How to study for finals???

belabelisa · Dec 2, 2005

LOL... I think it's so funny that nobody has responded to this post of mine. Everyone must be wondering the same thing as I am. :lol2:

Imafloat, BSN, RN · Dec 2, 2005

I missed it last night, I am done with finals so I didn't even think to read it.

All of our finals are comprehensive. I just go over the powerpoints and any study guide questions a few times. I have noticed that since the finals cover so much info and such a long period of time that they are usually pretty general.

Best of luck to you!

gtmoore · Dec 2, 2005

Focus on the notes that you've taken in class and especially powerpoints or notes the professor hands out. Rarely do questions on a final come out of the book, it's usually something that has been repeated time and time again. That being said, find an upperclassman and ask them if they remember important points from the finals.

loricatus · Dec 2, 2005

An old trick of mine was to study so hard till you didn't care anymore if you knew the info or not, passed or failed----no nerves on test day, therefore no mental blockage, and somehow the information that you didn't think you knew just starts flowing out of the brain at just the right time. Also used lots of caffeine and nicotine (cigarette, gum, patch...) and a little glucose just before the test (brain fuel trick some premeds told me about)--may not be healthy, but I got great grades. Good Luck with whatever methods works best. A former classmate used to repeat the mantra "C=BSN"

mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP · Dec 2, 2005

Our finals are 90-95% old tests, depending on the teacher. We get to review old tests on the computer 1 day the week before final, so I do that, review my old outlines, glance through the chapters again and read the areas in which we talked about in class and things I remember from old tests, etc....

Unless you have an evil teacher, comprehensive finals are designed to test the basic knowledge you should have in order to go on to the next semester. Ours focus on the big points that we should know by now in our education. So with that being said, my finals in NS have not been that difficult.

Good luck!!!!

TrickieTam · Dec 2, 2005

Well since I know that our tests consist of questions from past tests its not much of a headache. During mid-term I remember seeing the test questions that everyone had a difficult time with were on the test. I have a good memory so I can usually remember the answer to the question, but that still doesn't stop me from studying. I just study the highlighted points to review, but its not that much of a big deal. Matter of fact my finals are next week!!

lisamc1RN, LPN · Dec 2, 2005

I highlight important info on power pts and in my notes, so the first thing I do to study for the comprehensive is to reread those highlights and make sure I know them. Then I go through my notes and power pts more slowly and make sure that anything that I forgot comes to the foreground of my mind. Our comprehensives seem to be pretty general and they do occasionally sneak in a question from a previous test, so as long as you have a fairly good understanding of each topic that you need to know, getting very specific is usually not necessary. If you are studying drugs too, though, I would make sure to at least know side effects for them and the nursing implementations. Good luck! :)

Imafloat, BSN, RN · Dec 3, 2005

Something else I remembered. If your professor ever throws out a question on a test during the semester there is a good chance it is going to be on the final.

RNLisa · Dec 3, 2005

Hello, my finals were this week. I studied my notes (powerpoints), did NCLEX review questions, did the chapter review questions in the study guide that accompanies the textbook, and a group of us quizzed each other. I read all my notes two times and memorized the meds. I got a 97% on the final and ended up with a 94% for the quarter!! I have 2 more quarters to go to graduate!!!

Good luck with your finals and with the rest of your schooling. And YES, C does = RN!!