Do you feel like all of the hard work you do to study is going to waste because you continue to get bad grades in nursing school? Or maybe math is standing in your way of becoming a nurse? Or perhaps you’re overwhelmed by the sheer number of medications covered on your next Pharmacology exam, and you’re desperately searching for the best flashcard brand or other study tool that will save you? In today’s episode, I’ll be solving ALL THREE of those problems for you!
Listen Now!
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Links from Episode 41:
- “How to Succeed in Nursing School” Webinar: Learn my 3 best strategies for success in nursing school: what it means to think like a nurse (and how to start doing it), how to take the mystery out of nursing school (so that you don’t feel so lost and overwhelmed all the time), and the importance of preventing burnout before graduation (without suggesting you add a “candlelight bubble bath” to your already busy schedule…).
- Pharmacology Study Toolkit: Learn the study method I recommend my tutoring students use to identify the most important information about medications without having to memorize every single medication.
- Dosage Calculations Study Toolkit: Watch exactly how I train my tutoring students to solve Dosage Calculations using an easy-to-follow technique that guarantees you will never get the wrong again.
- VIP Tutoring Membership: Get the affordable tutoring support you need to finally transform all your hard work into grades that you can be proud of.
- “Nursing Tutor On-Call” Beta Program: Want a more one-on-one tutoring experience, without having to pay $75 per hour for up to 8-10 hours a month?? Get 24/7 voice messaging and texting access to chat with a professional nursing tutor anytime you have questions. (BIG discount available for beta members, but only for a limited time and spots are limited, too!)
Transcript for Episode 41
Welcome to Episode 41 of Navigating Nursing School with Your Nursing Tutor. Today, I’ll be sharing my 3 most popular, FREE resources that are available to make nursing school easier for you. No tricks or “bait and switches”, these are absolutely the kind of resources that are going to make you feel less overwhelmed, and NOT more overwhelmed. And each one will help you to solve a common problem that you’ll see in nursing school.
Also, I promise that NONE of them actually involve an endless list of medications you supposedly “need” to memorize, OR even flashcards of any type…because if you hang around me for very long here at Your Nursing Tutor, you’ll quickly discover that even though those 2 study methods are commonly used AND commonly recommended, even by your nursing professors, they simply don’t work for too many students. Worse yet, they make you feel like you’re doing a lot of hard work, because you are spending a lot of time and effort studying that way…but it’s not the sort of hard work that’s going to consistently translate into better grades. And that’s the problem. Instead, you have to start using more active learning strategies if you want to maximize your study time so that your hard work actually pays off with grades you can be proud of.
And before we go any further than that, IF you’re new around here, I want to introduce myself! I’m Nicole Whitworth, and I’m a Bachelor’s prepared nurse and founder of Your Nursing Tutor, featuring the VIP Tutoring Membership, which is an affordable way to access tutoring and mentoring support that you need for nursing school success.
While I gladly serve students of all ages through my VIP Tutoring Membership, I specialize in helping non-traditional nursing students who aren’t starting nursing school straight out of high school. I know you all have an entirely different set of struggles and challenges, doubts and fears. And I know how to work with you to manage those unique circumstances in a lower-stress way that supports you all the way to graduation. And you can always learn more about the VIP Tutoring Membership by going to www.YourNursingTutor.com/vip
Now on to my most popular, FREE tutoring resources.
First is my free webinar, “How to Succeed in Nursing School.” This webinar has helped sooo many students already. I just started sharing it a couple months ago, and already have helped more than 400 nursing and pre-nursing students using it.
In it, you’ll learn 3 of my best strategies for success in nursing school: like what it actually means to think like a nurse (and how to start doing that), how to take the mystery out of nursing school (so that you don’t feel so lost and overwhelmed all the time), and the importance of preventing burnout while you’re still a student (all without suggesting that you add a “candlelight bubble bath” to your already busy schedule…). Because seriously…who’s got time for that.
So up until now, at the time that this episode is being published on September 29th of 2021, I have only offered this webinar live. Which has been really, really cool for me, because it gives me a chance to chat with you in real-time, and hear first-hand what’s going on in your nursing school journey. Also, when I do it live, I always offer an open Q&A at the end of the webinar so that you can ask me any of your nursing school questions as well.
BUT…I need to make time in my schedule for some new tutoring projects right now, one of which I’m going to be revealing in just a few minutes because I’m super excited about it and I can’t keep my own secrets very well when I’m excited like this. Like when my husband and I plan something fun for our 6 kids, I’M the one acting the most hyper and jumping up and down just in anticipation of telling them! So yeah. But right now, I’ve got to at least use enough self-discipline to finish talking about these 3 free resources I promised to share FIRST, before I share my secret with you, so hang on! I promise I’ll spill that secret shortly.
