I am so frustrated and anxious how do I study physio?

jmuhammad10 · Oct 20, 2014

If I may humbly suggest that you work at bringing your anxiety levels down. If I understand you correctly, you are not yet in the nursing program. From my experience and watching the experiences of others, you will not make it through the nursing program with your current level of stress and anxiety.

I teach pathophysiology to entry level nursing students. It is a lot of information. However, most students do not know how to properly synthesize the materials. Going through all of the motions you have articulated sounds good. However, you have several things working against you: 1. Anxiety and fear from the previous unsuccessful physiology class that is hindering your abilities in this current class - you may not be giving yourself permission to be successful; 2. it seems like you are trying to memorize everything; and 3. It seems as though you are not spending time reflecting and making connections with the information versus just reading and re-reading the information. I usually suggest to my students that the root of the alterations will stem from the role/purpose of the system, I.e., what is the role of the cardio system? How is it suppose to function? Thus, an alteration will do what? So what does that look like? How would the patient respond? How do we know for sure that we are looking at a cardio alteration - what LABs or diagnostic tests should we run to confirm? What can we do medically or with nursing skills to support the patient's return to health?

You may want to google "how to study"; there's several sites that make solid suggestions on how to study in relation to your course's predetermined course objectives and learning objectives. The objectives should direct your study. Ideally it is what your instructor will use as the basis for your evaluations.

I hope this helps. Know that you can do this - after all, it's not rocket science - smile.

dorkypanda · Oct 20, 2014

sounds like you're stressed out. On days where you seem burnt out, dumping more info at once into your brain won't stick too much.. relax! If you can't focus at home, bring study materials with you to read at a local library ?

physio requires a lot of reading, so try to read often. it is a good thing that you pause your reading and ask what's going on.

How much time passes by before you actually start listening to the recorded lecture? I think it helps that whenever you get home from class you take a mini food break and start listening to the recording and take down some notes. after that go through your notes again and if something piques you, star it. I do this to indicate if I'd like to further research for details on this or ask the professor for clarification.

Physio takes time to understand concepts. exams are kind of like applied knowledge. You should go through questions more carefully, understanding what it is saying and asking for. We sometime read too fast and assume we know what it wants but get the wrong answer because of a lack of real understanding.

i can't say much about your classmate who got the B because details of her study habits aren't well known, saying she doesn't study much is not a study habit. What I can say is, maybe, she actually understands the concepts and can apply it well come test day. what matters is if you get the material and can see it in different angles.

Have you reviewed your exam questions and gone through answers with the professor before? it help talking to them about it. I think this may be beneficial for you or anyone else regardless of what their exam score was because you'd like to know why your answer is wrong and why the correct answer is right.

If you have trouble understanding concepts, I think you better reach out to your professor for help ASAP. you need to find out what you don't understand and tell your professor. there is no one else who dictates what will be on the exam than them. you need to have clarifications to your confusion before you start ramming in too much information.

don't sweat your C, there's more exams to come your way. it's in the past now, and you can't change that. you must strive forward for a better outcome.

good luck in physio:bookworm:

funsizedprenurse · Oct 20, 2014

Thank you everyone. I guess I had a moment there. I tend to overthink because I've had people repeated tell me having a C in any pre-req will not get you into a nursing program. Many have told me this and it just makes me wonder if it is true? I'm finding ways to cope with my test anxiety and I will write a list to keep in my pocket telling myself everything will be okay (a classmate suggest me this)

I am going to speak with my professor today because there are things I need to clarify between the book and his notes.

SummerWertz · Oct 20, 2014

First off, breathe. If you allow yourself to get anxious you're going to psych yourself out and continue to do poorly. I think you have some good study habits, but maybe they're not working for you. Have you gone to the professor and asked what you could do to better master the material? Frankly we all have classes and moments like this. I made an A on my first orgo test and an F on the second after I had studied, got a tutor, gone to office hours etc. One bad test isn't the end of the world. You still have time to redeem your grade as long as you don't let anxiety determine your grade. There is such a thing as over studying and if you go into a test thinking you will fail it, you probably will. Give yourself some credit and relax. Certain classes come easier to others. You'll just have to work harder. But even if you do come out with a bad grade it's not the end of the world. There is more than one way to become a nurse, and even if a program doesn't accept you there is one out there that will. Never give up if it's your dream. Not everyone is good at tests. All we can do is try our best and don't ever let one bad grade determine your intelligence or self worth.

dorkypanda · Oct 20, 2014

having one C in a prereq especially the sciences, it may be bad if you were looking to apply directly to a BSN program since it brings down the GPA of the sciences.

however, like the other poster said it's not the end of all things. you could do associates first then do the bridge program.

GoodnessFlows · Oct 20, 2014

I really like what jmuhammad10 had to say. Also, I am happy to hear that you are meeting with your professor. I am also in physio and it is one of my toughest classes thus far. Have your professor walk through your exam with you. You may find that you know a lot more than what you are giving yourself credit for. I met with my professor after my first exam after receiving a C+. The exercise of walking through the questions that I missed was SO powerful. First off, I realized I knew several answers, but marked them wrong on my answer sheet. I found that I was either not paying attention when I filled in my test, OR I rushed through the questions which caused me to pick the wrong answer. For many questions, I knew the answer while going through the questions with my professor, but I wasn't paying attention to what was being asked of me during the test. I was shocked at how many I missed due to not paying attention to what was being asked. The first thing my professor asked me was if I struggle with anxiety, and in fact I do. He could tell that I knew the material, and for the most part my text anxiety was standing in the way. The act of working through and evaluating my performance on the first test, dramatically reduced my anxiety for the second test and I received a high B. I also feel like I am a better student, because I now see where my shortcomings are.

Also, remember that physio is not anatomy. You can't simply memorize everything. Our tests are extremely difficult and conceptual, and memorizing concepts does not go deep enough for physio. You have to understand the why.

Good luck and I hope your meeting with your professor goes well!