7 Tips for Successfully Navigating Nursing School as a Single Mom

7 Tips for Successfully Navigating Nursing School as a Single Mom
If you’re currently in nursing school and are wondering how to do it as a single mom, you’re not alone. In fact, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, over 13% of students enrolled in baccalaureate and graduate-level nursing programs are single mothers or fathers as of 2016! Thankfully, there are plenty of things you can do to take control of your class load and better manage your time so that you can succeed both in school and at home as a single parent. Here are 7 great tips to get you started!

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7 Tips for Successfully Navigating Nursing School as a Single Mom

1) Create Time Management

Juggling class with work, child care, and other responsibilities can seem impossible. But it doesn’t have to be! Establishing good time management habits in nursing school will help you get ahead both academically and professionally. Don’t wait until things get so chaotic that you are unable to cope. Start managing your time today to ensure success in all areas of your life.

Here are some tips on getting started [How to] Create an agenda: You don’t need fancy software or a sophisticated program to manage your schedule; just jot down assignments and due dates on a piece of paper. Include plenty of room between entries so you can easily write down everything that comes up. Make sure your plan includes enough free time each week for family, friends, exercise, self-care, sleep—anything else important in your life!

Stay focused and organized throughout each day: Use your to-do list to stay on top of tasks throughout your day. Prioritize tasks, breaking down large assignments into smaller chunks that you can handle in shorter increments of time.

When prioritizing, remember to factor in personal and professional needs. Ensure you are taking care of yourself, even if it’s just by giving yourself some extra time at home after work to unwind before hitting the books again or meeting with classmates or colleagues.

And if necessary—if you’re simply too busy—you may need to limit your studies to fewer hours per week than what is required by your program so that you can manage all of your responsibilities without becoming stressed out.

Learn how to say no: Balancing work, family, school, and community responsibilities can be hard. But learn to turn down extra obligations when you need to so that you don’t spread yourself too thin. You’ll feel better about balancing everything if you put your needs first occasionally!

Create a plan for balancing school, family, and friends: This can be especially important when you have children. Work with your professors to get childcare coverage that works best for you and your kids. If you’re trying to start a family while going through nursing school, check out our guide on getting pregnant while in nursing school.

You may also need to rearrange your schedule if you find yourself too busy during certain periods of time; consider courses with fewer lectures so that you can schedule more meetings or office hours in times that are less chaotic. If it seems like there is no way to fit everything into your schedule—that maybe some things will just have to fall by the wayside—then take another look at your time management plan and adjust accordingly.

SEE How to get Nursing Scholarships for Single moms

7 Tips for Successfully Navigating Nursing School as a Single Mom

2) Create a Study Plan

One of nursing school’s toughest challenges is learning how to balance a full-time course load with other commitments. As single moms, it can be especially difficult to get through nursing school without putting your child’s needs last. To combat these issues, create an official study plan that gives equal attention to your studies and your family obligations.

If you think getting through will take four years (two years per degree), schedule each semester in six-month blocks with time off in between for holidays and winter break. Don’t forget: You may have another baby before graduating from nursing school! Creating an official study plan shows your dedication to becoming a nurse and eliminates ambiguity about how much free time you have each month

The above schedule leaves plenty of time off so you can take your child to school events and make appearances at birthday parties. Remember, though, that you’re in nursing school to become a nurse—you don’t want to neglect your studies because you’re too busy being a mom.

Balance by setting aside at least two hours of free time every week to study alone or with classmates who are also single moms. Be sure to complete all assigned work in order to get good grades; passing is your priority! Nurse leadership positions (like the class president) are ideal if they don’t take away from homework or test preparation.

Remember, work-life balance is hard to maintain when you’re in nursing school, but don’t allow your child to suffer because of it. The best thing you can do is keep studying and schedule plenty of time off during every semester.

Narrowing down your course load is another great way to stay focused and make progress. Only take classes that are essential for graduation, such as required courses and those recommended by your school or hospital. By not overloading yourself with extras, you’ll have more free time and less stress over juggling schoolwork and home life.

Create Your Study Plan – Third Paragraph: And don’t forget to save some time for yourself, too! It can be tough making it through nursing school, but you need to remember that it’s possible and remind yourself why you wanted to become a nurse in the first place.

Whether that means taking care of personal relationships or participating in extracurricular activities like charity work, make sure you keep your priorities straight. If you start putting off assignments or staying out late with friends (something we’ve all done), know that your child will be suffering because of it. Don’t lose sight of what really matters when trying to balance your life—staying positive is key!

Create Your Study Plan – Fourth Paragraph: To make things easier, schedule one day each week (Sunday is great) to review your upcoming assignments and write down what you need to accomplish over the next six months. This helps you track progress and think about your future more clearly.

It also shows that you’re dedicated to becoming a nurse—which admissions committees appreciate! Having an organized schedule that everyone understands is important when living with other people, so make sure your spouse or partner understands why studying nursing comes first in your life right now. If he or she gets upset with you over it, then they may not be a good long-term partner for you!

