Scheduling Time with Yourself to Advance Your Education
Submitted by Nancy Bellucci, Ph.D., MSN-Ed, RN, CNE, CNOR
Tags: advanced education education nursing nursing education
Abstract
Aim:
To explore strategies that support working nurses in intentionally scheduling time to pursue advanced education while balancing professional and personal responsibilities.
Background:
Evolving healthcare demands, including Magnet® initiatives and national workforce recommendations, have increased expectations for baccalaureate- and graduate-prepared nurses. Despite these expectations, many nurses encounter time constraints, competing priorities, and vulnerability that hinder academic progression.
Method:
This paper presents a narrative review of nursing education literature combined with reflective analysis of professional standards related to lifelong learning, adult education, and work–life balance.
Results:
Analysis identified intentional time management, acknowledgment of vulnerability, boundary setting, and self-investment as key strategies that support academic persistence and reduce role strain among working nurses.
Conclusion:
Deliberately scheduling time for educational advancement is essential for nurses navigating complex professional and personal demands. Intentional planning and self-awareness promote academic success, professional growth, and sustained contributions to nursing education and practice.
Keywords: Nursing education, lifelong learning, work-life balance, self-efficacy, vulnerability
Highlights
Returning to school can be an intimidating prospect for working nurses; however, increasing demands within the healthcare system have made advanced education essential. As more healthcare organizations pursue Magnet designation and national recommendations emphasize the importance of bachelor’s-prepared nurses, the expectation for higher levels of education continues to grow. In addition, the nursing profession requires ongoing lifelong learning to ensure competence and adaptability in an increasingly complex clinical environment. Nurses must therefore understand the value of continued education, recognize personal and professional vulnerabilities, and acknowledge the rising demand to return to school. Meeting the requirements for advanced nursing degrees requires intentional planning and effective time management amid competing work and personal responsibilities. By investing in their own education, nurses can enhance professional growth, expand career opportunities, and contribute more effectively to quality patient care and organizational outcomes.
Scheduling Time with Yourself to Advance Your Education
The mere thought of returning to school can be quite daunting for a working nurse. With the growth of healthcare organizations seeking Magnet status and recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the need for baccalaureate-prepared nurses has become even greater (AACN, 2024). Additionally, the nursing profession requires the nurse to engage in lifelong learning. Therefore, the need for nurses to understand the importance of education, to be aware of their own vulnerabilities, and to recognize the demand for nurses to return to school has become greater. To meet the demands of attaining an advanced nursing degree, nurses need to schedule time in their busy schedules to invest in themselves by expanding their education through advanced degree acquisition.
The Importance of Education
Advancing nursing education enables nurses to understand better and address the social determinants of health (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), Flaubert et al., 2021). An advanced degree in nursing curriculum includes experiential learning that focuses on social justice, health equity, chronic disease, and the needs of a community to improve overall health. According to the AACN (2025), there is a 24% higher chance of patient survival during an in-hospital cardiac event when being treated by a BSN-prepared nurse. Further, the AACN (2025) reported that hospitals that employed more BSN-prepared nurses had a reduced patient length of stay of almost 8%.
Gaps to Fill
Furthermore, advanced education helps fill gaps in nursing specialty areas and academia. With the growth in need for nurse practitioners in the field, there has never been a more pressing time for the current nursing workforce to engage in higher-level learning. The AACN (2024) reported that in the United States, almost 66,000 qualified applicants were turned away from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs due to insufficient faculty numbers. Further, a special survey conducted by AACN in 2023 found that almost 2,000 faculty vacancies existed across the 922 schools and universities that completed the survey. Although much needed, attaining an advanced degree does not come without its share of challenges.
Vulnerability
Vulnerability in nursing is a challenge to consider. Many nurses, whether pursuing an advanced degree, serving as a leader, or working at the bedside, report feeling overwhelmed and vulnerable in the profession. With the rise in mental health issues, workplace violence, and work-related stress, nurses are feeling vulnerable, overworked, and pushed to the brink. We need to work to meet nurses where they are and provide them with what they need to thrive in the profession, while also supporting them in their efforts to achieve higher levels of education. Nursing colleagues and leadership need to offer empathy to those who are working to advance their education. Facilitating empathy and engaging in professional socialization within the work setting is just the tip of the iceberg. Nursing colleagues, nursing educators, and leadership need to take an empathic approach to offering support through carative teaching, mentoring, guiding, and socializing in the workplace. These small actions may not tip the scales, but it serves to combat some of the negative effects that these vulnerabilities impart.
