Help with anything for nursing school

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I went to WVNCC for 2 semesters and wasn't successful in last one. I was going to transfer to WVUP. But the credit hours are different am I going to have a problem with.WVNCC was 3 cr. hours and WVUP is 9 hrs. Sometimes I feel nursing is not for me I just cant figure out what I'm doing wrong. Any advice on studying. I always used flash cards but they didn't seem to work this time. Do you really have to read all those chapter?:confused:

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How do you make flashcards if you don't read the chapters?

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My BEST and ONLY study advice is to read the chapters. Your reading is the basis of your lectures, and it's where your test questions come from. I think every student gets overwhelmed w/ the reading material. Making flashcards is wonderful and I use them myself. But making them is busy work. Busy work gets you nowhere. Unless your are studying from the flashcards over and over, they can be a waste of time. I suggest reading your chapters, highlighting info from lectures and making notecards from the areas you have a hard time w/.

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Yes,yes,yes you REALLY have to read all the chapters to pass nursing school. After reading and highlighting was when I made my flashcards. However there were times when I cheat readed by reading the clinical companion over the text, but that was only if I understood the material sorta kinda. If I was clueless I read the text.

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How do you make flashcards if you don't read the chapters?

I used handouts from the nursing instructors and notes from lectures and powerpoints. Some fellow students say they read others say they never have read and pass with good grades.

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My BEST and ONLY study advice is to read the chapters. Your reading is the basis of your lectures, and it's where your test questions come from. I think every student gets overwhelmed w/ the reading material. Making flashcards is wonderful and I use them myself. But making them is busy work. Busy work gets you nowhere. Unless your are studying from the flashcards over and over, they can be a waste of time. I suggest reading your chapters, highlighting info from lectures and making notecards from the areas you have a hard time w/.

I just feel using flash cards I'm trying to memorize and I know you have to learn it not memorize it. Just when I read I seem not to comphrehend what Ijust read. I know the questions are different but how do you ever learn how to answer them?

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I just feel using flash cards I'm trying to memorize and I know you have to learn it not memorize it. Just when I read I seem not to comphrehend what Ijust read. I know the questions are different but how do you ever learn how to answer them?

That is why you are having a hard time answering the questions correctly. You can't memorize anymore. Nursing is application. You have to put yourself into the question. If you are having a hard time w/ comprehension, I would suggest a NE tutor.

I too sometimes have a hard time comprehending all that info. Sometimes, I read a paragragh 3-4 times just to grasp concepts. If that doesn't work, I mark the page and move onto something else. I come back to that page, read again and that usually works. If it doesn't, there is usually an outside influence affecting my studying, like being exhausted, lol! You should ALWAYS be able to ask your instructor to clarify the readings you are unclear of. Study groups may be a wonderful idea for you as well. Members of your group may help you comprehend. Maybe your are a auditory learner, thus the group being a tremendous force for you.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

The more ways you expose your brain to the material, the better your comprehension and retention are going to be. So yes, you do need to read the chapters. Then do the review questions at the back. Then look at the CD that probably came with your book and do some of the tutorials on it. Then find a video on the subject matter on youtube or at your school library, or a computer program in your school's computer lab. Review your class notes; maybe even make a recording of yourself reading them aloud and listen to it while you work out or drive or take baths or whatever. Utilize a study group and assign each of you a different section of the chapter to 'teach" each other. Study the subject matter in an NCLEX review book. Buy the workbook that goes with your textbook and do the chapter exercises in there. Any or all of these things can help you understand and retain the material. No way are flashcards ever going to be enough. You need to do a minimum of three of these things to truly know the material in long term memory.

It is good you recognize why you are failing. Now accept that this is absolutely going to rule your life until you have graduated and do what needs doing - which is nothing but good old fashion personal discipline when it comes to studying. I know you can do it. It is just a matter of choice.

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It might be really critical of me to say but to really think you can get by with decent grades by not reading the material is an ignorant position to take. This applies to any degree, not just nursing. This isn't high school, you have to discipline yourself to read through it. Flash cards have their uses but you can't just depend on them.

Good luck..

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I no longer read every single page assigned and I've been getting As in med surg since I stopped trying to read every single page. Does that mean I don't read the material important to what I'm studying? Absolutely not! - Sometimes the textbook just goes into so much detail that it can be easy to get bogged down. You read for hours and hours and still don't know what you really need to know. OK, not everyone might go through that but thats what was happening for me. So I found other resources to learn the material. The Saunders guide is excellent as well The Reviews and Rationales Series, The Made Easy Series and fast becoming one of my faves is the Manual of Medical Surgical Nursing Care. Fantastic book. I look over the tables and charts in my text book but my readings tend to come from sources other than the text book. If you get bogged down by your textbook, find other resources that get straight to the point. I really love the Manual of Medical Surgical Nursing Care. Not only do I use it to study but its small enough for me to take to clinicals.

I know this thread is old, but I think this is a common scenario with people that fail out of 2nd semester- if second semester is med surg. I think its not how much you read that is important for med surg, but understanding how to study and what you need to know and of course doing as many practice questions as you can.

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