How I Excelled in the Accelerated Nursing Program

The accelerated nursing program is fast-paced, and a major key to success is staying on top of your tasks. This means not just keeping up with assignments but also making time to study every day. After a long day of classes, it may seem like a hassle, but your future self will thank you when exams roll around.

A great way to stay organized is to have a system that works for you. I loved using a physical planner, but I know Excel sheets and Google calendars worked for my classmates as well.

Each person learns in different ways, so it’s important to find the strategy that works best for you. At the start of the program, I attempted to memorize the disease, symptoms, treatments and nursing interventions. Unfortunately, this did not work for me! The study strategy that worked best for me was to really understand the concepts. Once I understood the mechanism of disease, I could understand what the symptoms would be, anticipate the orders and figure out what nursing interventions were necessary.

Because of the fast pace of the program, it’s easy to forget to make time for yourself. At the start of the program, I wasn’t making time for myself, and I realized it really affected my mental health and performance. Eventually, I started prioritizing self-care. I started taking walks, did at-home Pilates workouts, and made sure to carve out time for family and friends. On days when I felt like I needed more time to study, I would study outside to give myself some compromise. 

One of the best things that I got out of this nursing program are my friends! I’ll have these friends forever because of how much we bonded throughout the year. Your classmates are going through the same program and understand what you are going through more than others in your life. We leaned on each other, studied together and pushed each other to do better every day. Finding your people and working together with your peers is so important for your success. 

A huge key to my success in this program was constantly testing my knowledge. It’s one thing to memorize or understand a concept, but can you apply that knowledge to an exam question? Exam questions go beyond simply knowing the definitions – they make you apply what you’ve learned!

When studying, I tested my knowledge after going through each slideshow. I used ATI to create a dynamic quiz on the topic I was studying, and I used my resources to find other practice questions. Doing the practice questions showed me where I was strong in a topic and where I needed to focus more.

The Accelerated Baccalaureate of Science (ABS) in Nursing Program is designed for individuals with a bachelor's or master's degree in another discipline to obtain a bachelor's degree in nursing. This highly competitive program allows students to earn their nursing degree in 12 months.