Help!!! Study Tips Needed

BrendanO, MSN, RN · Sep 26, 2016

What are the classes you're in now? When you say you're not retaining the information, do you mean you literally can't remember it, or you don't know how to apply it?

2018 RN · Sep 26, 2016

I am currently taking Fundamentals of Nursing and Physical Assessment.

as far as "retaining," I find it hard to recall information that I have studied. When I try to do practice questions I will know I have read about it but end up answering wrong because I confuse it with something else.

Zooey72 · Sep 26, 2016

I am older too, kicked but on my pre-reqs (straight A's with 1 B+). Got into nursing school and bombed my first test. That was quite disheartening, but I learned from it and just took my last test and got a B. On my first test I studied like crazy, and kept getting stuck on (what I think are stupid points).

Things like "what is caring", "what is a concept"... so I memorized a bunch of garbage from the book. It is not like everyone doesn't know what these things are, but I have taken enough tests to know that I have to regurgitate what YOU think these things are. I have a history degree and dates and events is how I learned than, and memorizing got me A's in A&P so I went with what I knew. That's not to say that I didn't know the concepts, but the 'sliding filament theory' will not change and there is only one right answer to any question about it when asked.

Unlike you, I love flashcards and use them often. I used them when I studied for my second test, but I wrote them much differently. I had figured out from my first flop that me regurgitating info was not going to get it done, and that concepts and prioritizing was what was important.

When I was studying a concept I did not try to memorize what it said, or even what they wanted me to do from it (in terms of outright memorization). I thought about what was written, and what they were trying to convey and I used something in my life that could help me remember.

An example what I thought of for the Nursing Process was a scene from "Saving Private Ryan", where the medic gets blown to hell. That scene was all about nursing because none of them were able to care for him, the medic assessed (where am I hit, is one hole bigger than the other?), diagnosed (it is my liver), Planned (I could use some morphine) Implemented (they gave him morphine). Outcome and evaluation is kind of subjective in the terms of the movie so I will leave off there.

Anyhow, I used "Saving Private Ryan" as an example because most people have seen the movie. However the majority of my flashcards would state what was written in the book, but than stuff like "Remember when uncle doug had his surgery done", or "this is kind of like baking a cake". The cards are useless to anyone outside of me, but to me they helped me retain a lot.

2018 RN · Sep 27, 2016

Thank you!

i will keep that in mind as I study for this upcoming test.

nurse2berica · Sep 27, 2016

I was an older student when I began my nursing program - 46 to be exact - and working full time plus family obligations. I had to learn a new way of learning and organizing my life.

Study tips:

1) Study every single night. You cannot retain the information if cramming for a test.

2) After each class, I read over my notes adding detail from the text. Typically what is covered in class is testable.

3) I walked around reciting the information while reading it. It added muscle memory.

4) record the instructor if you can and listen again while driving, cooking, vacuuming, etc.

Study groups did not work for me but working one on one with others in the class who were struggling. By teaching someone else, it added a lot to my understanding.

Hope this helps!

Erica