Nursing school can be stressful. From long study hours to extremely difficult courses, the extensiveness of a nursing degree program can overwhelm some students so much that they choose to drop out of school. To overcome this issue, there are several excellent tips that should be followed by all students who are going back to school to earn a degree in nursing.

1. Learning Methods

Not everyone has the same learning method. A student will do well to figure out how he or she learns the best. For example, if making up songs about the material being studied helps the student learn and retain the information, it will be good for the student to do this throughout his or her nursing degree program. For those that learn well using flashcards, this learning method should be implemented. By figuring out the method that works the best, a nursing student will find it much less stressful to make it successfully through nursing school.

2. Communicate with Professors

Nursing school students should take part in a nursing program that is taught by professors who are willing to help their students, not simply teach them. Nursing school students will have many questions during nursing school, and the best person to answer these questions will be the students’ professors. If a student ends up in a nursing school program in which the professors do not seem very involved, it is probably best for the student to switch to a different nursing program as soon as possible.

3. Make Friends

During nursing school, the people who students are in classes with will likely be the same group of people who they are in classes with throughout the entirety of the nursing program. It is important to make friends with these people because much time will be spent with them. Better yet, it can be good to form study groups with these people. In a way, these people will become a support group for one another, helping each other make it successfully through the program.

4. Take Part in an Externship

During the summertime, if a student isn’t taking classes, it can be very valuable to take part in an externship. This will provide the student will much needed hands-on experience as well as help him or her to get a foot in the door when it comes to securing employment after nursing school has been graduated from. Also, prior experience in the medical field will look great on a resume.

Bonus Tip: Students in nursing school should always strive to be the type of nurse that they would want if they were to be a patient themselves. By keeping this in mind, it becomes much easier to make it through nursing school because the right morals and standards will lead the way to a successful graduation.