Studying.. What would you suggest?????

I am assuming that you are already in nursing school and not taking the pre-recs..
It really all depends on how you are tested in school. All of our tests were formatted similarly to the NCLEX....which means that memorization will get you NOWHERE...you HAVE to know how to apply the knowledge. Is there a workbook that you can get to go along with the class? Our bookstore almost always offered those as optional, and sometimes that can get you thinking the way that the tests are given. Also...I found that you had to REALLY pay attention in class...a lot of professors let you know what they want through their lectures. Hope this helps and good luck!

I have two words... TAPE RECORDER! This is how I graduated with straight As in nursing school. I'm not extra smart. I actually tend to pick things up slower than most.
But with a tape of the class I got lots of "free" study time. I wore headphones in the store, going down the road, doing dishes, taking a walk.....
After a while I started to pick up clues as to what the instructors really really wanted to emphasize.
I still read the book, joined a study group and all the rest...but listening to the tapes are what put me over the top.
Get a good recorder, sit as close to the instructor as possible. Buy cheap batteries at the dollar store and change batteries before EVERY class. Buy extra tapes. Put them in separate baggies with a card saying "Side A lecture on Endocrine, Side B blood". That will save you lots of time and let you know which tapes can be rerecorded over. And tapes can only be used a certain amount of times before they bleed thru tooo much noise.
Listen to the tape as soon as possible after the class for retention.
Hope this helps. It's worth the trouble!
Finding enough time to study only gets harder as nursing school progresses.

I usally try to just highlight what is discussed in lecture. Then read the whole chapter once depending on the material, but ussually if you need to know it they lecture on it and if you read over the lecture material 3 times or so you pretty much got it

I am not it nursing yet, but I have to recommend taking this quiz to help determine which study methods are best for you. After taking the quiz it gives you tips, which you can tailor to studying for the nursing tests. I hope this helps

http://www.vark-learn.com/english/pa...=questionnaire

i find tape recorder very helpful.... also, after taking notes at the end of the day, make flash cards...

I find flash cards extremly helpful for lab values, items of that nature.

However, what I think helped me the most during nursing school was a study group. 4 or 5 of my friends and I would get together and quiz each other, and read the material to each other.
You'd be amazed at how many 'jokes' and different ways we came up with to remember things, and how I would remember them during the test. It almost didnt feel like we were studying when we got together because of all the laughter you would hear, but I learned a lot this way.
Just remember with a study group, to study before the meeting (get yourself motivated to test others) and to study after to go over things you may be unsure of. I always found that testing others helped me the most.

Also, being in a relaxed atmosphere helps greatly. If you like music, I would just listen to a soft music, but not one with words. Or try using aromatherapy while studying.

You'll find your comfort zone soon enough for studying, but good luck

Moved this one to the Student Nursing Forum, where hopefully, more people will see and respond.

Welcome to allnurses.com!

Well, I will tell you that nursing classes are not like any classes that you've ever taken before...but I'm sure that you already know that. I never had to study for any classes, and always got A's. Once in nursing school, I tried the same method...it worked okay for the 1st test...got an 85....but the 2nd one, I dropped into the 70's. After that I decided that I had to study or I would not make it through.

I found that the tape recorder didn't really help me much. I sat in the back of the class. I never read the chapters, b/c they required like 20 chapters per week. Definitely not enough hours in the week to prepare, and still eat & sleep. So, I would bring my textbooks to class, and highlight the important parts as the professor was going over them. After class I would go back and re-read what I highlighted. Before a test, a group of us (always the same group through-out nursing school) would get together and study. We had all prepared by making flashcards for important things, and we would quiz each other.

3 out of the 4 of us made it through nursing school. The 3 of us now all work together in the ER. Isn't that amazing?

I agree that the format of tests in nursing schools is definetly different than in other classes. A lot of the questions on our tests are similar to the format they use on the NCLEX, which is questions that make you really apply what you know rather than memorizing facts. I found that paying attention in class and listening for "hints" from my instructors was very helpful. I also did all the reading and then went back through the book and actually wrote out notes in my notebook. I'm in my first semester of med-surg and have managed to get a 96 and 97 on our first two exams by doing these things. I will admit that my study methods are very time-consuming but I haven't discovered any major short-cuts yet. Our questions on our exams are just so varied I really find that I truly have to know just about everything.