Study Groups

Nursing Students General Students

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I am starting a study group and was wondering what all of you out there do in your study groups. Do you quiz each other with flash cards? Do you make up questions to ask everyone? I would love to hear all of the ideas.

Thanks,

Jennifer

Specializes in CCRN.

Our group does index cards, study guides, sample test questions, Saunders NCLEX review study questions on the topic we are covering, but the best thing we do is to divide the reading and then teach each other the information. There is sooooo much reading in nursing school, we have found that this eliminates the stress of each having to read 12 chapters in a weekend. We all look over the information in the chapters we aren't responsible for, I read them all if I have a chance, but at least I know I won't miss something if I have a time crunch and don't get them all read.

The best sugesstion I can give you is to NOT study at school. Too many distractions. We also meet as a group at a coffee shop prior to exams to go over things. Too many students show up unprepared for the exam and tend to stress everyone out.

Good luck.

Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.

Keep your group small.

Have students that study in a style similar to your own.

Don't, I repeat DON'T, come to study group unprepared. Nothing frosts my cupcakes more than someone coming for REVIEW expecting to LEARN material :angryfire

We each make different tables, charts, notes, etc and share them.

I will let you all know how it goes when we meet next week. I am looking forward to study with this group. They all have the same goals as I do and we all seem to want the same things.

Jen

Establish ground rules from the beginning: No talking about love life, teachers, how hard it is to go to school and have a life----this is true of every nursing student so no point in wasting time stating the obvious or in getting off course. Discuss how you will handle the food situation. People always want to eat, then the food distracts everyone, etc. Limit the group to NO MORE than 6, but 3-4 is better. If someone comes unprepared they may be asked to leave the group. Do not waste everyone's time trying to teach someone who has no idea about the topic. Make the study time a priority. Do not schedule other things during that time. If you miss 2 meetings you are out of the group. And turn off the stupid cell phones!!!

I agree whole heartedly about hte cell phones. I got together with a group several weeks ago and the cell phones kept ringing. I also felt I was the only one that knew anything about the subject. Needless to say that is why I am starting a new study group.

Jen

Specializes in Med/Surg..
I am starting a study group and was wondering what all of you out there do in your study groups. Do you quiz each other with flash cards? Do you make up questions to ask everyone? I would love to hear all of the ideas.

Thanks,

Jennifer

Some in my class started a study group a couple of weeks ago (on our own time). We are now learning the "Nursing Process" and this is what we did today in the study group. The group made up a patient who came to the hospital with various complaints. Our goal was to use what we knew about him and go through the "Nursing Process". Assess his complaints, decide what was to be done with his care, etc. The school let us use a classroom - we put all the information on the board and honestly, we all got a lot of of it by tossing around ideas, etc.

What was really great - the Head of the Nusing Dept. (on her own time) came in after we were done and we played "Family Feud". She split us into 2 groups (about half the class showed up for this, so we had a decent amount of people). She asked us questions (similar to what will be on our test next week) and we played against each other. Not so easy coming up with an answer in a few seconds, but we learned a lot from it, lots of fun competition and it was a lot of help.

I don't do "flash cards" - I read over all the material a few times before a test and take practice tests online. The way this study group is set up is a great "study tool" and we were able to learn a lot from each other...

I don't do "flash cards" - I read over all the material a few times before a test and take practice tests online. The way this study group is set up is a great "study tool" and we were able to learn a lot from each other...
Thankyou for the info. My class had or test yesterday on the Nursing Process yesterday. I have two questions for you if you don't mind. Why do you not use flash cards and where do you take online practice tests?

Thanks

Jenn

Specializes in Med/Surg..
Thankyou for the info. My class had or test yesterday on the Nursing Process yesterday. I have two questions for you if you don't mind. Why do you not use flash cards and where do you take online practice tests?

Thanks

Jenn

Hi, Our Fundamentals book has an online website (lots of great study help and practice tests). About the flash cards - it's just not something I've ever used to help me study, I really can't see how they'd help me out. I prefer to read - I keep my books with me and if I have to wait somewhere (kids sports, whatever) - I drag out my books and read, read, read.... :)

Specializes in ICU.

My group ask each other questions about the material, test questions out of the Fundamentals Success and Test Success books, and do test questions online (our school has a website and the teachers put up sample material for the test). We quickly became friends and there are no "rules". Everyone always come prepared because we all want to do well. If someone's cell phone ring, they excuse themselves and make it brief. During our breaks, we amuse each other with our stresses. But, we get back to work quickly and we all pray for each other. I am sooooo happy to be in a group where my partners want to do just as well as I want to. I was afraid of "moochers" and it turns out that all three of us got our previous Bachelor's at the same university. It really helps when you like your study group members. I know that things need to be formal, but the fact that we really get along makes teaching and testing each other so much more comfortable. We can say silly things to make the information stick in each other's head. We are all doing well in the class. You have to also do alot of studying on your own. What happens if your waiting for the study group to meet and something comes up and you can't meet? But, my group keeps me on my toes because I would be embarrassed to show up at a meeting not prepared to just review the material.

Specializes in ICU.

My group ask each other questions about the material, test questions out of the Fundamentals Success and Test Success books, and do test questions online (our school has a website and the teachers put up sample material for the test). We quickly became friends and there are no "rules". Everyone always come prepared because we all want to do well. If someone's cell phone ring, they excuse themselves and make it brief. During our breaks, we amuse each other with our stresses. But, we get back to work quickly and we all pray for each other. I am sooooo happy to be in a group where my partners want to do just as well as I want to. I was afraid of "moochers" and it turns out that all three of us got our previous Bachelor's at the same university. It really helps when you like your study group members. I know that things need to be formal, but the fact that we really get along makes teaching and testing each other so much more comfortable. We can say silly things to make the information stick in each other's head. We are all doing well in the class. You have to also do alot of studying on your own. What happens if your waiting for the study group to meet and something comes up and you can't meet? But, my group keeps me on my toes because I would be embarrassed to show up at a meeting not prepared to just review the material.

Specializes in OBGYN, Neonatal.

Our study group consists of 4 - 6 of us that get together usually on the weekend before an exam, particularly if it is a weekend that we don't have school. (every other weekend normally).

We generally use the study guide that accompanies our book and go through the questions together and try to get the "why" behind the answer. We limit the talk about personal stuff to a few minutes, rarely more than 5 or 10 minutes.

:):):):)

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