Notebook or Flash Cards?

Nursing Students Student Assist

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So I bought my Fundamentals of Nursing book today and was told to start reading specific chapters. I pulled of my brand new notebook and started taking notes...then realized about 2 pages in alot of my notes were definitions and I am a better flash card person then notebook person, but in a notebook I feel that you have all the notes in one place instead of (millions) of flashcards everywhere. What do you NS professionals think? I have been told that there is never enough time to do all of the reading and studying and flash card making and that I may run out of time writting things twice and not get enough studing done. Should I skip the notebook and make flash cards? (I think I may be answering my own questions here). Examples of what I am studing: 6 links in the chain of infectio - systicemia - exogenous nosocmial infections etc. This may sound like basic knowlege to you but to me it sounds like french. Flashcards? Then to make sure I don't loose them put them in zipplock bags and lable by chapter?? Sorry I am rambling..any advice??

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For flash cards, I punch holes in one of the upper corners and put them on binder rings. Keeps them all in one place and easily portable. The only trick is getting the hole in the same place on hundreds of cards - lol -

You can pick up binder rings in different sizes, I use both small and larger ones depending on how many cards I need.

Just a thought - Good luck!

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OOHHH binder rings!!! Great Idea...THANKS!

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when i'm reading for class & studying, i like to make notes as i go along in my reading, & then when i'm preparing for the test, i go back through & make flashcards. for me, taking the most important parts from the book & putting them into notes is important to help me keep focused, & then pulling the most important info from my notes to put on notecards is big for the tests. it really depends on how you learn best. you might be surprised & school might not be as totally & completely overwhelming as people have told you & maybe you'll have enough time to do all of your reading while taking notes & later doing flashcards... at least that's been my experience. good luck to you! :)

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when i'm reading for class & studying, i like to make notes as i go along in my reading, & then when i'm preparing for the test, i go back through & make flashcards.

this is my thought too that is why i started with the notebook...

you might be surprised & school might not be as totally & completely overwhelming as people have told you & maybe you'll have enough time to do all of your reading while taking notes & later doing flashcards... at least that's been my experience. good luck to you! :)

thanks for the assurance...this is what i am hoping for. i think i just need to relax until school starts to see exactly what it will be like for me. today i just got all of my books and i think i got overwhelmed and feel like i am wasting time not memorizing everything. i know i am a nut..at least i can admit it right?? i think i will just read the chapters that i know we will be going over the 1st week and take notes then worry about flash cards when i find out what is going to be on the test. if not i will probably be studing/making flash cards for unnessessary stuff.

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when i'm reading for class & studying, i like to make notes as i go along in my reading, & then when i'm preparing for the test, i go back through & make flashcards.

this is my thought too that is why i started with the notebook...

you might be surprised & school might not be as totally & completely overwhelming as people have told you & maybe you'll have enough time to do all of your reading while taking notes & later doing flashcards... at least that's been my experience. good luck to you! :)

thanks for the assurance...this is what i am hoping for. i think i just need to relax until school starts to see exactly what it will be like for me. today i just got all of my books and i think i got overwhelmed and feel like i am wasting time not memorizing everything. i know i am a nut..at least i can admit it right?? i think i will just read the chapters that i know we will be going over the 1st week and take notes then worry about flash cards when i find out what is going to be on the test. if not i will probably be studing/making flash cards for unnessessary stuff.

that sounds like a good idea. sometimes, too, seeing what the instructors focus on in lectures helps you focus your flashcards more to what might be on the test.

one note about nursing school tests: most of the time it's not rote memorization, it's a lot of application & 'critical thinking' (you'll get that over & over), so it's not always important to memorize every single thing you read, but it is a good idea to get a solid working knowledge of everything that you're reading in order to be able to answer the kinds of questions that they'll ask you on the tests.

it seems like you're really excited about school & motivated to do well. you've obviously got the drive, so i'm sure you'll be fine. :up:

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

I make flashcards on a Word document using Table formatting while I am reading from the book at the computer. Then I have the option of either printing out the pages of the document and putting them in my notebook, or if I want to save some trees I can copy and place the file of flashcards on a flash drive I carry with me that I can use at any school computer. All I have to do is mask out one side of the Table which acts as the back of the card and unmask it to see the "answer" by merely changing the font colors from white to black. When printed out, the page can be folded in half down the middle, pasted together and then the cards cut apart guided by the lines. Here's an example of these flashcards (these are not all nursing related)

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Specializes in pediatrics.

OMG I feel the exact same way. We are to study the same chapters. I am a notebook/flashcard girl myself!! What I am going to do until school starts is write the definitions out on flash cards, hang them on a little ring and carry them around with me. I will read the chapters twice. Once up front then again when I can remember all the definitions. I am saving the notebook until we have had lecture so that I can be sure to include what is important to the teacher and not have a rewritten text in spiral form lol. Good luck to all of us newbies. It is almost time. CAN'T WAIT!!!!

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i make flashcards on a word document using table formatting while i am reading from the book at the computer. then i have the option of either printing out the pages of the document and putting them in my notebook, or if i want to save some trees i can copy and place the file of flashcards on a flash drive i carry with me that i can use at any school computer. all i have to do is mask out one side of the table which acts as the back of the card and unmask it to see the "answer" by merely changing the font colors from white to black. when printed out, the page can be folded in half down the middle, pasted together and then the cards cut apart guided by the lines. here's an example of these flashcards (these are not all nursing related)

i love this idea. love it.

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I have started doing flash cards on my Ipod Touch. You can go to www.flashmybrain.com, they have a program that makes it easy to create your own flashcards. I make different cardsets for each class and I always have them with me in my shirt pocket. Just a thought.

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I think as long as you are reading what you are writing (or typing as the case may be) then you are going to recall the information. I used to spend the week before a test putting my notes into note cards just to write the info down again. Awesome to keep around for the finals as well.

I just thought of a tip that may help organize you info a little. I used to use the objectives in the syllabus to focus my flash cards. You may also notice that there are objectives in the beginnings of the chapters of most of the texts.

Also, pay attention if your teacher adds emphasis to something in class. Most likely it will be on the test. I kept a page on the edge of my desk to jot those things down. or I would put a star next to it in the book for flash cards.

The biggest thing that helped me pass was networking with other students to finish studyguides or to share notes. It was nearly impossible to keep up 4th semester without everyone's help. Study groups are awesome even if you are a solo studier. My friend and I commuted together and we would quiz eachother on the way to class.

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Specializes in O.R. Nursing - ENT, CTC, Vasc..

Notebook.

I love flashcards, but I always use up so much valuable studying time writing them up! I only use them for things I think I need extra concentration on.

I have a way of grouping my notes in my notebook that helps me like flashcards used to.

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