Anyway, as I was saying, I’ve gotta clear some space in my schedule, so we decided to make a recording of the webinar available that you can watch ANYTIME! So if you’re listening to this on Wednesday, September 29 when this episode goes live, then you still have time to attend my last regularly scheduled LIVE webinar on Thursday. If you want to do that, and ask me ANY nursing school questions you have during the Q&A at the end, then make sure you register ASAP so I can send you the Zoom link. The registration link can be found at www.YourNursingTutor.com/success OR just go to the show notes page.
Now if you’re listening to this AFTER my last live webinar was scheduled, that’s okay, too! It just means you’ll get to watch the recording on YOUR schedule! You can use the same exact link, www.YourNursingTutor.com/success, and I’ll have it set-up to take you to the correct registration page so you can access the recording.
Now I’m not saying that I’ll never do this webinar live again, in fact I’m pretty sure I will because I sort of love it. But I’ve been offering it every single week over the summer and through Fall’s back-to-school season, so I basically need a break! I imagine I’ll still pull it out occasionally to do it liv, because it really IS so much fun to talk to you and hear more about your nursing journey. In the meantime, though, I know that the recording is going to help you so much, so you should definitely go register for it either way.
So that’s the webinar, and again you can find the link on the show notes page OR register directly, for free, at www.YourNursingTutor.com/success.
And in case you were wondering, the “How to Succeed In Nursing School” webinar is helpful for pretty much any stage of nursing school, including pre-nursing. And I’ve even had some professors attend who got a lot out of it.
Now while the webinar is kind of general for your whole nursing school experience, these next 2 resources are a little more targeted and specific.
One is my Pharmacology Study Toolkit. One of the biggest stressors for nursing students is learning the hundreds of different medications that you could potentially be asked about anytime in nursing school or on NCLEX.
This stressor is the #1 reason that many nursing students think that the only solution is to make or purchase drug cards to memorize. BUT, while drug cards can have their place, which I’ll talk about on a future episode, learning the meds for the first time is NOT that place.
And this mistaken way of studying Pharmacology gets frequently encouraged, unfortunately, by many nursing professors who might suggest or even require you to make your own drug cards for class. But the truth is that there is waaaay too much information about each medication to make flashcards useful in this setting. Instead, they’re gonna serve to make you feel even more anxious, overwhelmed, and confused. All without even teaching you the skills you need to actually apply the information on the drug cards to your test questions. So what’s the point, really?
That’s why I always teach my tutoring students to use the Prototype Method to study medications. You might have heard the term “Prototype Method” thrown around sometimes, and some Pharmacology textbooks even use a form of this to structure their content.
But there’s a smart way to use the Prototype Method to decrease the amount of studying you have to do for Pharmacology. Not only that, but it makes you feel a lot more confident about the facts you DO know about each medication, and MOST importantly…it helps you train your brain for how to answer exam questions about meds while you’re still studying, and also how to use that information to make better clinical decisions as a future nurse. Ultimately, THOSE are the real reasons that you’re studying pharmacology! Not simply for the joy of memorizing a gajillion different details. But to be able to use what you know about medications to solve problems and help people.
And in my free Pharmacology Study Toolkit, I show you exactly how I train my tutoring students to study Pharmacology so that you can be more efficient AND understand all that info a lot better. It helps you focus on only the most important information, so that you don’t waste precious study time, too.
And the OTHER focused, free resource I have available for you is my Dosage Calculations Study Toolkit. Now you might be thinking that you suck so bad at math that you would need personal, one-on-one tutoring to really get better at it, so you think a free Dosage Calculations Study Toolkit like this wouldn’t help anything. But here’s something you probably don’t realize yet.
Math is NOT actually the reason why you think you’re “bad” at Dosage Calculations.
I’m gonna say that again! Because MATH is not the real reason that you think you’re bad at Dosage Calculations.
The REAL reason is that you haven’t learned a solid strategy for how to set-UP the math problem yet. Because if I gave you a math problem and said, “Multiple across the top. Multiple across the bottom. Now divide the 2 numbers,” you would not freak out. You would do it. Maybe you’d use a calculator, and that’s okay, but that’s really not the hardest part.
The hardest part is figuring out how to plug-in the RIGHT numbers in the RIGHT places so that you can even get to the actual math part.
And THAT’s what the Free Dosage Calculations Study Toolkit will show you how to do. I walk you through the entire 6-step method that I recommend my tutoring students, and really ALL nursing students, use to solve literally any Dosage Calculation using dimensional analysis. And to do it confidently and consistently.
