Can someone explain how a study group is at all effective?

Lajimolala, BSN, RN, NP · Jan 26, 2011

I don't think it is about how superior one way of studying is to another. Nursing material is VASTLY different from prereq materials. And not only is it very different, but there's a WHOLE lot of it also! I think one nursing class equals the load of three prereq classes. How can you possibly remember 200 pages worth of textbook?

For me, I use both study methods. I study independently all that I can understand on my own. Once I pretty much feel like i can almost lecture on it, then my friends and I will meet up and discuss each topic in detail. You will be AMAZED at what material you misunderstood, and how well your friends can explain something differently from the instructor that makes it all crystal clear now.

Also the classmates you had in prereq classes are NOT the same nursing classmates, at least for me it isn't. My program is extremely difficult to get into and basically the cream of the crop got in. Needless to say, we can have up tp ten people in a study session and still remain focused. Would I ever do that in say, Anatomy or OChem? Heck no! So it also has to do with the personalities in the study group as well.

I can tell you from two years of nursing school under my belt that I have gotten at least 2-5 questions right with each exam just from study groups alone. Something may not seem so important to you, but someone in your group may have emphasized minutes before the test, and bam! A point you would have otherwise missed. It really is worth a shot. But you have to go about it the right way. Good luck!

JROregon, ASN, BSN, RN · Jan 26, 2011

I haven't used a study group and have done just fine. I've always thought that I could make the most of my time studying for tests alone. I think it is helpful to look at other students' papers to if I need to improve in an area. I also like group discussions having to do with clinicals. If you go to a study group, you should always prepare ahead of time. I don't believe it is ever a good idea to split up the work because the person who doesn't study a particular area, won't have much understanding during the test. Know that your test questions will likely have more to do with how well you read and understand and less to do with rote memorization.

This · Jan 26, 2011

Study groups can sometimes reward what you put into them, other times they can indeed be distracting. I approach a well-organized group study as a compliment to come after self-review. I try to apply what I learn and teach it in my own words to my classmates, and if I am struggling with a concept, or to be honest, if I find a subject to be intolerably boring, I ask my classmates how they remember it. Although it has led to some interesting digressions (such as the rational for pregnancy tests on hospital admission: To determine if conception was nosocomial ^_^), on the whole I find that if I can teach a concept to a peer, then my recall is more dynamic. Captain obvious here I know, but it really does stand to reason. Nursing involves a great deal of face-to-face intervention and education, there is no better opportunity to practice and study at the same time.

Also, one odd fact is that study groups provide an opportunity to learn concepts in a variety of environments, whether its a lame hipster cafe, a towering library, or next to the tech nerds in the AV room at your local academic institution. Studies have shown that we form tertiary associations of concepts to physical environments. Think about a physiological concept, and now remember why you remember it. I remember the subtleties between blood types and diseases in part because that day they double booked our classroom and we held lecture in a foreign lab. Something interesting to consider.

lilredrn · Jan 26, 2011

In the first quarter of nursing school, I tried a study group of 5-6 people. We split up the objectives & met to discuss them. It was a huge time waster. There was so much arguing and honestly, I felt the least prepared during that time. I quit and studied on my own for awhile. During second year, I developed a really good friendship with one gal who was more in depth than I was. We decided to split the objectives in half and email them to each other & we always studied together, quizzing each other and walking around campus. *sigh* I miss her. You have to find people that take their education as seriously as you do, that you trust and won't waste time bickering with you.

Good Luck!

metricalpound · Jan 26, 2011

It's just a different way to study.

I've never used study groups before taking nursing classes and I have over 180 credits so I know that I'm pretty much good to go being a lone wolf. However, when I started my first semester of nursing there was a rumor that if by chance you failed your first semester and you were going to school sponsored study groups, there was a greater chance that they would accept you back in the next semester for one more try.

So I heard how hard nursing was and made sure that I was in each and every study group. And it did pay off. Like someone mentioned earlier, there are things that people bring up during the study groups that the teacher just breezed through in class and is hardly mentioned in class but end up being on the test - it's the small details that get ironed out. Due to the study group, I probably got an extra 5 questions right on my tests which were out of 50.

Plus it doesn't hurt to bounce nclex questions off of each other. =D

stefanyjoy · Jan 26, 2011

Good post, I've always wondered this myself. I do well with one-on-one studying, but an entire group would be very distracting to me. I share a lab group with three other people, and while we are all serious about our studies, it does turn into a gigglefest most of the time.

DayDreamin ER CRNP · Jan 26, 2011

A group environment won't work for everyone. All I can tell you is that it works for me.

I NEED some accountability and focus that small group can give me. If left to my own devices, my ADD kicks into overdrive. Laundry, email, pulling weeds in my yard. You get the idea. With a group, I stay more on track and I get more done in the time we have. I am not one to read every word in the books. In fact, I could barely get through a section of reading.

I also enjoy talking things through. Most of our teachers give us pretty good study guides before tests. Our first year / semester of classes, we had 3-4 in our group. We would split up the study guides and would each answer our topics in pretty good depth. Not down to the most finite degree but at least a paragraph on each. We would get together a day or two before the test and teach each other the topic we had. It was great because we each had a different way to way to explain things and it really helped to learn the material.

We would take breaks and recharge and we really got a lot done most of the time.

The other thing I enjoy about groups is that it does help build bonds and relationships which helps make nursing school a little easier to endure. We shared each others' failures and successes and we also helped build each other up when she needed it.

I ::heart:: my study buddies!

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myty23 · Jan 26, 2011

Honestly, I never got out of a study group what I wanted. I found that studying on my own is most effective. I tried a couple of times and it never worked. The first time, everyone seemed to be on a power trip and some people wanted to control the whole thing and be the only ones who talked and knew the answers, etc and there was lot of "cattiness" that was going on too...the 2nd time was with my group of friends in nursing school and we are all still friends now, but we just can't study together. We would talk way too much and just got distracted really easily. Also, I tend to study ahead of time a lot and none of them really seemed to. They would come to the group not having read anything yet at all and it was hard for me because I wanted to talk about the material that I studied and it just didn't work. But I was blessed to have found some great friends and I like that better anyways. So you study the way you need to, if a group environment doesn't work for you there is nothing wrong with that.

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Jan 26, 2011

It really all boils down to how you study. For some, study groups are very effective; for others, not so much. For me, study groups are a distraction and nothing gets done, so I prefer to study on my own.

llg, PhD, RN · Jan 26, 2011

I was in school a long time ago -- but have spent a lot of student time as I went to nursing school 3 times, BSN, MSN, PhD.

I never found study groups to be helpful. Most of the time, I ended up investing a lot of time explaining things to my classmates, but getting very little benefit in return.

However ... I have found it helpful to have some friends I could discuss things with ocassionally. I usually had a circle of friends who had "found each other" and respected each other. We would call each other when we were stuck or when we needed a fresh perspective on a troublesome topic. Sometimes, we met for lunch or for a snack to talk about course issues. But we each did most of our work independently and just called on each other ocassionally, as needed.

CuriousMe · Jan 26, 2011

I learn the material on my own, but then get together with a small group. Many of us were big in to making our own flash cards, so we'd go through all our different sets, then go through NCLEX questions together.

For me, the value was finding out what I didn't know I didn't know....before the exam.