How to Succeed in Your Accelerated BSN

Going for an accelerated BSN might be the best decision you’ve ever made in your life. You’re about to join one of the most promising fields for the future with quasi-infinite demand. Having a BSN opens you up to all sorts of opportunities working not only directly with patients, but in any other setting. You still have to complete your program, however, and this is often easier said than done. But there are things that you can do to make it easier for you. Let’s take a look at how to increase your chances of succeeding with your accelerated BSN.

Make Sure that You Have What It Takes

You must know if you’re cut out for the job first and foremost. You might have a very different idea of what nursing and nursing school is really about and you have to know some of the challenges you might have to face.

How good are you with pressure? How do you handle grief? Have you been described as a sensitive person? While some people get into the field out of a feeling of empathy, and sensitivity can be a great thing in some cases, being too sensitive can be an issue. Nurses who can’t put barriers between their work and their personal life are the ones who are the most susceptible to burning out. So, you need to have enough sensitivity to care for patients and their well-being, but enough mental fortitude to deal with constant grief and tragedy.

Besides that, you need to be good at multitasking, communication, and be a great team player. You’ll also need other skills, like a great memory, as you may have multiple patients with different requirements to deal with, and one small error could mean life or death for some of them.

Get Your Stuff Together

If you’ve always struggled with organization, you will have to get it together right now as you’ll need it. You’ll be taking a lot of notes during your program, and will need to reference them once you prepare for your certification exams or subsequent courses. Get yourself some binders and organize your notes properly. You will need to use tools to help you find information about certain subjects quickly. You can use colored tabs, split chapters with dividers, and use markers to highlight the most important information.

You will also need to build a space inside your house for studying. This should feel like a sanctuary, but also a place where you can get work done. This means that it needs to have as little distraction as possible. You should also be careful to not make it too cozy or you might have trouble staying focused. We would suggest that you pick a remote room if there are lots of people in the house. A room in the basement would be perfect. We would suggest that you make the room’s decor as minimalist as possible so you can prevent clutter. Clutter has been shown to affect concentration and diminish your ability to process information. We would also suggest that you get yourself some nice noise-canceling headphones. This will help if you’re in a noisy house, but also if you decide to study in a public space.

You should also get into the habit of making to-do lists. These will give structure to your days. You’ll also feel a sense of accomplishment when getting things done.

Choose the Right Format

We would also suggest that you start looking at alternative options for your program. Have you thought about online classes? These would allow you to get your credentials from the comfort of your home and from virtually anywhere you are in the country. These have many advantages over traditional classes that need to be considered and could contribute to your success.

They are much more flexible and some will allow you to follow classes whenever you want. Not having to physically attend classes will make commuting much less tiring. This is great if you are already working but want to go to school at the same time. This could be very difficult to do with traditional classes considering how demanding nursing school is.

If you’re looking for great options, we would suggest you check out Baylor University’s online accelerated BSN nursing program. This program was made specifically for non-nurses who want to accelerate their studies. You could have a much greater chance of succeeding through this type of program, provided you’re the right type of student for it.

This is because these programs require significantly more discipline than traditional classes. They’re just as extensive too. So, you will need to make sure that you’re a great self-starter and that you don’t need people to constantly push you to do your work. If you’re the type of person to drag your feet and always do work at the last minute, these might not be the best option for you.

However, if you’re responsible and have no trouble working alone, not only could you be a fit for these programs, but you could thrive in them. Evaluate your personality and speak with others who have been through similar programs so you can get their opinions on some of the challenges you might have to face.

Don’t be Afraid to Ask Questions

If you’re naturally introverted, you will need to find a way to get out of your shell before going to nursing school. You cannot let your timidity stop you from understanding a subject and failing. It’s normal to not fully get certain things, and the more you ask, the more chances you’ll have at grasping concepts. Not to mention that you will have to ask questions all the time in your functions.

Note that this goes for online classes also. As a matter of fact, it could be easier for you to ask questions in an online format. Most classes allow you to ask questions in real-time, but you can also reach teachers through email or video chat in most cases, so use these tools wisely.

So, if you want to pass your accelerated BSN with flying colors, follow our few simple tips. The most important step is knowing what you’re getting into and preparing accordingly.