7 Tips for Successfully Navigating Nursing School as a Single Mom

3) Find Supplemental Material

The world of education is changing, and more and more people are going back to school to pursue their passion. In fact, almost 20% of all students enrolled in higher education institutions are single parents. That’s quite an accomplishment, considering how hard it can be to balance everything that comes with raising children while also putting yourself through college or grad school.

But what if you could turn your daily struggles into success? To help our audience better navigate their educational journey, we’ve pulled together some strategies and tricks that will help even single moms thrive in nursing school.

Once you’ve figured out how to balance work and family while putting yourself through nursing school, you’ll want to focus on finding strategies that help you do well in your classes. You may also want to learn how to start a new career while raising children.

Whether your child is just beginning life or already starting their own path, it can be hard to figure out when things like meals and sleep should take priority. Fortunately, there are plenty of solutions that can help single moms avoid burnout and focus on succeeding both at home and in their schoolwork.

The secret to finding success in nursing school isn’t just having strategies or managing time well. It’s also about having an attitude that allows you to see your challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles. Take advantage of every resource, and you’ll be able to find ways to succeed at home and in your career no matter what challenges life throws your way.

After you’ve written your draft, it’s time to edit. It can be tempting to skip over steps like editing and proofreading if you feel like your post is nearly done, but in reality, these are just as important as any other step. You may even want to have another set of eyes look over your work before you submit it. There’s no better way to improve than by getting feedback from someone who knows what they’re doing!

After you’ve edited your work, it’s time to format it. Whether you use The Chicago Manual of Style or another style guide, formatting is just one more thing that can make your posts look professional and polished. You may also want to learn how to write an effective introduction. Since you already know what you want to say, writing an introduction should be easy! Make sure it summarizes why your post is important and interesting before diving into your content.

7 Tips for Successfully Navigating Nursing School as a Single Mom

4) Ask Questions

Stress is real, and it’s dangerous. According to statistics, nurses suffer from high rates of burnout—especially single moms. There are ways to manage stress, though. Here are 7 tips that will help you successfully navigate nursing school while still enjoying time with your family:

1) Schedule time off
2) Exercise regularly
3) Practice good nutrition
4) Do something (anything!) fun
5) Set boundaries
6) Don’t be shy about asking for help
7) Remember what’s important Your priorities should come first—always! Without work-life balance, there can be no success in either of your worlds.

Strive to keep things balanced and remember why you love each part of your life.

To find out more about balancing work-life priorities, visit our latest post on how to become a happy nurse. Are you ready to start your nursing career? ProNurseAtty is a free guide for nurses who are in the process of becoming nurses. Browse through sample practice questions, download job application checklists, and take advantage of other free resources today! You can also schedule live video Q&A sessions with experts in different nursing specialties if you need additional help.

Are you an expert in nursing school? Write and share your own post with us! Include 1-2 engaging images, unique text that engages readers, and relevant links to other blogs/articles to build your audience. Your submission will be reviewed by our editorial team, so contact us if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you! What topics would you like covered?

What makes nursing school so challenging? Learn why it can be so difficult, and find out how to make your job easier. With proper preparation, you’ll not only pass with flying colors but also enjoy every second of it! Check out our latest post on making nursing school less stressful. The following are four ways to reduce your stress:
1) Take time off
2) Exercise regularly
3) Eat healthily
4) Find something fun to do (or try something new!) Remember that taking care of yourself will allow you to take care of others. It’s important that you don’t let yourself burn out or become overwhelmed.
5) Recruit an Accountability Partner

In nursing school, being accountable to others is key. It’s easy to fall behind or lose focus when you don’t have classmates around you and instructors breathing down your neck. To stay on track and make it through in one piece, recruit an accountability partner: someone who has been through what you’re going through now and can help steer you toward success.

Whether it’s a friend or family member, turn to them for support—and be sure to offer them some of your own in return! Getting an education is hard work—especially if you’re trying to do it on your own. Find someone who will keep up with you every step of the way; they’ll be worth their weight in gold!

Your support system is invaluable. Make sure to use them to your advantage. If you’re having trouble getting back on track after falling behind, reach out and let someone know how you’re feeling. Having friends or family around will help keep you motivated and give you something to look forward to.

You never know—you might be able to motivate them in return! Just be sure that they are not trying to sell you on an idea that isn’t right for your skillset! (And if they do, tell them it’s not going to work out.) Don’t have anyone in mind? Not a problem!

Now is a great time to network. Attend local and online professional nursing events. Also check out meetup groups, nursing student forums, and hospital-specific discussion boards. Not only will you be able to connect with other people going through similar challenges, but you’ll also learn about any job opportunities that might be available! Plus, you never know who you’ll meet—you might even find someone worth dating!

Make sure to stay involved. As you’re working on getting through nursing school, don’t forget about other aspects of your life—such as family and friends, hobbies, and passions! It’s easy to focus all of your energy on your studies when they take up so much time.

