Help

[iwanttobeanurse101]

Not sure if i should post this here or not BUT, I am in desperate need of some advice..... I am currently in an Lpn program and we are currently takeing a 100 hour A & P course and i am passing with all 80's and above but i was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how I can study for better retention of the material... I read my chapeters before we go over them in class and take notes during class. I study my self to death and feel like I should do better than just 82- 84 on my tests. and ideas would be appreciated. it seems when i take my test that i have studied the wrong material. Is there a good way to know what material the instructor is going to use..... she doesn't give study guides and time is of the essence as we cover a chapeter one day and test the next we've been in school almost 2 1/2 weeks and I'm scared that when it's time for finals i'm gonna bomb it.. this is my dream and i don't want to flub it up as i said ANY IDEALS are greatly appreciated.. Rebecca

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

can you tell from what is on the tests and what the instructor lectures on which information she considers to be the most important? some instructors focus their lectures on what they think is the most important information and that is 80% to 95% of the questions they ask on the test. this is based on their real world experience in nursing. those of us that have been nurses and worked with patients have our own perceptions about what subjects within anatomy are going to be more important for a future nurse to know. an experienced nurse is going to pay more detail to that in their lectures. then your class notes become important, or at least you need to pay attention to what the instructor focuses her lectures on. i would sit in class with my textbooks open (having read the chapter the night before) and highlight or someway mark the areas the instructor was covering in lecture and scribble information in the margins that was being given that wasn't in the textbook. the other 5% to 20% of the questions on the test might come from the textbook or references on the syllabus that weren't covered in lecture to see if students are reading--those people deserve the higher grades for putting in the effort. that's what i did when i was an instructor.

something else you can do is read other a&p authors and what they have to say about the same material you are covering as you go through each chapter of your textbook. sometimes reading how another person presents the same material, or just reading it a different way for the third or fourth time turns a light bulb on for you. you can find a list of weblinks to a bunch of a&p sites on post #45 of this sticky thread on this forum: https://allnurses.com/forums/f205/pathophysiology-p-fluid-electrolyte-resources-145201.html - pathophysiology/ a & p/ microbiology/ fluid & electrolyte resources

hang in there! and best of luck.

[WonderRN]

Have you thought of tape-recording the lectures? This will help you remember what the instructor focused on in class. I would also recopy your notes in outline format within twenty-four hours of your lecture, using the recordings to fill in the gaps. Listen to the recordings in the car ride to and from school. Good luck!