I NEED to know learn how to study for nursing classes!

[tarotale]

hello guys and gals.

the reason i am writing this (first post) is b/c i have failed nursing competencies class (nursing school level 1).

first level students in my nursing school take phamacology, health assessment, and nursing competencies. i had rough time this semester mostly b/c everythign is just so different; test taking especially. you all been through this, so you know what i am talking about.

i have got the grasp of pharm and health assessment a little bit, so i think i might pass these two, but i totally failed nursing competencies. i don't know why though. i studied hardcore, and i swear that i knew everything that was on the notes and what was covered in lecture. i can say i studied really hard, putting my soul into it. and i still failed the exam, so i must confirm that my method of studying is way off and my method of test taking skills is off also.

please, i can't handle the fact that i am incapable. i can't live with that. i want to do better. so please help me how i should study for nursing competencies and just how to study for all classes and do excellent in tests. i still can't believe i have to retake nursing comp next year after all that studying i did, but it happened b/c my method is wrong. i need to change quick to what works. please help me. thank you very much. uttsn.

[lemidora]

Have you tried studying with a friend? Have someone ask you questions about the material, or just explain the material to them. I'm not sure what your tests are like but that's the strategy I use. I also get my friend to come up with/find in the textbook some scenarios in order to brush up on my critical thinking skills. Most importantly, don't let one class get you down! You can do it :)

[bhanson]

You're not being tested on knowledge. The expectation is that everyone knows everything. You're being tested on the recall and application of that knowledge in a given situation.

There are two ways you can miss a nursing question:

1. Knowledge deficit: You simply did not know the information, either because you didn't read it or didn't memorize it.

2. Critical thinking error: You're applying the information incorrectly.

If you know the information as well as you say you do then your fault is with the latter. The way to solve this is to do practice problems. Lots and lots of practice problems. I had so many practice problems for my fundamentals class that it was impossible for me to do all of them.

What I used for sample problems:

- Questions at the end of each chapter (10~ questions per chapter)

- Companion Study Guide (15~ questions per chapter)

- Companion Website (10 questions per chapter)

- "MyNursingLab" another quasi-related website that gave me 25-40 additional Q per chapter

- Nursing Fundamentals Reviews and Rationales (25~ questions per chapter)

- Fundamentals Success (25~ questions per chapter)

We covered roughly 8-10 chapters a week so I had at least 1000 questions available for practice every week. I was not able to cover anything remotely close to that but I didn't need to either.

The way to do better on nursing questions is to practice nursing questions. I try to review at least 50 practice questions per chapter and that number is about right for me for A level grades.

So find practice problems for the material you're covering and do them. It doesn't matter where they come from but until you begin to think like a nurse the only way to get better is to practice.

[canigraduate]

I'm with bhanson. Do lots of practice questions and go over the rationales. This is the best way to study for nursing school style tests.

To learn the material, though, you may want to find out your learning style and adapt your studying. I learn best by doing, so I tend to make charts and flash cards and practice skills on my dogs. Some students in my class learn best by hearing, so they read the material out loud to each other over and over. Others learn visually and read through the notes a few times.

Good luck!

[tarotale]

dang, i can't believe how i never thought of doing practice questions. yal are right. it feels like no matter how much you put studying into it, if you don't think like "they" do (nurses and instructors), you will never get it. My upper classmen are telling me that the biggest problem is over-studying b/c it causes students to over-analyze and think too much. I will find every resources possible to do this practice questions. Thank you all!

[CBsMommy]

I would get the book titled Test Success. It talks all about nursing tests and gives you very helpful hints on how to choose the right answer based on the question. It also provides study tips.

Good luck and hope you do better!