It is very motivational when nursing students work together to finish projects, solve problems, or study. Encourage students to work together and study together. They will eventually be colleagues in the field who will need to rely on each other for support and guidance. This practice should start now, when they are students relying on each other to study and create research projects together. Encourage teamwork by designing group projects and you will increase the learning motivation of your students.
Nursing students want to have meaningful interactions with those who are already in the field. This gives them motivation to learn and complete the nursing program because they can see areas where they might like to work and they hear the experiences of those who are already working in those areas of nursing. Talking to professionals in the field also gives students a deeper sense of the ups and downs of a nursing career. Provide professional interaction and you will increase your students' interest in the field.
Nursing students thrive off real life experience. Nursing students need experience in the field in the form of a practicum, but you don't need to let the real life experience stop there. Offer students the opportunity to work with professionals in the field on real life problems as part of a practicum or term project. Have students interview past students in the program to understand their career paths and changes. Family members or friends might be willing to become research subjects. Ask students to connect with past or current patients in their field of interest.
Bring together students' real life experiences and their school work. Make assignments practical. Base assignments on scenarios students may have encountered during a practicum, or better yet, ask students to create a project that they can apply to a real life internship or to a practicum in the future. When students perceive that assignments have depth and meaning, they are more likely to be motivated to do them well.