Need some help with learning how to memorize.

Nursing Students Student Assist

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Hey all!

Third semester nursing student here in the middle of a Peds/OB summer semester. I'm finding myself a little overwhelmed but ready to really make sense of all of this new material.

I'm finding that Peds especially is full of material that just needs to be memorized. I am TERRIBLE at memorizing things. If anyone has any pointers, tricks, tips, advice, etc. on how to memorize this material, I would love to hear it!

I'm talking number stuff mostly such as vitals for the different age groups, immunization ages, etc.

And for what it's worth, flash cards really just don't work for me. :unsure:

Thanks in advance!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Oncology.

Quizlet has been a godsend for me. I know you mentioned that you're not great with flashcards, but Quizlet has a few other "games" to help you memorize and match terms. It's got several memorization tools on there, so I definitely recommend checking it out. Good luck!

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.

Figure out what type of learner you are. If flash cards don't work you are not a visual learner. This is the most common type of learner.

I am a kinesthetic learner, I need to have movement, to do, to use my body. I memorize by writing the thing down. Holding the pen, moving my hand, these things help give sensory info which helps me learn. I make flashcards, because writing them helps, but looking at them is secondary and not as helpful.

You might be an auditory learner. Play a tape in your car if you are. This is pretty much useless for me.

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Figure out what type of learner you are. If flash cards don't work you are not a visual learner. This is the most common type of learner.

I am a kinesthetic learner, I need to have movement, to do, to use my body. I memorize by writing the thing down. Holding the pen, moving my hand, these things help give sensory info which helps me learn. I make flashcards, because writing them helps, but looking at them is secondary and not as helpful.

You might be an auditory learner. Play a tape in your car if you are. This is pretty much useless for me.

THIS writing things down is how I memorize.....I make flashcards just because the process of making them helps me....but I rarely use them again....I hand write my notes and I put together a study guide for every exam...the process of making it helps me retain the information....

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This may sound like a strange question but do you type your notes in class? I did that for a while when I was in school and learned I did better if I hand wrote everything. And sometimes I would rewrite my notes. That helped me a lot.

Also, get to the point where you can teach the info to someone else. It will help tremendously!

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This may sound like a strange question but do you type your notes in class? I did that for a while when I was in school and learned I did better if I hand wrote everything. And sometimes I would rewrite my notes. That helped me a lot.

Also, get to the point where you can teach the info to someone else. It will help tremendously!

I got a great grade in a course I expected to barely squeak by in by pure happenstance: I had a baby six weeks before school started. I was breastfeeding, so I brought her to class for the first three months. (After that she wouldn't just nurse and sleep; she got too alert to sit in a lecture.)(said baby had her own daughter in the middle of a joint MAT-PhD degree in physics, LOL)

Anyway, planning ahead in case she was crying and I had to step out, I got a tape recorder and taped the lectures . I limited my note-taking (baby at left breast, writing with right hand) to reproducing slides or graphs on the screen and a very few actual notes. Then at night when the baby was asleep I transcribed the lecture leaving space on the pages for the slides and my other illustrations, and then drew them in. At the end of the semester I had the whole course in a three-ring notebook and it was largely in my head as well.

And there is absolutely nothing to make you learn something well than having to teach it! Teach each other things in study group; draw topics out of a hat for 10 minutes explanation. You'll be glad you did.

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Thanks guys for the great recommendations!!

I'm definitely a kinesthetic/visual learner so just making outlines and such seems to help more than actually using them to study.

I do type notes in class but then I print them out and supplement them with the book by hand. My binder is always a work in progress. :wacky:

First OB exam is tomorrow morning and I plan to kill it!! ;)

Also, something new for me this semester is using a white board. I use lots of colors and pretend like I'm teaching the material in a lecture. Usually it's either my empty desk chair listening but sometimes the cat learns something.

I keep my notes with me to make sure I'm right but talking it out like a lecture seems to really help as well.

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