Because you really don’t always need a real, live person to teach you this skill. I know it feels like you do, and I explain why that happens in the toolkit, but trust me and give this toolkit a try first. If you need additional help after using it, then the VIP Tutoring Program can definitely help with that because I offer live Tutoring sessions where I can help you with dosage calculation problems you’re still struggling with, plus there are a ton of practice problems WITH video explanations inside the VIP Tutoring Membership.
If you still aren’t convinced, then let me tell you what happened to one of my VIP Tutoring members, Jasmine. She found me while looking for tutoring to help her with her Med Math, specifically using Dimensional Analysis, which is what I recommend every nursing student use.
I told her to review my Dosage Calculations Study Toolkit, and 2 days later she sent me this message:
“Hi sorry to bother you again, but I wanna let you know that you are amazing! So when I was first taught in chemistry, I had no clue. And when I heard about my Med Calc test, I said “I’m gonna fail because I don’t know how to do Dimensional Analysis.” And I watched your step-by-step, and I tried it out on some of my school’s practice exams, and I must say I’m amazed! When I first took the test, I got 2/10. Then I took it again and got 8/10. And then I tried another test and got a 9/10! I must truly say thank you so much!”
Needless to say, she decided to join the VIP Tutoring Membership so that she could get those kind of fast and effective results in other areas of nursing school as well!
And then around the same time, I got a similar message from Cheneille, who was still using a free trial of the VIP Tutoring Membership at the time. She said,
“I just wanted to say THANK-YOU NICOLE! As I’m going through the modules, things are now making SO MUCH SENSE! I’m once again finding the joy in learning with your system! ESPECIALLY with the dimensional analysis bootcamp! I AM FINALLY GETTING MED MATH! I cannot express to you how AMAZING this fels! This is DEFINITELY the confidence infusion (get it, “infusion”) I’ve needed to encourage me that I INDEED CAN DO THIS!”
And then there was yet another member, Jody, who took time away from prepping for her clinical skills check-off to attend one of our Live Tutoring Sessions she has access to in the VIP Tutoring Membership. She said:
“I wanted to get on here, and I just wanted to thank you in person because we had our Dosage Calc test today. And you have to pass with a 91% in order to stay in the program, and I made a 100% on my first try, and it was awesome!”
So there ya go. 3 success stories of my members who were able to take the way I teach Dosage Calculations, and completely turn things around for themselves. And you can do the same thing using the free version, I show you the entire method. Then if you have the same great results and get hungry for that kind of experience with other nursing school topics, too, you’re welcome to join the VIP Tutoring Membership! I’d love to work with you there.
Ok, so those are my 3 free resources for today, but I didn’t forget that I promised to spill my secret about the new tutoring project I’ve been working on recently, so here we go…it’s called the “Tutor On-Call” Program.
This resource isn’t free like the others I’ve mentioned today, because it’s more like a “next level” of tutoring support compared to my VIP Membership. In the VIP membership, you get to attend weekly live sessions where you can ask questions and connect with other nursing students. You also get access to all my online resources that help you tackle nursing school as confidently as possible, in addition to a private Facebook group so you can check-in during the week. Overall, it’s a LOT of customized support, not just a bunch of pre-recorded videos for you to watch like most other nursing school memberships that are available out there.
So what’s the difference between the VIP Membership and the new “Tutor On-Call” program? Well, the Tutor On-Call Program provides an even more personalized tutoring option for you. Basically, it’s closer to private, one-on-one tutoring than the VIP is. Because while you DO get really great results from the group tutoring and Facebook group that I offer with the VIP Membership, sometimes you just want to be able to ask me a question personally, WHEN you’re thinking of it. And that’s what the “Tutor On-Call” program lets you do.
The way it works is that you get to contact me anytime you want using Voxer. If you’re not familiar yet with Voxer, it’s a popular and free app that you can use on your phone or access through any web browser. It’s called an asynchronous walkie-talkie app…which is a fancy way of saying that when we talk to each other using Voxer, you can either listen to me in real time AS I’m speaking to you, OR you can listen to my message later on when you have more time. And vice versa. You can also send me text messages, links, attach files…whatever you need to show me or tell me so that I can answer whatever nursing school questions you have.
That benefit alone is worth it in the “Tutor On-Call” Program, honestly. Because I used to charge $75 PER HOUR for private tutoring with me. And most tutoring sessions needed to be 2-hours, so that’s $150 a pop. And when students wanted a weekly tutoring session to help them throughout the semester, that bill quickly grew to more like $600-800 dollars per MONTH. And even at THAT high price, you could still only ask me questions during one of our 2-hour sessions. So that’s another reason why I’m really sooo excited about this “Tutor On-Call” program, because with it you’ll be able to ask me questions literally any time throughout the month, whenever you need it, and for a much smaller overall cost.
