Tell me how do YOU study.

heres mine.... reading reading reading.. talking tomyself... and u know? if your bored.. call someone... and do a Q&A.... til you fall asleep.. my friend who works in a nursing home night shift does that with me... so she just calls me with her headset and il just fall asleep discussing prenatal abortion. LOL

You gotta remember, everyone studies differently. I can NOT read the chapter, can't make notecards, can't take super detailed notes. I usually just print the powerpoints they give us right before class, have the textbook out during class, and my art pad so I can draw. If I sat there for 3 hours trying to pay really close attention, I'd either be knocked out, or tell myself that this sucks and not care. But when I draw, I get comfortable and I can actually absorb more info than people who try to write every word said. I halfway look at the notes and book as they go. Actually true story, I was drawing and the teacher asked a question to the class. 4 ppl missed it, I got it. It's about being comfortable. As far as studying for a test. Usually if we had a test Friday, I'd start on Monday by skimming through the readings, 1 section a day. And by skim, I would circle keywords and underline stuff quickly. Then come Thursday, I'd study with a couple of people and explain stuff to them. Do NOT study with people who don't know anything or that are lazy and want to be taught it all by you, it will be your demise and slow you down so much. I tried to study with a couple of people who hadn't studied yet and demanded that I "tell them stuff". It took 2 hours to get through 2 pages. After that, I found my good study group and it's worked ever since. Those other ppl who wanted me to "tell them everything", ended up failing the class. But this summer I have been reviewing some things so that I'm not losing any info.

Before class: I usually read the book chapters before every class, just so I can have a basic understanding of what will be taught in lecture. While reading I highlight and pay attention to boxes, graphs, and diagrams... this helps me because I'm a visual learner. I also look through my illustrated nclex book because it shows even more pics for certain diseases. For example when I was learning about cushings syndrome they'd have a pic of a guy with a puffy face, skinny extremities, purple strai and so on.
During class: I sit in the front row to focus. This helps me to retain what is being taught. I tape record lectures... sometimes. and I jot down important things my teacher points out that is important.
After class/ and before exams: I review all the powerpoints / notes from class and answer a ton of nclex questions, and go back to the book if I need further clarification. I also meet with instructors and they will give me pointers on what to focus on. If you show the instructor that you are eager to learn and they will take time to help you with this. Hope this helps

First of all, check which publisher your textbooks are from. More often than not, each textbook company will have a website with concept review, practice questions, concept maps and much more. I love using these sites (or companion CDs in some cases) because it's an interactive process to review or learn the material.

If the textbook does not have any of this, then I will usually SKIM the assignment BEFORE class and highlight key concepts that I should focus on. I do not take the time to read in detail the whole assignment before class, I just try to familiarize myself with everything that the lecture will cover.

Most important of all, you have to go to class and actually take notes. I use my laptop for this, but you don't have to. I only use my laptop so that I can type directly into my professor's Power Points. If your professor gives these out or posts them on a site like Blackboard, I suggest using them. It really helps me to remember what context my notes where taken in. If there are no Power Points, then notes work just fine! Avoid writing fragments or random ideas though; later when you are studying for the exam, you probably won't remember what you meant or what was said to trigger that thought.

For Nursing school specifically I have a few other tips. I made flashcards for terminology or things that just needed to be memorized (conversions, terms, drug names, etc). For the more difficult concepts I made concept maps (I am a visual learner and this helps me with concepts like diseases and conditions). They are easy to make and the cool part is that you do them the way YOU want them! The biggest tip I can give you is to study with your friends in the class. You are more likely to miss concepts or skip material when you study by yourself, so get a few friends together and go over the material. I hope this all helps!

Amber N - Elsevier Student Ambassador

Congratulations on being accepted into a program!

I'm beginning my 3rd semester (2nd year) of nursing school in August. Here's a few ways I study that I think could be helpful to you.

As far as lectures go, I absolutely record them. I burn them onto CD's or my IPOD and listen to them while I am driving, or any other free moments I get during the day. I also bring my laptop to class. Before class, I prepare for the lecture by reading the assigned text and taking notes on that. I add to these notes during the lecture but type them in a different color to differentiate between my lecture and reading notes.

I find that flash cards are a big help for straight memorization items.

I also schedule my studying and calendar it out. I find with such a busy schedule that this is a big help.

The other big resourse I would recomment and could not do without is an NCLEX review book with a companion CD. The CD allows you to set up a quiz on the subject you choose. So I find that this is really helpful when studying for exams. I can tailor the practice test to suit what I am being tested on. It's really helpful to get into the swing of things. It absolutely prepares you for the style and type of questions that will be asked on your exams in school as well as your NCLEX exam. I use Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination by Linda Anne Silvestri. You can check out other NCLEX review books at http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com/spe...?sid=429&lid=4

Congratulations again! And good luck! Let me know if you have any other questions!

Michelle Willerford
Elsevier Student Ambassador

Last semester I had my first nursing classes, and I pulled off all A's and had some of the highest grades in class. This is all the same advice I gave my classmates when they would ask:

First of all, I tried to read, or at least skim, the required chapters before lecture every week. This way I had an idea of what was going on, and retained information better in class. I employed numerous study resources: the study guide that went with my text and the c.d.s that came with it, too. A book called Test Success, by Nugent and Vitale, was a required book for our course, so I used it alot. We also were required to use MEDS pub for tutorials and practice exams. I think all of those things really helped me get used to the testing style that kills so many students. I also have several NCLEX review books, and I would use them to review the parts we had gone over.

We were required to watch a ton of videos, all on our own time, and I would watch them right before learning a new skill so that I would kind of know what to expect. I practiced LOTS and LOTS. We were required to have 17 hours of skills practice in our lab by the end of the semester; I had over 50. I swear I can do those skills in my sleep!

In our lecture class, everything was presented as a power point, but we did not have anything to print out like alot of people on here, so I would take notes and highlight everything in the book that she went over. Later, I would go through my chapters, and take notes on it in outline form at home. I would write down any questions that came up so I could ask about them later. I would then make note cards of unfamiliar words, tables, values, etc. Anything that I needed to work on memorizing got a card and then I would study those as much as I could. When it came time to review for an exam, I would study my class notes and home notes, the cards, and charts, graphs, and tables the prof. emphasized, and anything else that took more time to learn. I would do practice quizzes from my books, c.d.s, and MEDS pub. when I could. Using a variety of approaches helped me alot.

I didn't do the study group thing alot, because I just study better on my own, but alot of people says it helps them, so you just have to see if that helps you or not.

As far as organization, I used a student planner RELIGOUSLY. I looked at it every day to keep on track, scheduled times when I needed to study or work on an assignment, etc. I also color-coded my classes by highlighting them in different colors, and highlighted the assignments and tests by color (red for exams, finals, return demos; yellow for quizzes and bigger assignments; and green for less important stuff). That way, if I looked ahead and saw something highlighted in red, I knew to make sure and get prepared for it. I know that sounds OCD, but it helped me to stay on top of the gi-normous amount of work we had to do.

I bought a medium-sized binder for each class and put my syllabus, schedules and other important info in the front, and divided the assignment sheets up by modules (we had I, II, and III). Also, about halfway through the semester, I started using index cards to help organize. I would make a card for each week, and write the week number, reading assignments, video assignments, MEDS pub and other assignments due, skills to learn and demonstrate, any quizzes or exams, etc. I would use them to mark my place in the book where I was reading, and change them out at the end of the week. As I finished each assignment, I would check it off on the card, so I could see what was getting done and what was left. It was quite satisfying to check those off!

Anyway, hope that helps! Sorry so long, but all of this stuff really helped me.