Good study method or too OCD?

[CRNBSN18]

Okay, I know there has been numerous threads on studying but I need opinions.

I usually do well my reading the chapters and make my own notes (this takes a while but it helps me retain the info). The teacher says to outline by the topics she has listed, the homework, and the powerpoints. So far it seems that it equals to everything in the chapter.

So this is what I think i'm going to do: read the chapters and make notes throughout with things that I think are important, then look at the homework and powerpoints to see what I left out, add anything missing, and then make notecards summarizing the most important things to study from. I have HUGE ones, and I plan to place them on a ring of some kind, divided up into exams. I also have my binder divided up by the exam topics. Does this seem like too much or too OCD, or does it seem like a good study method? I am a little OCD, I like to be organized and neat. I just don't want to waste any valuable time. I have 5 classes and 2 little ones, with very little study time. I'm wanting to make the most of it.

Thanks for any help/advice! & and taking the time to read and/or respond. :)

[chels14]

It really depends on your teacher, but I feel like a lot of people waste a lot of time reading the book and not studying the notes. It seems like everyone that I talk to that isn't doing well can't seem to understand why they aren't doing good when they study like five hours a day...reading the book over and over. I like to take really good notes in class and use the book if I need to clarify something I didn't understand. Most teachers give you just about all the information you will need to know for tests in their notes. And doing practice questions help too! Some of my teachers have used a few of the same questions from my book on tests. Using all your resources is definitely a good idea.

It's very important to stay organized throughout the semester so you will have everything you need to study for the final. Also, one thing I like to do when taking notes is write in different colors. When a new topic is started, I use a different color. It really helps me to keep everything from running together. I started doing it in high school and it works for me.

[annietart]

I think what you're doing is a little overboard for the basics but it's helpful when learning disease processes and interventions to be through. That's a lot of info to learn! Interviewing can really only be learned by doing IMHO. Just hit the basics that were taught in class.I never not read the book though. The only time I didn't read it was during fundamentals.

[BloomNurseRN, ASN, BSN, RN]

If it works for you then keep it up! If you did yourself getting behind then try to really focus more solely on the key points and what the instructor emphasizes. Good luck!

[msumomof2]

I would say that doing what works well for you is the best way, what works for some, does not work for others. I try to read as little as possible unless I don't understand my instructors notes/lecture.

[strawberryluv, BSN, RN]

I used to read chapters thoroughly but I learned it wasted so much of my time. I talked to one of my nursing friends who was in the same class as me but was pulling A's and she said she only read from the sections that were referred to in her nursing notes and only that. So thats what I did and it made a little bit of a difference.

I think when I start Maternity Nursing I'm going to change my strategy up a bit and use my textbook as a reference and my supplemental book (Saunders comprehensive review 5e) as my main reading material. I find that Saunders is really concise plus practicing NCLEX questions while studying!

[Nolli]

Everyone is different. Do what ultimately works for you and for that specific class. Personally I take good notes in class and add them to the powerpoints with asterisks or bulleted points on key things. I do utilize chapter summary and key points for some things, but it depends on the professor. All my professors test differently. Some use the book/follow it more than the others. One is almost exclusively lecture based testing with all the material on the powerpoints already. So I have to adjust for each subject. Personally I usually only go into the book if my professor is pulling from it otherwise it tends to conflict with the lecture material. Sometimes with my more lecture based professors I'll go into the book and do a reading just to understand something complicated that I just can't get. I wouldn't go overboard with organizing the material and would go with a simpler method of studying if you find yourself getting stressed out, fall behind, or your tests are not reflecting what you study and your scores drop.