How to get good grades in nursing school?

hpcat · May 12, 2008

Study your hiney off. I'm not kidding. I have many classmates who are more interested in playing angles, passing tests and getting their license than actually learning the material. From my experience, learning the material is how you get good grades. I have a 4.0 in nursing school, 1/2 way thru my program.

One thing I found out in 1st semester of nursing school is my learning style - are you a visual, auditory, kinesthetic or combination learner? I found out I have a kinesthetic learning style (big surprise to me), body position and feeling/emotion play a lot into my studying habits. I found I prefer to relax in a big comfy chair with my feet up when I'm reading or writing stuff, but if I need to really study hardcore I have to sit up at a table. Even better, I go to the bookstore - the "study" atmosphere + coffee really help. I always have to sit in the same seat in class when I take my test. I rewrite all of my notes before a test - this is very time consuming but always seems to get me A's.

I have classmates who are auditory, they're the ones with the tape recorders - that was never me. I'm somewhat visual too, I can picture charts and things but mostly ones I've written myself and where I wrote them on a page (kinesthetic again).

Also, many folks swear by study groups but I find them a distraction - people often get sidetracked onto social subjects. Don't feel like you can't do without them. I'm getting all A's, the most regular study group in my class is not (once again, they've become more a social club than a study group).

Stay positive, the more you worry about the worse you make it for yourself. Just focus on the material and ask questions if it's not clear.

rhp123 · May 12, 2008

hpcat , thanks for the great suggestions.

The biggest problem with me is that I have no other choice but to work full-time at the company during the day. This is a regular 9 to 5 office job. During week I found no time to study at all. During weekends I have to run errands for shopping, laundry, etc. For each exam I normally only had one day to study. I studied one final for one day, another for one evening. If not because I studied a lot before entering nursing school, I might already failed my nursing school in the second semester.

That's a great suggestion to rewrite class notes. You are right, I got to study hard after work now since this is Summer, no school.

Cowboy Thug · May 13, 2008

RHP, that schedule is pretty hardcore. I thought I had it bad. My first semester I got two C's and one B. I was disappointed but was working a fulltime job and I also have joint custody of my 2.5 year old. Just finished my 2nd semster with a 3.4 average. Not bad but it's going to get tougher to get a high GPA as I start moving into critical care. Wish us luck.

JettaDP · May 13, 2008

Why do you have to work full-time? The reason I ask is because I am a single parent living on my own and I don't work. All I do is study, go to class, study, study, and study some more. Then I pick my daughter up from school, spend time with her, out her to bed and then study dome more. The reason I can do this is because I live in low-income housing while I'm in school. My apartment is actually quite nice and I only pay $43 a month in rent. (I live off of $450/month in child support.) If I didn't live in low-income housing I wouldn't be able to make it through school with decent grades. Is that something that may work for you?

nursic · May 13, 2008

WOW! $43 a month?!!!! Where did you find this price? I live in South CT and the cheapest appartment over here would be $800 in a very bad neighborhood.

INFIDEL, CRNA · May 13, 2008

For you guys who are already in CRNA schools, I assume you all have past good grades. Maybe somebody can give me some advice on how to get a good GPA.
When I took my pre-requisites for RN program, I got 4.0. In my previous college degree, I had a 3.9 GPA. These were classes I took at universities, colleges. All I need is a 90 to get an A. Which I found not difficult.
However, in my current nursing school, only 94 and + is counted as A. I struggled the first year, only to get two As on Pharmacology classes. These classes were only 3 credits. So overall the GPA does not look good. My other two nursing classes, I really worked hard, but still got Bs on both. In nursing II, I got 93, yet 93 is still counted as B. This is frustrating. I doubt anybody in my class ever get an A in nursing I or II.
Seems I'll never get a A in nursing classes. One more year left on the nursing school, I really want to get As to improve my GPA. However, it almost look mission impossible. Anybody has any suggestions. Thank you.

Most nursing school and pre nursing program grades are inflated,,, thus the 90= an A. In no other professional education program would this be tolerated. And guess what? A 90 is not an A in most anesthesia programs, as a matter of fact a C= an F. So the ONLY solution is to STUDY HARDER. If you want warm hugs and inflated grades just get an nonanesthsia MSN or NP education. But do NOT bother to enroll in a program that puts SRNAs and NP students in the same class. They cannot curve any test scores.

Unplug the TV and the internet and hit the books.

JettaDP · May 13, 2008

WOW! $43 a month?!!!! Where did you find this price? I live in South CT and the cheapest appartment over here would be $800 in a very bad neighborhood.

I live in Wyoming so an expensive apartment here is probably $900 a month or so. But low income housing generally works the same almost everywhere. Your rent is usually 30% of your income. But I have no income so they just go off of child support payments. (Her dad is actually good about paying.) I am soon going to be moving to Phoenix and I got into the same type of housing down there. They are nice apartments and it is about 2 blocks from the ASU campus.

