It is common for nurses to work in hectic workplaces with tight schedules and constantly shifting objectives. By practicing time management, nurses may reduce stress, maintain flexibility, and produce better work. Gaining expertise in time management is also key to reaching long-term professional objectives, particularly if nurses choose to pursue leadership or managerial positions. Time management enables them to concentrate on important duties and responsibilities. Efficient time management has several advantages in nursing, including increased output, greater prospects for growth, decreased anxiety, enhanced effectiveness, and greater possibilities to fulfill one’s personal and professional ambitions.
The need to build time management skills
The skill of effectively managing time and ensuring that the right proportion of time is allocated to each piece of work is known as time management, and effective time management is one of the most important skills which student nurses need in order to be successful in their careers. Unfortunately, time management can be undervalued by nursing students. whereas it should be the responsibility of every working student nurse to look for the instruments and materials that will help them manage their time well. This is important because, when one manages their time well, they may allocate certain time periods to projects according to their importance and finish them off in a timely manner.
Student nurses usually have extremely demanding schedules and workloads, and efficient time management is an essential skill that must be learned through constant and deliberate efforts as it may not be something that comes naturally. It is necessary for nurses to rebuild their plans when they transition between shifts, wards and locations while simultaneously completing coursework as students.
A number of factors can cause anxiousness in students during their academic careers. These may include demanding clinical settings; the need to learn and apply recently-learned skills with patients; developing connections with patients; dealing with the stress that comes with making decisions in the absence of experience; and assessor evaluations, However, these situations can easily be addressed by effective time management as it is linked to things like better academic achievement, stress relief and increased focus.
Additionally, scholarly investigations reveal a strong and affirmative correlation between nursing students’ academic motivation and time management skills. It demonstrates how effective management and scheduling of activities within a set timeframe boosts students’ enthusiasm for academic work. The findings of the study also point to the benefits of teaching time management skills for raising academic motivation.
How can you become a successful nurse?
Time management is one of the most important skills for student nurses. The skill of effectively managing time and ensuring that the right amount of time is allocated to each piece of work is known as time management. When someone manages their time well, they may allocate certain time periods to projects according to their importance. It is the responsibility of every student nurse to look for the instruments and materials that will help them manage their time well.
Student nurses usually have extremely demanding schedules and workloads, and efficient time management is a skill that must be learned if it does not come naturally. The plans of nursing students might also need to be revised when they work on projects while adjusting to new shifts, wards and locations. This is because the changing work environment must also be accommodated.
Anxiety among students during their academic years can be caused by various factors, including stressful clinical wards, requirements for learning and applying newly acquired skills with patients, building connections with patients, concern about making poor decisions due to inexperience, and assessment from assessors. Therefore, one skill that students must employ to succeed is time management, as it leads to student motivation, which helps nurses achieve improved outcomes. Many nurses have discovered during their college career that achieving great results requires more motivation.
Advancing your nursing skills
Other than time management, other skills that can help nurses to become successful in their studies and professional careers include pursuing further education in nursing as it is an excellent means of enhancing or progressing in the nursing profession. Some nurses choose to become certified in certain medical specialties, including geriatrics. Some nurses opt to become certified in a nursing skill that may be useful in several domains, such health risk management.
You may also choose to go back to nursing school and complete the requirements for a more advanced nursing degree, depending on your existing nursing license. There are BSN to MSN programs offered by Wilkes University for aspiring nursing students. The best part about their programs is that they offer them completely online, which means that students do not have to go to the campus in-person. Instead, they can take classes from the virtual or online campus whenever they have the time and from wherever they are based. This is a major advantage for nursing students who need to take classes and complete their shifts and rotations, while keeping their personal life balanced.
Time management tips for nurses
There are several tips which can give nurses ideas for how to efficiently manage their time.
Set attainable objectives
To start improving their efficiency, nurses need to set objectives for both the short-term and the long-term. The common mistake that nurses make is that they only concentrate on long-term objectives over short-term objectives.
While they strive toward long-term objectives that can be finished in five to ten years – like holding leadership roles or managerial positions – nurses are urged to create realistic professional objectives that can be accomplished in a period of one to three years, such as finishing undergraduate or graduate studies.
