How can I study?

FDW630 · Sep 16, 2012

Hi! I am also in fundamentals (or intro as our school calls it) and we are also using potter and perry. We had our first exam yesterday and it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I had the same issue in studying...how to transition from the repetition and memorization of the sciences to the comprehension of nursing. I found making outlines of the chapters to be VERY helpful for me. P&p seems to be a wordy textbook to me, and reading it all made my head spin, so condensing the info into notes that I could go over made a big difference. I ended up with a 98! I read the chapters first, then used my lecture notes to reinforce the points and outlines of chapters to condense the concepts. Hope that helps! If you can wade through the muck and wordiness of that book, the concepts are actually pretty simple and easy to understand. :)

smark2 · Sep 16, 2012

Hey there everyone,I am finished with my pre reqs for nursing school! Finally! I am in fundamentals of nursing right now and it doesn't have clinical yet, its just a 3 hour lecture. Next semester I start clinicals. Anyways, I am trying to study for my exams but I'm confused on how to study for these. In my science pre reqs I studied by using flash cards and it helped a lot. I am a visual learner so sitting in lecture isn't too beneficial for me. A lot of people are telling me fundamentals is more about learning the concept of the material, but how do you study for concepts? I bought the test success book to help me learn to think critically. My class is using the perry and potter book. I really need help with studying. Its not really registering in my head and even if I know definitions and terms, I feel I am wasting my time studying the terms since the exam questions are going to be nclex.I'm just scared I'm wasting all this time preparing for the test and feel like none of the material I study will be on the test the way I study them. I'm having trouble breaking down the info and I need some advice! Helppp!

I am two semesters ahead of you in a Nursing program, so I have taken Fundamentals, Pharm, Med-Surg, Maternity, and now am in Advanced AH. Here are a few things I have learned thus far:

#1 & most successful for me: STUDY WITH OTHER NURSING STUDENTS. In the past I didn't prefer group studying, because it was hard for people to focus. However, with nursing school this is the way to go. It forces you out of memorization and into conceptual learning. When studying with other people you are forced to discuss and explain topics. You must first understand the process of diabetes before you can explain it to another student. This goes both ways. Most of the time there is going to be someone that understands something you might not understand yet. Asking them to explain it allows you to further your knowledge and at the same time they are able to reinforce what they know. Each semester we seem to lose more students and last semester one of the girls was a really good friend of mine. She chose not to study in groups.

#2 Pay attention to your instructors and which topics of the chapters they focused on in lecture. Often times there isn't enough time in the day for nursing students to read cover to cover of their textbooks. Take descriptive notes in class on what your instructor has focused on and then go into the book and read those sections.

#3 Going back to the instructors--Ask Questions. You are paying a lot of money for your instructors to help you become competent nurses. Nurses deal with peoples lives, so it is extremely important to be knowledgeable about the information you are taught. With pre-req's are all about the grade. Nursing care is all about patient lives. I walked into nursing school a shy, inexperienced student who had to overcome my fear of looking like a fool. My grandmother told me one day that I was selfish if I didn't ask questions. I was appalled by her statement because I know how much I care. What I later realized was that a patient's safety is more important than me being nervous of what others may or may not think of my question. And as the story always goes, often times people want to know the answer to your question too they are just afraid to ask.

#4 If you are a visual learner create your own charts and diagrams. For example, when you are learning EKG make illustrations that allow you to remember the pathways of the heart. Also, I have seen a ton of Pharmacology illustrations from instructors.

#5 Youtube! Although you may need to weed through the uncredited sources there are a ton of illustrations from experienced nurses, instructors, and even previous nursing students who were required to do a presentation. You never know what could be online!

All in all, I wish you nothing but the best. Nursing is an amazing field and if you're determined you will be successful. Nursing trains you to adapt quickly. All of the instructors at my college love to say "That's Nursing!" when something changes at the last minute. Hope I helped a little & Good Luck!