Study Tips for Med Surg

kahumai, RN · Feb 4, 2005

I liked using a dry erase board for thr really hard pathophysiology. It also helped me have my BF quiz me and makes studying more (humor me here) "fun" as opposed to sitting at a desk and reading. I retyped my class notes, too, and read them on the treadmill. I'm in Med/Surg III right now, and it's helped me so far. Good Luck!

taysyd · Feb 4, 2005

Thanks for the help! I have a test Tuesday. I will let you know if it helps.

sweetyjen · Feb 5, 2005

Maybe you could try taping the lecture and make note cards during lecture. I know of a girl that does this and she does very very well in all classes. I have not tried it because I am just not a note card type of girl, but it seems to have worked for a lot of people in my class. Just a suggestion!!

mand1 · Feb 6, 2005

Maybe you could try taping the lecture and make note cards during lecture. I know of a girl that does this and she does very very well in all classes. I have not tried it because I am just not a note card type of girl, but it seems to have worked for a lot of people in my class. Just a suggestion!!

Hiya all,

I start in September and am looking for study tips to help. What do you mean by 'note cards', is this the same as just taking notes in a pad??? Sorry if thats a bit of a thick question:rolleyes:

Mandy

cingulargirl21 · Feb 6, 2005

Well, I try to read tha chapter before the lecture if possible........that way I get more from the lecture. Then I like to make note cards.......index cards with important stuff on them, like signs and symptoms of somtheing or nursing interventions to treat a condition, then I try to get a friend to quiz me on them, plus writing helps me to remember it. It can take a long time if you write slow like me but it helps you to learn. I also work as many practice problems from the workbook or from the Reviews and Rationales for Med Surg, that helps. Questions on our tests sometimes come from the workbook or are very similar! YOu have to put in the time you want to get the grade ou want. I want an A on this next test so I plan to study on Monday for about 6 hours....broken up over the day of course and I plan to do the same on Tuesday and Wednesday......I havent really studied for our next med surg test due to being stressed and tired AND having a test tomorrow(studying for that now!) but I find if I put in long hours with breaks and with different methods (note cards, workbook, writing out concepts that are difficult and lots of praying) I usually make an 89 or higher. The key for me is to study about 24 hours total for an exam.....spread out over days of course with lots of breaks! I want to learn the material for the exam and store it in my long term memory. I did this on my last ned surg test and I got a 96........so it works for me.

SarasotaRN2b · Feb 6, 2005

cingulargirl21, thanks. pretty good strategies and since you are doing so well, successful ones at that. thanks again for sharing.

kris

hangnon · Feb 6, 2005

Use the study guides that accompany your books. Not only do they make you more comfortable going into the test, the questions get you used to NCLEX format. I also re-type my notes and use notecards for the drugs. So far so good as I still have an A in MedSurg this quarter.

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Feb 6, 2005

All good advice. Also, take advantage of that A&P book you still have laying around to refresh and review forgotten and unfamiliar concepts of normal physiology.

mitchsmom · Feb 6, 2005

I record lectures and relisten during my commute. I am a good note-taker, too. I read the chapters word-for-word only when I feel it's necessary - depends on the class. BUT if I wasn't doing as well as I wanted I would definitely by reading them.

I retype notes into a quiz format with a question colum and an answer column (a text box in Word) that I can fold in half vertically to quiz myself with. Lastly, I use the voice recorder to read the quiz, then I listen to it and quiz myself in the car or wherever I get the chance. I have a two hour commute one way so this works for me. I've only gotten one B in a class so far.

If you can study with another student that is serious and gets good grades, that could be helpful too. I live so far away that I don't really get to study with anyone else.

luv4nursing · Feb 6, 2005

what works for me is reading the chapters twice. The first time I read it really slowly and dont move on until I understand everything as I go, and be sure to look at the pictures and understand them, and I highlight key points. Then I skim the chapter again, normally the morning of the test. this time focusing on the highlighted parts and summaries.

Other than that, I practically memorize my notes.....and for things that are in a certain order, etc, I make up acronyms.Even if I dont make up a saying for something, I at least remember the first letter of whatever Im trying to list....for example a list of 7 things might be PSCRLVA. sometimes if I have time I do notecards and they are great too. I also always do my workbook if possible bc it really helps grasp concepts and the teachers usually take a few questions or similar questions from there.

Im maintaining an A average so far.

chilloutrelax · Feb 6, 2005

Read the material and try to understand it, not just memorize it. I know we all rarely have time, but read before lecture. I have started to just read on the weekends and prepare myself for the lectures the following week. Also, a big thing is to buy a nclex review book, or a medsurg review book...with the mult. choice type questions on it. Find a book where the systems are separated, GI..Nervous,etc.. I bought Saunder's nclex review, and I will use the disc for each system we are studying, I will practice my test taking w/that and I will read the rationales, which are very helpful. Ask the students who do well in the class how they study. I have done that, and they have given me some good tips. You can definetely do this! It's just the beginning of the semester, plenty of time to show improvement.

I also tape the lectures(I just started doing that this semester)...it helps me, but it depends on your instructor I think. I'm a big fan of notecards too. And I have to read things in the book several times before I'll get it. I just try to go page by page. And I also make sure I have a general understanding of it all.