However, you will burn out if you neglect everything else in pursuit of your goal. You need other things to keep you going besides academics—find something that works for you (it could be reading an awesome book or finishing a crossword puzzle every day) and stick with it! No matter what happens while you’re in nursing school, never forget that there are people who love and support you.

Lastly, don’t underestimate your power! It’s easy to feel down and out when you’re going through challenging times in life. However, keep in mind that with determination and effort, you can overcome anything! Don’t let anyone (including yourself) tell you otherwise.

Also, remember to take it one day at a time—you’ll get through nursing school before you know it! Be sure to take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself along your journey: they’ll help build your resume and make getting into nursing school easier next time around!

6) Take Breaks

Staying motivated in nursing school can be difficult, especially if you’re a single mom. If you start to feel overwhelmed or burned out, take breaks! Doing things outside of nursing school that interest you will help renew your energy and enthusiasm.

Volunteer work, exercise classes, rock climbing—whatever it is that appeals to you—can all give you an important break from studying. This will also ensure that you don’t put too much pressure on yourself when trying to juggle family and schoolwork! Just because it’s called nursing school doesn’t mean it always has to be about nursing!

I’m assuming that you already know how to study effectively, but if not here are my top four tips: Before you begin, take five minutes to figure out what your main focus for that session should be. Pinpoint one topic or concept that will be your priority and use all of your studying time to focus on it until you master it.

This prevents spreading yourself too thin and ensures that you leave each session knowing exactly what you’ve learned. On top of focusing on one thing at a time, ensure that you understand by asking yourself questions about the material throughout your studies. It sounds simple but quizzing yourself really works!
Studying effectively is especially important when it comes to nursing school because it can take up so much of your time!

I know you don’t want to hear it, but study group is important! Having other nursing students around makes studying more fun, plus you get to share ideas and even test out your own on each other. As an added bonus, there are usually one or two people in your study group who really stand out—and they may just be future partners!

Studying groups are so valuable that universities actually encourage them and organize them during exam periods. They can even act as social support networks that help keep you motivated during stressful times. Whether it’s a formal arrangement with one or two people or just a random bunch of other nursing students that you study with, make sure you set aside time to meet up at least once every few weeks.

There’s no doubt that going to school, working, and raising children is hard. The single most important thing you can do to succeed is realistic about what you can handle. A lot of students feel compelled to try and handle it all at once, but if you end up failing out of nursing school because you bit off more than you could chew, it’s not worth it!

It may sound dramatic, but everything else in your life is secondary to your education. Before starting any extracurricular activities or picking up extra work shifts, make sure that they won’t get in the way of studying or cause any stress.

Now that you know how to manage your time and study effectively, it’s time to learn how to be realistic about what you can handle. I know that feeling of excitement when your child makes a new friend, but you have to remember: friends will come and go, but nursing school is forever! While I don’t want to discourage making new friends or trying out social activities like rock climbing (which is great exercise), be careful not to let extracurricular activities get in the way of studying.

Before doing anything outside of nursing school, make sure that it won’t distract from your education or leave you feeling overwhelmed. This especially applies if you have limited free time because many outside commitments can eat up most of your schedule!

7) Don’t Over-Stress!

Being a single mom means balancing many responsibilities and trying to juggle everything can be stressful. But remember that no matter how stressed you get, you don’t have to do it all—or do it perfectly. Doing your best in school and at home will help you create balance in your life so that you can thrive professionally and personally.

By taking things one day at a time, one step at a time, stress won’t overtake your life. And if you need extra help with these tips or getting through nursing school, talk to other students about their experiences and seek support from advisors, professors, or classmates who have been through what you are going through now.

It can be tempting to spend all your time studying. After all, good grades are one of your best tools in landing that job you want after graduation. But don’t neglect sleep and exercise—these help keep you focused, healthy, and energized when studying is not an option. A great way to balance it all is to schedule dedicated times for specific tasks.

Also, it’s important to manage your time effectively. Many nursing students complain about not having enough time each day to get all their work done. If you struggle with juggling school and motherhood, make sure to identify areas where you could use some help, whether from an academic advisor or even just a friend who is also balancing their own life between work and family.

Sometimes simply talking through your struggles can give you new ideas or strategies that might help you find balance faster.
Write a professional letter of advice based on the following description: In May 2018 I hope to graduate with my RN degree and become a registered nurse in Florida state. This summer I am seeking employment with your organization so that I can gain experience before beginning my career upon graduation.

I am enclosing my resume and completing an application to be considered for employment with your organization. I am excited to learn more about _, and I look forward to discussing with you how my education and experience match your needs. told me that you might not have open positions available immediately upon graduation, but that you are always looking for talented people who could contribute to your organization in other ways such as preceptorship opportunities or volunteerism.

If any of these options would be a good fit for me, please let me know how I can connect with __________to discuss these possibilities. Should we decide that I should pursue another position at your organization after graduating from nursing school, it is my understanding that there may not be openings available until late fall or early winter.

7 Tips for Successfully Navigating Nursing School as a Single Mom