Ranking daily objectives according to importance is another option available to both practicing nurses and nursing students. Although daily objectives and chores are likely to vary throughout the course of the day, nurses might establish routines that help them stick to particular processes.
Create a routine
One strategy that nurses might use to optimize time efficiency is establishing a routine. Creating a routine involves methodically repeating the things in your routine so that consistency aids in time management. Establishing a regular schedule helps nurses manage their time better by reducing needless planning and making basic chores second nature.
Everybody follows a routine – such as taking a shower, brushing their teeth and getting dressed every day. The same approach may be used in the nursing profession. Establishing a schedule can be used for essential everyday tasks, such as doing physical examinations and gathering patient medical histories.
Nursing students ought to compile a list of standard chores and arrange them in order of importance and length of time they each take. Time may be saved every day by putting in place a methodical procedure for routine tasks. Moreover, nurses should be capable of creating, implementing and upholding a daily routine and schedule while working and learning at the same time. Make a detailed schedule that includes the times for work, study sessions and lectures. To keep focused and on target, use tools like calendars, reminders and emails. Regularly evaluate how well the routines and plans are operating in order to make any required alterations.
Take time to rest
Nursing professionals are often at risk for burnout at work. According to a recent study, over 15% of nurses who were surveyed expressed emotional exhaustion, and 56% of them stated that their medical institution was either excellent or very inadequate at managing burnout. Additionally, burnout can have negative effects like lower standards of patient care, lower levels of mental wellness among nursing professionals and increased error rates in hospital settings.
Improving productivity is one of many time management goals in nursing. It also enables nurses to set aside time to relax and rejuvenate. To avoid burnout at work, nurses need to prioritize their time off and take frequent breaks.
Stay organized
It may seem like there isn’t enough time in the day when your day consists of taking care of other people. You need to find a method to accomplish everything – including cleaning, giving your patients their medications, playing, and going on excursions – without compromising the quality of time you spend with your patients. Having a well-organized workstation can aid nurses in managing their time efficiently. They can retrieve pertinent information more quickly and keep health records and patient files in easily accessible locations. If nurses maintain organization, this will free up additional time for patient care. To save time for everyone, consider putting in place an organizing system for equipment, paperwork and common areas that all nurses may utilize. Additionally, making a to-do list and keeping a visible log of the tasks for the day or the week will allow you to manage your time and remain on top of all your tasks.
Build a support system
For many years, nurses in the workforce have struggled with time management. In order to share and exchange time management techniques and create a strong support network, it is advantageous for nursing students to establish connections with their teachers, peers and other practicing nurses. Mentoring offers significant value in the nursing field and a positive relationship with peers produces the following advantages:
- Increased retention of nursing personnel
- Decreased isolation
- Greater prospects for advancement
- Shorter learning transition times
- Improved teaching effectiveness
Nursing students can begin putting what they have learned into practice if they have a shorter transition period between studying and experiencing better teaching. Participating in a community of educators and nursing specialists facilitates this process and minimizes time wastage. Moreover, nurses can also frequently get support from their teammates to improve their time management skills. Nurses can pick up new methods and procedures that boost productivity and cut out duplication by conversing with colleagues about how they handle different duties.
Delegate work
Assignments and delegation differ in a few essential aspects. When you assign a task, it must fit the assignee’s job description, and you need to provide the necessary abilities for its accomplishment—the person assigned to the task must also have the required education and training to complete it. You can delegate a job that falls beyond the scope of the delegate’s responsibilities as long as it doesn’t conflict with hospital policy and the person delegated to has completed further training on the subject. Assigning tasks is a skill that all nurses must learn if they do not already possess. Depending on their work environment, level of expertise and team, nurses may assign specific jobs to others to free up their time for more pressing or significant issues. With little supervision, nursing assistants or helpers can do routine or general tasks like assisting patients with eating or cleaning. Nurses might assign more complicated jobs to other nursing or medical professionals with specialized training.
Conclusion
It is ideal for nurses to find that balance within their work life. This will inevitably aid in reducing their stress and result in them being more productive during their workday. Time management is a critical element in creating this balance. Advanced qualifications have the clear ability to aid nurses in their time management skills, reduce their overall workplace stress, and have the added benefit of career advancement and leadership positions. Completing a Master of Science in Nursing can provide you with these skills and the ability to advance your career.
