Putting yourself through nursing school can prepare you for a number of theoretical situations. But, when it comes to dealing with a real-time nursing job it’s not that easy, especially with time management. Although nursing is a largely rewarding field, it comes with a hectic schedule. While experienced nurses can easily manage their time to make their day as productive as possible, each and every nurse needs to practice it.

Here are a few tips that will help you learn how to organize and manage your time effectively:

Arriving Early:

Although this seems to be a simple and common thing, it’s really critical for nurses. For people in other fields, an eight to twelve-hour shift may sound too long. But, for nurses, these hours may not be sufficient. Those who are already in practice would agree with this point. There are so many patients to handle along with the number of clerical tasks. If a nurse does not want to get home late at the end of their duty, it’s important that they reach the workplace earlier. However, going to work early does not mean that you will arrive hours before the time of duty. A buffer time of twenty to thirty minutes is good enough. This time can be used by nurses to go through the patients’ chart and prepare a plan of care.

Nursing doesn’t mean “YES” for all:

Yes, of course, nurses are the primary caregivers for the patients in a healthcare setting. But, this does not mean that they should say “YES” to do everything. What this means is that nurses should not need to attend to all the patients’ needs. Although multitasking is considered to be an important aspect in the nursing field, overloading yourself with the tasks that are not meant to be on their schedule will be detrimental for them. However, nurses should take note that the patients are not getting a harsh reply for their non-urgent requests. They should learn how to decline the request for that time politely. They can inform their patients that their needs will be taken care of after some time. Now, nurses should understand that this not only applies to the patients’ requests but also to the requests of their colleagues.

Maintaining Notes:

Although most of the nurses have the capacity to maintain mental notes of their tasks, they are recommended to maintain them in written formats as well. This will help them make sure that they are not missing any important element. Yes, it’s acceptable that it will be hard for nurses to keep notes in the midst of their busy schedule. But, they will get used to it after a few days of practice. As such, the notes should contain the details of the patients along with the related tasks. If the nurses find it difficult to write so much, create a simple to-do list and keep it in their pockets. This practice will be helpful while they are trying to write down lab values or important information from doctors.

Staying Away from Distractions:

Adapting to any work setting will need a bit of practice, and when it comes to nursing, practice is the real key. As the nurses are responsible for others’ lives, they should stay away from distractions of any kind. The distractions will also slow down the phase of work, thereby, making it difficult to accomplish the day’s tasks. Today, the most common and the deadly distracting thing is a cell phone. Nurses should understand that it would be totally unprofessional to use their cell phones during the working hours. Yes, they can take the time to check texts and emails during break times, but they should not let it interfere with the patient care. These things would apply to other socializing activities like talking with the colleagues and so on.

Understanding the Priorities:

Looking at patients’ charts and creating to-do lists alone can help nurses manage their time effectively. They should understand their priorities and go with them. In fact, the ability to prioritize things is a must-have skill for all nurses. Yes, of course, one cannot master this important skill overnight, but with continuous practice, it’s not difficult to achieve. In this line, nurses should find out the most important and urgent tasks and attend to them first. Many medical conditions differ in their complexity. So, nurses must ensure that they do their assessments properly. One factor that can be used in the decision-making is the consequences of the tasks that could result when they fail to do it. For example: prioritizing between changing patient’s IV and draining his/her urine bag.

Take Away:

Time management is one skill that can’t be achieved in a day. If the nurses have found themselves failing in their first attempts, there is nothing to feel stressed about. They should just remember that the next day is waiting for them to hone this skill. The only thing they need is the desire to master the skill with continuous practice.