Borderline....

pmabraham, BSN, RN · May 21, 2016

You are not alone. You are not alone. The 1st and 3rd semester in our school is the hardest. During our orientation, we were specifically told "remember why you want to become a nurse." Revisit that thought process often.

I found the following two videos extremely helpful:

and

Doing NCLEX style questions on the material you will be tested on, starting those early, and doing them often tends to be helpful. Learn concepts rather than pure memorization.

Also, anytime one does poorly on an exam, promptly see the professor to go over the exam, one's thought process for reading the question and answer selection, along with notes taken.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · May 21, 2016

You are doing too much. There is a fine line between doing too little and too much. Trying to read every word is too much. You need to learn how to read efficiently and pick out what is important. Look at Power Points and cross reference with the reading.

Study better, not harder.

al-sheikhh · May 21, 2016

You are doing too much. There is a fine line between doing too little and too much. Trying to read every word is too much. You need to learn how to read efficiently and pick out what is important. Look at Power Points and cross reference with the reading.
Study better, not harder.

That's my question, how? I don't how to study for nursing school and the way I was doing it before ruined me

direw0lf, BSN · May 23, 2016

Just wanted to offer some encouragement. It does get easier to take those nclex style questions. At first I got so frustrated. Either I overthought the answer choices, or didn't think them through enough; BUT the more you take them, EVEN if you don't think so at first, there will come a time where you think "Hum. I AM getting better at this." Keep doing them but make sure you are doing ones that give the rationales too. I just found these questions and like the practice mode here http://www.nursebuff.com/2016/05/nclex-review-questions/

For the reading/notes for me it was about finding the key words and most important info. Ok for example say you are reading about Hodgkin's lymphoma (I just did this in patho) so write down a brief summary of what it is using keywords so for this example it would be b-lymphocytes, reed sternberg cells. Then write categories: Pathophysiology, etiology, symptoms, diagnosis method, treatment, and any special nursing considerations. In those categories I just write brief bullet points.

HTH

al-sheikhh · May 26, 2016

Just wanted to offer some encouragement. It does get easier to take those nclex style questions. At first I got so frustrated. Either I overthought the answer choices, or didn't think them through enough; BUT the more you take them, EVEN if you don't think so at first, there will come a time where you think "Hum. I AM getting better at this." Keep doing them but make sure you are doing ones that give the rationales too. I just found these questions and like the practice mode here NCLEX Review Questions — Test Yourself! (Parts 1-4) | NurseBuff
For the reading/notes for me it was about finding the key words and most important info. Ok for example say you are reading about Hodgkin's lymphoma (I just did this in patho) so write down a brief summary of what it is using keywords so for this example it would be b-lymphocytes, reed sternberg cells. Then write categories: Pathophysiology, etiology, symptoms, diagnosis method, treatment, and any special nursing considerations. In those categories I just write brief bullet points.
HTH

Thank you so much! I will try this! This summer I am doing practice questions every day!

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · May 26, 2016

There is no magic way to study. Ask your fellow students who are doing well. Experiment and see what happens. I had to study a ton and often studied 7 days a week 8 hours a day. I would take a day here and there, but basically I had to grind it out. Some study less and do fine.

barcode120x, RN, NP · May 26, 2016

The motto for my class was, "C = RN" and it's true and we all kept it to heart. As long as you pass each class, you should be grateful and move onto the next. For some, there may always be that one class that was terrible, for me it was peds, but I made it through barely passing. Try not to get so caught up in low scores. I know it's hard to in nursing school, I was there too, but what's done is done, study harder for the next test and learn from your mistakes.

As mentioned in many other topics regarding how to study for nursing school, it was quite simple for me. I read each chapter at least 3 times, with highlights and added notes. During lecture, I had my book opened and went along. In addition to that, I always went to 2-3 study groups a week.

BICU_RN2016 · May 26, 2016

I found that Youtube videos have been a saving grace for me. For example, you can find Youtube videos that break down ABG's, certain diseases and their etiologies, and things like V/Q mismatch, shunting, etc. I agree with the above posters, reading every single word has proven to be ineffective (at least for me, I am in an accelerated program). I record the lectures, listen to them in the car, watch Youtube videos on the subjects that we'll be testing on that week, and skim the powerpoint slides that the instructors post. Does your program have you doing any practice NCLEX style questions? My program has us using HESI and it was really hard at first, but like mentioned above, it's getting easier.

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · May 26, 2016

I have found that taking notes on paper instead of on the laptop helps a ton. Also, don't try to read everything.