Hanging onto an extremely thin line right now.

Silas · Oct 20, 2009

I have ZERO motivation to study where I live. I HAVE to go to the library and I've just accepted it. Find a special place where all you do is study w/o distractions and focus on getting work done as soon as possible. The further along I get, the less time I have for lame things to pile up. They are going to do everything they possibly can to make you the best nurse possible, and it is a lot of tough love. Hope this is enough before I lock myself in the library! :)

Remember Finding Nemo? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming

nneokill175 · Oct 20, 2009

lol, i had a fun time reading everyones comment. it had definitely cheer me up a bit. lets hope i can put all of these words into actions and perform

futurernkatie · Oct 20, 2009

i have found that studying with a small, focused group of people helps. Sometimes if you dont understand something and they do, they can explain it in a way that makes it click for you. Also I agree that you really should start studying a little earlier...dont get me wrong i can be easily swayed from studying..but you just have to make yourself. maybe if you try to break it down, i have started doing one topic per day, keep looking at that one topic until you understand it, then the next day move on to the next. also, ask the teachers for help..if they are anything like mine they are MORE than willing to help you out...that is why they chose that profession.

I hope this will help a little. I wish you all the luck!

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Oct 20, 2009

Hey guys, just want to start off by saying this forum have been extremely helpful to me in the past and the present. My problem is for the past 2 exams that I had, i passed with "just enough" score. No exaggeration, i passed the 2 exams with .01 high than the failing grade.
Here is the summary of my programs grading works. There are four main exams in lecture and it is 75% of your whole grade. So far i have had 2 lecture exams, and passed exactly on the dot. There will be 2 more lecture exams and 1 final exam, which is 20% of the whole entire grade.
My problem is, for some reason i can not hit the books until the last 2-3 days before the exam. I am really trying to fix this because i know if i start studying 2 days earlier i can definitely hit a higher grade. I have my 3rd lecture exam coming in 3 weeks. I want to know how hard is the final accumulated exam usually is. I need some kind of motivation, that i cant seem to find. I need some valid studying methods, which is something ive been running around blindly with. And before anyone starts telling to drop it, i just want you to know i am not dropping it no matter what. I have been in situations like this before and i have gotten out of out of it with successful outcomes.
What i want from you guys is that, is there anything you guys can post to help me see things more clear? A motivation post, a studying method post, an experienced post(my situation happened to you and youd like to share how you got past it.), or simply a post to help me see the light?
Thank you for reading, after i realized how much of a thin line i was on today, i was got really scared.

I haven't read the other posts yet so not sure if I am repeating anything but here is some inspiration. I started off well in Nursing school, better then in my pre reqs, I wasn't getting A's (well nursing A's) but I was getting High B's. Then I started slacking off and procrastinating and not studying until night before, my next 2 fundamentals exams I got C's on. Like close to the cut off C's. This freaked me out and for the next exam I told myself I would do better. I focused a lot more and on my next exam I got a 95% so a nursing A. I only missed 2 of the 40 questions. Would have been 1 if I stuck to my gut. Now my overall grade is back up again and I swore to myself I would not sit so close to the line again.

My problem is I suck at studying. I never had to in HS, or non science classes and I get so bored when I study. I went to our learning center and took these tests to see what type of studier I am. Those helped tremendously. You have made the greatest step and that is recognizing you are not working up to your potential and attempting to fix it now.

Go find out what type of learner you are so you can find a way that works for you. Try to study a little bit each night (I really need to take my own advice LOL) don't study the stuff you know well, study the stuff you don't get, we tend to review the stuff we know instead because it makes us feel confident and it's comfortable.

Ok that's all I got LOL

CuriousMe · Oct 20, 2009

I would change your focus. Instead of thinking that you need to study for the exam, focus on studying after each lecture. So, write down a study session either later the same day from or the day after your lecture and focus on really learning everything that was taught in that lecture.

Be specific, don't just write, "Study Time" in your calendar, detail out what concepts you're going to be working on and will have down by the end of the study period. Then, 15 minutes before you're done, put away all your books, take out a blank sheet of paper and then write down everything you just learned in the past study session.

At least for our exams, there's to much material to cover two days before the exam, but if you reinforces it bit by bit...then the two days before the exam you're reviewing....not learning.

nneokill175 · Oct 20, 2009

thank you all so much, you all have helped tremendously! i will put all of your advices and stories in consideration

when i graduate from my nursing program next year, i will keep on remembering all your advices!

morningland · Oct 20, 2009

I don't waste time reading the hudreads of text pages assigned to us. Instead, I record my lectures, take notes in class and then go home, re-listen to the lecture, re-fine my notes and then drill that information into my head. Then I read the book but focus on the topics discussed in class and I take notes on the book so I can go back and re-read them later. It really helped me on the last test and It actually takes less time.

morningland · Oct 20, 2009

Maybe it's me but I found the math tests EXTREAMLY EASY. I just had my first one and I was 10/10 and I questioned my answers cause many of them could be eaisly done in your head. But people still failed miserably but when I asked all of them "did you study the dose calc books" they all said "no". My school allows you 2 extra retakes before you are gone... sounds like the other schools are harder

nneokill175 · Oct 20, 2009

yea, my program assigns 2-6 chapters of reading a week... i read 10 chapters the first week, and i really hated it so i stopped reading and instead do the study guides. I now try to find different study methods to help improve my material absorbtion skill. i do study guides they give us and i listen to audio lecture. but as said above, my biggest enemy is procrastination. i hate it.

the problems were very easy indeed, the thing that made it hard for us was they that the program wanted us to do everything their way, set up the equation how to solve it, show them the work step-by step as they taught us. i got a 9/10 because i didnt set one of the problem correctly... i had no problems getting the answers without the need of a calculator.

matchsticktgt, LPN · Oct 21, 2009

I only read the first few responses - so please forgive me if someone has already suggested this: you need to study some EACH DAY - that's right - at least a little bit each day. If you do, then you will retain more and be able to apply it as the courses get progressively harder, and each progressive course builds on the former one. Studying for nursing school is completely different than any other thing you have ever studied for, and the NCLEX is unlike any other test - the way the questions are phrased, and the mindset required to answer correctly is not what you are accustomed to.