, reading, doing assignments, and attending practical or lecture sessions.
To-do lists can be sophisticated enough to include each activity’s precise date and timeframe.
It could also be written in a manner that clearly shows each activity’s priority, for example, in order of magnitude, with high-priority activities at the top and low or lesser-priority activities at the bottom of the list.
When creating a to-do list, you should fit in new ideas or activities as they come to mind or get scheduled. The listing might mean making use of handy applications like Notepad.
- The use of alarms:
Alarms are helpful if you need to rest or start, run, and end an activity in time. Synchronizing them with your to-do list could improve your productivity.
Choose a Personally Effective Reading Style
There are many different reading styles. But before we even talk about that, we advise that you only choose a nursing career if you find the profession attractive.
It is far easier to read something you are interested in than not.
Reading styles can be three to seven, depending on who you ask. Be that as it may, this article would consider only three, which we believe are more solid and fundamental.
They include skimming, scanning, and in-depth reading.
- Skimming:
This reading style prioritizes speed. It involves lightly reviewing text materials by reading headings, sub-headings, and introductory sentences.
The reader here should know the subject matter or have plans to research.
- Scanning:
On the other hand, scanning is a style of reading in which the reader skims over text materials for a particular detail or information.
Scanning helps find a word or its use in a context or complete definitions, sentences, or paragraphs.
- In-depth:
In-depth reading is a straightforward style of reading in which the reader seeks to grasp entire concepts and ideas in text materials fully.
This reading style is not hurried and is best in a conducive environment free from noise and distractions.
Leverage on Past Course and Examination Materials
An excellent way to study for an accelerated BSN program is by starting with past courses or examination materials, preferably a couple of years old.
Jottings and notes of graduated students can also prove helpful here.
Past course materials will help introduce you to basic nursing concepts and terminologies. They will also offer several assignments or assessment questions to test how far you understand the material.
Even though these materials are frequently revised to include new research findings and other information, previous editions are equally helpful for starters.
Some of the Best Books to Study for Your Accelerated BSN Program
Fundamentals of Nursing:
Just as the name implies, the fundamentals of nursing offer accelerated BSN students a welcoming approach to the nursing practice. It is a well-renowned publication with an in-depth breakdown of subject matters and several editions.
Elsevier Book Bundles:
Many courses in various ABSN programs require this book bundle.
I Wasn’t Strong Like This When I Started: True Stories of Becoming a Nurse:
This inspiring book reveals the true strength of nurses.
It features real experiences of aged patients drawing their last breaths, ill youngsters with friends or families who are traumatized about their situation, and the real hustle and bustle of the healthcare profession.
Challenges in Studying for an ABSN Program:
Some significant challenges in studying for an accelerated BSN program concern coping with practical sessions and preparing for exams.
These two aspects of ABSN programs often last for hours while requiring much concentration from the student.
In addition, practical or exam sessions test a student’s speed, reaction to duress or stress, and general coordination.
Nursing students must train themselves to succeed in this aspect of their ABSN program. They must be fast and accurate with their assessments and confident in their delivery.
Conclusion
Studying for an accelerated BSN program will be easier if you choose a program model that best suits you.
After this, the next call is to understand what time of the day is more convenient for you to read and what reading style is most effective.
Beyond that, you would need to develop the necessary nursing career skills, get your hands on relevant materials and create a study-life balance to keep you active in all areas.