Coping with Competing Priorities
Vulnerabilities aside, nurses often report that they find it hard to cope with the competing priorities of managing life, family, and school. Bellucci (2016, p. 17) stated that when a nurse engages in a planned activity or strives to learn a specific skill, stress and anxiety levels tend to rise due to fear of failing. This heightened emotional level affects self-efficacy and can be prohibitive in one’s attempts to manage multiple priorities. A negative impact affects one’s self-efficacy, which ultimately has a direct effect on motivation. Improving self-efficacy occurs when a person effectively manages multiple, competing priorities through support from colleagues, family, and friends, and through effective planning to address them.
Making the effort to improve one’s self-efficacy will result in improved resilience and personal empowerment. Improved resilience is needed to manage the competing priorities faced by nurses considering or pursuing an advanced degree. Resilience and self-empowerment are motivational states caused by expectations derived from activities or efforts resulting in reward (Harvey & Martinko, 2011). When a person feels rewarded by their actions, they feel empowered, which may affect a person’s ability to remain resilient and manage tasks (Bandura, 1994; Harvey & Martinko, 2011).
Scheduling Time with Yourself & Stress Management
There are several physical tools that can be used to manage time, such as physical and automated calendars, planners, phone applications, technology, lists, and Post-it notes. Some students often use forecasting, planning, and triaging as some of the activities involved in managing time (Bellucci, 2016, p. 83). Additionally, using a shared calendar that provides the entire family with access helps to plan family events and childcare needs around what work needs to be completed for a nursing academic program. Further, remaining mindful of personal limitations and adjusting for periods where one might be unable to devote time as planned to school is vital.
Stress Management
In addition to scheduling time with oneself to complete academic and personal tasks, one must consider physical and mental wellness activities. Research performed by Bellucci (2016, p. 83) indicated that engaging in physical exercise or relaxation activities were two of the main strategies for maintaining stress management while engaging in multiple competing activities. Another stress management technique is associated with spending time with family, loved ones, and friends (Bellucci, 2016). Solitary activities, such as yoga, meditation, and prayer, also serve as practices to help one remain mindful of physical and mental health. Lastly, performing self-care and staying connected with others on social media are also practices that can help reduce anxiety and stress.
Conclusion
Busy nurses schedule so many aspects of their day while managing work and life at home. Making an entry in your schedule that is devoted to you and your education is an action that puts emphasis on your goal attainment. Although gaining an advanced degree beyond the associate's degree level is often equated with a job requirement, it is also a big investment in oneself. The degree or degrees you plan to achieve are your achievements. Take the time to make a small investment in yourself and your professional aspirations. The opportunities that await you once your degree is completed are endless in nursing.
References
- American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2024). The impact of education on nursing practice. https://www.aacnnursing.org/news-data/fact-sheets/impact-of-education-on-nursing-practice#:~:text=The%20BSN%20prepares%20nurses%20to,it%20comes%20to%20nursing%20practice.
- American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2025). Baccalaureate-prepared nurses are essential to quality health care. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Benefits-of-the-BSN.pdf
- Bellucci, N. A. (2016). A qualitative investigation of strategies used by phd nursing students for balancing work, family, and the attainment of a phd. [Doctoral dissertation]. Capella University. https://www.proquest.com/openview/f0b9aee5e5120ae3fdd5702455748d1b/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1875
- Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 71–81). New York, NY: Academic Press. Retrieved from https://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Bandura/BanEncy.html
- Harvey, P., & Martinko, M. J. (2011). Attribution theory and motivation. In Borkowski’s Organizational behavior in health care (2nd ed., pp. 147–164). Retrieved from http://samples.jbpub.com/9780763763831/63831_08_ch07_final.pdf
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM); National Academy of Medicine; Committee on the Future of Nursing 2020–2030; Flaubert, J. L., Le Menestrel, S., Williams, D.R., et al., editors. (2021, May). The future of nursing 2020-2030: Charting a path to achieve health equity. National Academies Press. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573901/].
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