Who knows a great way to study for a cumulative medsurg exam?!?!?

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 22, 2013

It is common to get cumulative exams to prepare you for your final cumulative exam....NCLEX. Nursing is unusual in that we need to retain everything we learn. It has been a long time since I was in school but I would study my notes....many students now go over NCLEX questions...good luck!

4boysmama · May 22, 2013

our med-surg final was cumulative as well; I went over my notes and brain sheets (before each exam during the semester, I did a one page "most important stuff to know" for that exam - this was incredibly helpful in studying for the final!!!) and also reviewed Kaplan's Basics text and the Med-Surg Made Incredibly Easy book.

Stephalump · May 22, 2013

I think it would be kind of weird to not have a cumulative exam, since we're supposed to be getting ready for the NCLEX. Every semester we take the HESI, which is cumulative for every single semester we've had. It's brutal, but I guess it keeps us fresh :)

Anyway, I don't have any great advice because I hate studying for cumulative finals. We cover so much information that there's no way to study if all in the 10 days we have to get ready.

So I have to prioritize. I make a list of things we covered in order of how confident I am with the material and work my way from weakest to strongest. I try to use review books like Saunders so I'm just getting a memory jog instead of trying to re-read all of the material. And I do practice questions out the wazoo.

ER(notso)n00b, ASN, RN · May 22, 2013

All of my nursing classes have had a cumulative final at the end, and we usually have 1-3 days after the last exam to prepare for it. I'll be honest, I don't (won't) put myself through that stress so I do not study for finals. I stress enough before every regular exam and I figure if I don't know it by the final, I did something wrong during the course. My final exam grade is usually reflective of my class average anyway. I guess my point is, relax because it's all review. :)

rubato, ASN, RN · May 22, 2013

I pull out all my power points and study those. I have added notes to them from lecture and from the book. I prioritize according to what I need to go over the most, start with that, and just bust it out! 94-96% on my finals every time.

theoj7 · May 23, 2013

Thank you everybody I'm about to apply some of these things. I got some great advice but the one I get the most is relax lol

springchick1, ADN, RN · May 23, 2013

All of our finals are cumulative. I try and study the stuff that my instructors make a big deal about and emphasized repeatedly in class. Also, if there were certain things that the majority of the class missed, it seems to end up on our finals. Hope this helps.