I Am Having Problems Comprehending The Information That I Am Studing!

ckh23, BSN, RN · Jul 30, 2005

Hang in there! It's tough at first, but after a while it will become easier. When you get to start using the information you learned and put it to practice, you will see how it comes together and makes it seem not so difficult.

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Jul 30, 2005

I am currently taking Medical Terminology, It started off great! I passed the first few tests, but now I'm starting to have doubts on whether or not I should even be there. Does this get better or worse? To cram 16 chapters of Medical Terminology into only 5 weeks of class time, feels like too much. I know this college, and not high school, but, I'm so overwhelmed with all this studing. Is this normal so feel this way? Or am I going nuts? The way I'm learning now I feel that this 22 month LPN program is going to take me 5 years(LOL). Please tell me how you honestly felt when you first started college.

wow, that is a lot of chapters in such a small timeframe. The only suggestion to you is to make flashcards and have someone show you the word and have the answer in the back. It is all about memorization and once you study the prefixed and suffixes most words you can tell what they are even if you have never looked at them. The problem here is the amount of words to cover withing the short span of the class. Flashcards are your best bet, read them alone and then with a friend etc.

Best wishes to you. :)

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Jul 30, 2005

I am currently taking Medical Terminology, It started off great! I passed the first few tests, but now I'm starting to have doubts on whether or not I should even be there. Does this get better or worse? To cram 16 chapters of Medical Terminology into only 5 weeks of class time, feels like too much. I know this college, and not high school, but, I'm so overwhelmed with all this studing. Is this normal so feel this way? Or am I going nuts? The way I'm learning now I feel that this 22 month LPN program is going to take me 5 years(LOL). Please tell me how you honestly felt when you first started college.

Is there a counselor at your college? You may want to make an appointment with him/her to discuss study strategies.

A few tips:

Skim the material before actually reading in depth. Try to get clues from the textbook itself as to what is "important" and what is not. Usually the table of contents will give summary headings, and often there is an overview or objectives at the beginning of the chapter and a summary at the end. Read these first to get an idea as to what is important! Then go back, reading over these most important concepts in depth and emphasizing with a highlighter. After this, you can make note cards or concept charts that link the material or summarize it. Using the study guide that accompanies most textbooks is also an invaluable help.

http://www.finetuning.com/articles/p0-200-exam-studying-tips-for-the-ready-the-behind-and-the-hopelessly-unprepared.html

http://www.efn.org/~nurses/study.html

prmenrs, RN · Jul 30, 2005

Some people need pictures to attach words and ideas in their heads. In medical terminology, a lot of the words can be broken down into prefixes and suffixes. Try to find commonalities. Like, if the word starts w/ "osteo-", it's going to be related to a bone, so picture a dog bone in your mind. If it ends in -itis, it's an inflamation of something (the prefix), picture the color red, or a flame, in your mind. Once you find common things like that, you can group them. You can also figure out a new word by breaking it down.

The important thing is to build that little picture--that will help your comprehension a lot!

Do you have a study partner or a friend? The flash card thing is great, you can keep the cards w/you and flip through them anytime you have a moment. Medical terminology is hard when it's so concentrated like that, but you're studying a new language, and this new language is a tool for your future studies.

Good Luck! You can do it!