The Significance of Goals for Nursing Students

Nursing programs are both physically and mentally demanding. In fact, it is recommended that nursing students set specific goals to help guide them through the program. These goals are quite significant in the student's success in the program.

Setting Goals

• When setting goals, a nursing student should consider both short- and long-term goals. As the student proceeds through the program, the goals should be adjusted whenever necessary.

Direction

• Setting goals as a nursing student helps lay the foundation for the student's education and career. By setting goals early in the program, nursing students have more direction when selecting a specific career path.

Motivation

• "Nursing students motivation toward their studies -- a survey study," a study done at University of Skövde, a medium-sized university in Sweden, found that active learning goals helped nursing students sustain motivation throughout their education. Students were motivated by the goals of receiving good grades and achieving mastery of the skills.

Success

• When goal-setting fosters motivation, it also fosters success. As nursing students become more motivated to succeed, they are more likely to concentrate, study and achieve success in their nursing program.

Considerations

• The study done at the nursing program in the Swedish university also found that students who set "avoidance ego" goals were less motivated and more likely to perform worse in the nursing program. Avoidance-ego goals include setting a goal such as "avoiding failure."