Being a student nurse is perhaps one of the hardest courses out there, and if your partner is training to be a nurse or improving their nursing career, you need to understand a few things that will make their life a whole lot easier. Following these 9 tips can help bring a smile to their face, even on the hardest of days.
Cook Dinner
When you are out for 12/13-hour shifts, the last thing you want to do when you arrive home is cook dinner for the family, or yourself. One of the most important things that most nurses neglect is their own diet, instead, they are too tired for cooking and turn to take-outs day after day. If you want to help out your partner, cook them healthy dinners. Make bigger portions so they have enough to take to work the following day – they will be incredibly thankful.
Nurses constantly neglect themselves when work gets too much. Something as simple as a healthy dinner will help them relax and take better care of themselves.
Help with Studying
It is so difficult to study if the children are in the house, or if you are sat watching a movie while your partner is studying. The best thing you can do here is to help them study; be their study buddy! Here are a few ways in which you can help:
- Talk through points with them.
- Learn alongside them – that way you can test them, and they have someone to talk to when they’re struggling.
- Take the children out for a few hours.
- Make a study room or corner – having a designated place to study helps improve concentration.
- Sit with them and study yourself – complete your own work, read a book, or learn a language. Just having someone beside you while studying can make you feel more supported.
Provide Encouragement
There are days when your partner is going to come home from a placement or have a tough assignment and they are going to want to quit. Stress levels can easily get to an all-time high when you are juggling work, placement and social life. Be there to provide encouragement and support in whatever way you can. Emotionally and physically, nursing is very demanding, so be sure to bring them back up when they are down and prevent them from quitting!
Nursing is a difficult course and one that can cause stress on a daily basis. Encourage your partner and remind them of all the good they are doing for themselves and others.
Exercise with Them
Exercise is yet another routine that gets put to the side during nursing school, leading them to ultimately become more tired and feel easily drained. After long shifts, your mind and body are far too tired to head to the gym. Providing that encouragement to get out there and keep their body healthy will benefit them in the long run. Here are a few easy ways you can support them to exercise:
- Meet them from work and walk home with them
- Plan days out which involve fun exercise: trampoline parks with the kids, hiking or cycling
- Have an exercise room in the house
- Practice yoga routines together – there are plenty of tutorials online
- Head to the gym together
Make Sure They Talk About Their Day
So much can happen in one shift that it can be hard to assemble all your thoughts of the day. This makes it easy to feel emotionally overwhelmed, leading to poor sleep and added stress. Ensure they talk about their day, especially if it has been a tough one. If they don’t want to talk about it, encourage them to keep a journal so their thoughts can be put on paper, and most importantly, out of their head.
Nursing schools will also provide emotional support to their students, as well as placements. If your partner is struggling with their mental health due to nursing school, encourage them to speak to a provided counselor.
Relaxation
As you can already tell, nursing school can drain you; physically, emotionally and mentally. This means relaxation is key to a healthy mind and body. You know your partner best and so you know what relaxation means to them. Below are a few ideas to help you get started:
- Run a candle-lit bubble bath for when they get home from work
- Treat them to their favorite take-out
- Give them a massage
- Invite their friends round for a games/movie/food night
- Meditate together
Provide Routine
Nursing school can totally whack your routine out of the window, and you need to get used to the fact that your partner may be working night shifts. Providing them with a routine will help them adjust to this new way of living. This means making the breakfast for when they come into a night shift and providing them with a quiet, dark environment to sleep in the day. This may mean taking the children out for the day and investing in some black-out blinds.
Nursing requires shift patterns all times of the day and night, meaning sticking to some form of routine is important to maintain a good state of mental wellbeing.
Most Importantly… Be There for Them
Your partner just wants you to be there for them. Through the hard days and the good days, having someone there to cuddle up to and feel at home can be the only thing they need. If your partner is looking to break into the nursing, why not help them to apply to an online course? These online accelerated BSN nursing programs can provide online learning alongside clinical placements to make sure your partner is ready to become a nurse in as little as one year!
Studying online provides more flexibility. No matter what nursing school your partner attends, being there for them after a long day is what matters most.
The simplest things matter when you are constantly on your feet all day, caring for everyone else. Cook for them, ensure they relax regularly, and talk to them – these are all simple ways you can make a big difference to their day.