The VIP Tutoring Membership will also be included as part of the “Tutor On-Call” Program for absolutely free. So not only do you get direct Voxer access to me, but you can still attend ALL the live group tutoring sessions AND participate in our private Facebook group.
In fact, as an extra perk, I’m even adding 2 ADDITIONAL Live Tutoring Sessions per month that will ONLY be for my “Tutor On-Call” students to attend. So it will be a much smaller group in those sessions. And, for a limited time, I’m also offering a bonus, 30-minute, 1 on 1 Zoom session with me. You can schedule that right away after you join to get a free Tutoring Assessment, OR you can save it for later in the semester as a sort of insurance policy.
AND I’m offering this entire package for a HUGE discount right now, for the first 10 students who join.
Okay…so are you wondering what the catch is? Well here’s the “catch”…the reason I’m offering such a big discount right now, AND only limiting it to the first 10 students is because this is a beta program right now. It’s the first time I’ve offered this tutoring option, so I only want to take on students who are willing to give me honest feedback about their experience so that I can continue to make improvements to the Tutor On-Call program.
I’ve already started offering this program to my current VIP Members, so I don’t know how many spots will be remaining by the time you listen to this episode.
And just like the VIP Membership, this new Tutor On-Call Program is a monthly membership, and you can always cancel anytime. So if you’d like to work with me in a group setting, then the VIP Tutoring Membership is an amazing option, but if you’d like more of a one-on-one tutoring experience working with me, then don’t miss your chance to join the beta version of the Tutor On-Call Program.
Now that about wraps up the most popular resources I have available for you today! Both free and paid.
When you’re in nursing school, sometimes it feels like it will never end. That’s especially true when you hear all the horror stories and complaints coming from nurses AND nursing students ahead of you on their nursing journey.
Which is why, on our next episode, I interviewed a sweet friend of mine, Skye Ellis, who was actually my very first tutoring student way back when I got hired by my nursing school as their official nursing tutor during my first semester as a student. Spoiler alert: Skye has been a nurse for over 10-years, and she is doing great! So if you want to hear an encouraging story about nursing school, something that will offer you hope and a positive vision of your future as a nurse, then make sure you subscribe to the Navigating Nursing School podcast so that you’re notified when that interview is available.
Speaking of that…this podcast is just one way that I try to help and serve all nursing students, regardless of your ability to pay me as a tutor. So could you join me on that mission to help nursing students? All it takes is leaving a 5-Star rating for the “Navigating Nursing School with Your Nursing Tutor” podcast on Apple iTunes, or your preferred podcast app. It seems like a small thing to do, but it plays a BIG role in helping other nursing students find this free podcast more easily. So thank you in advance!
One last thing…remember that whether you go with the VIP Tutoring Membership OR the “Tutor On-Call” program, either way you are going to be connecting with a positive, supportive community of future nurses who truly get what you’re going through. Not only that, but you’ll also receive mentorship and guidance from a professional nursing tutor with over 12+ years of experience (that would be me, folks), who has seen it all and knows how to troubleshoot all your nursing school issues.
Even if you’ve sat in your professor’s office, told her everything you’ve been doing to study so far, and have heard her respond with, “Well, I don’t know what else to tell you! You’re already doing all the things that would recommend, so I’m not sure why you’re still failing.”
By the way, that’s a true story, and I’ve heard it more than once. Most recently from a new VIP Tutoring Member who joined just last week. Unlike her professor, I was able to diagnose her problem within 30-minutes of talking to her, and set her up with a plan for how to turn her semester around. I just checked in with her tonight, and she told me that her studying is going so much better now, and she wishes she would have found me sooner.
DON’T accept vague advice like “study harder” or “do more practice questions.” DON’T let others tell you not to worry, because they assume that it’ll eventually “click!”
DON’T wait to get help until it’s too late. Take charge of your nursing journey today by joining the VIP Tutoring Membership at www.YourNursingTutor.com/vip
Until next time, good luck on your nursing journey!
Nicole Whitworth is the founder of Your Nursing Tutor. She has a BSN and an MA in Clinical Psychology, and has been a professional nursing tutor for over 12+ years. Nicole specializes in getting nursing students through school confidently and calmly so that everything finally “clicks”. She is also the creator of the Silver Bullet Study System, an easy-to-follow study method that automatically trains your brain to become a nurse at the same time that you study for your normal nursing classes.