I know CT is expensive. My dads side of the family lives in Middlebury and Waterbury mostly. Even in the bad neighborhoods of Waterbury it can be expensive.

rhp123 · May 14, 2008

What do you mean nursing school grades are inflated? As far as I know, in the diploma school I'm in right now, and in a ADN program close by, good grades are extremely to get. And only 94 and up are A. Below 87 is C, below 80 is a fail.

My ex-classmates in the pre-nursing program, they are in an ADN program now. They were straight A students in pre-nursing program. Last time I met them, they all got C in Nursing I except one student, who got B.

And in the diploma program I'm in now, as far as I know, most students get C, some get Bs, haven't heard anybody else get A in Nursing I or II yet, though I think some do get As in the Pharmacology class.

Most nursing school and pre nursing program grades are inflated,,, thus the 90= an A. In no other professional education program would this be tolerated. And guess what? A 90 is not an A in most anesthesia programs, as a matter of fact a C= an F. So the ONLY solution is to STUDY HARDER. If you want warm hugs and inflated grades just get an nonanesthsia MSN or NP education. But do NOT bother to enroll in a program that puts SRNAs and NP students in the same class. They cannot curve any test scores.
Unplug the TV and the internet and hit the books.

MayisontheWay · May 15, 2008

Seems I'll never get a A in nursing classes. One more year left on the nursing school, I really want to get As to improve my GPA. However, it almost look mission impossible. Anybody has any suggestions. Thank you.

Here is a trick...and it forces you to be honest with yourself. It is VERY time consuming. Instead of rewriting your notes (or in addition to rewriting your notes), turn every single note into a question, either multiple choice or fill in the blank. My tests could end up being 400 or 500 questions/answers long...but I knew exactly where I was weak and where I needed to study. I could also predict with very good accuracy how well I would do on a test. It worked every time....EVERY TIME. I finished my BSN with a 4.0 overall.

I only participated in study groups as an additional learning tool for myself, because I ended up "teaching" the group what I had learned. It was a chance for me to refine.

I start CRNA school in August and intend to study exactly the same way. I don't think I will have time for study groups though.

rhp123 · May 16, 2008

Excellent tips. Thanks for sharing.

Time time time, that's the trick. Also study hard on the notes. I concentrated too much on the NCLEX-Review books last year, and missed some easy questions that could be answered correctly if I studied notes.

So I would say:

1) Concentrate on NOTES first.

2) Do some exercises questions related to Notes.

Good luck to all of you already in the CRNA schools. And I admire you who get 4.0 in the nursing school.

Here is a trick...and it forces you to be honest with yourself. It is VERY time consuming. Instead of rewriting your notes (or in addition to rewriting your notes), turn every single note into a question, either multiple choice or fill in the blank. My tests could end up being 400 or 500 questions/answers long...but I knew exactly where I was weak and where I needed to study. I could also predict with very good accuracy how well I would do on a test. It worked every time....EVERY TIME. I finished my BSN with a 4.0 overall.
I only participated in study groups as an additional learning tool for myself, because I ended up "teaching" the group what I had learned. It was a chance for me to refine.
I start CRNA school in August and intend to study exactly the same way. I don't think I will have time for study groups though.

Crossfit SRNA2b · May 16, 2008

turn every single note into a question, either multiple choice or fill in the blank. My tests could end up being 400 or 500 questions/answers long...but I knew exactly where I was weak and where I needed to study. I could also predict with very good accuracy how well I would do on a test. It worked every time....EVERY TIME. I finished my BSN with a 4.0 overall.
I only participated in study groups as an additional learning tool for myself, because I ended up "teaching" the group what I had learned. It was a chance for me to refine.
.

You know what, I do the same exact thing. Go through all of the notes, and with each fact of information write out a possible exam question for it. Label one page as the "question" page and number each question. Then on a separate piece of paper (really papers since it will take about 3-5 pages) write "answers". And of course number them correspondingly to the question sheets. This way you can quickly quiz yourself on a couple hundred questions, without taking a bunch of time looking through your notes for the "important" information, or the info that you don't already know. Also by having the answers on another piece of paper, it prevents a wandering eye from glancing at the answer when you think u know the answer and the answer is on the tip of your tongue but u get impatient and glance to see what it is. I'm guilty of this, and it turns out, we really don't know what it is, or don't know what it is well enough, since we can't recall it from memory.

Also, i suggest no multiple choices only a question. Sometimes a question with a short one word answer, sometimes a question which requires you to list a few things, i.e. function of carbohydrates in the body and lastly write questions which require a paragraph/detailed explanation answer. This way, when you do have those easy multiple choices, you will already know the answer before even looking at the choices. This prevents common errors that may occur from similar answers like; site where Electron transport chain occurs. 1)inner membrane 2) inter membrane space.

You will already have it down cold and will not hesitate or think twice.

Lastly if you do have time, like Mayison mentioned, do a study group, but be prepared to really only gain knowledge from it by teaching others. This allows you to fill the gaps in your knowledge that you may have but won't know until you try explaining/teaching it.

good luck, study hard.