Involving Family in Studies

Being in school as an adult can be a challenge. It becomes more difficult when you're engaged in health care studies and at the same time are caring for children. It can be even more of a challenge to get your family to support you. You're splitting time with your studies, parenting, and working.

We want our Concorde students and graduates to be happy and feeling supported. So we enlisted the help of some of our student affairs experts and got their takes on how to best incorporate your family into your health care studies.

Ways to get family involved in health care studies

Many students have families that might have forgotten or might not fully understand how difficult some of the coursework can be, according to Amy Smith, Assistant Director of Student Affairs at Concorde's campus in Memphis, Tenn.

"Getting your family involved and invested in your studies can help you better understand your course materials," Smith said. "You can build memories with your family and help them feel more connected to your successes as well."

Smith has a few suggestions to help get more involved in the huge investment of time, energy and resources you're making by going to school.

• Create flash cards and have your family drill you on vocabulary
• Give mini-presentations about what you're learning in school each week
• Brainstorm about what types of places you might work as an extern, clinical student, and graduate
• You can have kids learning to type transcribe a portion of your notes as you read them aloud
• Have your family create practice quizzes, or use those at the end of chapters in textbooks
• Have your children help you find photos, cut out letters or photos and color in letters with you on projects
• Search online for some silly songs and/or dances you can do with your children that teach movements of body parts such as muscle groups or joints
• Give each child "free" video game time if you have an app or website that allows for games to help you learn your material while they play games that interest them

Instilling the value of education

"Letting your family see what kinds of information you are learning can help instill a sense of pride, help your family understand that their sacrifices as well as your own are paying off and can maybe make a challenging situation seem more fun and attainable," Smith said. "You instill the value and fun in education with your children at an earlier age."

Use of index cards in health care studies

William Lacey, Director of Student Affairs at Concorde's campus in San Diego, said the use of flash cards or index cards is a terrific way to involve the family in your studies.

"Time to study medical terminology?" he said. "Do you have your index cards with terms and definitions? You look over at the couch and see your kid playing xbox? Help them and they can help you. Have them read the term and you provide the definition. Then, you are prepared to play some Madden (football video game)."