I can't retain enough information!

[Irishowl]

I am taking AP2 this semester and I'm really struggling. I've never struggled this much with a class before. We have taken 2 exams and I have a 72%, I need an 80% for a B. We have 3 more exams in the next 7 weeks so I do have time to redeem myself. I just feel like I do not have enough time to do homework and it's affecting how well I retain information.

I did take 1 big step to help myself, I changed my work schedule. I was working all day long on M, W, F with school T, TH. I now work F, Sa, Su with school on T, TH. I feel that will give me 4 days in a row and hopefully the consistent repetition will help me remember better.

Does anyone have any tips to help me study more efficiently? I am NOT going to repeat this class. I am very determined to work my butt off these next 7 weeks and get through. :uhoh21:

Shannon

[look-4-miracles]

Flash cards!!!!

And not the ones that you buy from the store but literally make them yourself. The only reason I got my B was due to a fat stack of flash cards and a box of crayola crayons!

Even if you are a terrible artist (like myself) draw out and label the body parts and systems and blood types and anything else...just the visual stimulation of something you made instead of something printed in a book will help

And then my biggest test helper was to go through the test and answer the questions I knew first. That way your confidence isn't shot by going through and hitting the one's you don't know first. I know we hear it a million times but it's true...it works!

[RnBound0510]

I had strong study groups in both my A&P classes. That really helped me. Try that!

[fuuchan]

You know what I find to be very helpful, was to go over the material right when I get home, it's still fresh in my mind and I remember the little things my professor said. Flash cards are awesome too. I'm luck, my professor always posts little websites that, while they make us laugh oddly enough help us out too. Here's a link to a Spanish love song about the anatomy of the heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06Wuitmq4bI

:redbeathe

Good luck!!

[RnBound0510]

Maybe you can try to simply take a recorder with you to class... if you are visual, sit in the front. Have your book open and highlight the stuff he talks about... dont try to jot everything down. Thats what the recorder is for later while you are reviewing. Another thing that helped me w/a&p1 was to go home and type up my notes right after class... according to my proffessors lecture. My a&p2 proff. just gave us the notes and he read straight from them. I could have done that myself! lol, anyway... just play with the many options you have out there. Having good study skills is a MUST for NS and everyone is different. Hope this helps!

[9livesRN, BSN, RN]

association

[Glina]

here is how i do it. for example, i have 20-25-30 pages of power point notes to learn for each test. i break each page into small sections, and i read out loud one section for a few times. then without looking into the page, i try to say out loud everything i know about that section. i keep reading until i got everything right. when i learn one page, then i write everything down for each section.

at the beginning of api, i did flash cards, however, it did not really work for me because by the time i am done with the cards, and my test is around the corner, so i did not have time to study the flash cards.

i also tried recording my notes and listening to that. however, the first thing i mentioned works great for me. i am studying only 2-3-4 days before each test and all my grades are above 90%. for labs, i only study for 2-3 hours before the test and one time i even got 100%.

all i can say is when you study, study efficiently.

[Hotflashn]

I use a recorder and record lecture then listen when I am in the car, getting ready, cooking, cleaning etc. Well, just all the time! I also record my own notes and listen - that way I own it. It took time to get use to my voice , but I am so over that!

I keep quasi lamented sheets of impt info to be memorized in the shower. I put it in sheet protectors and tape it up. Goofy, I know, but I have kids and the bathroom is my only sanctuary. This way for 10 or 15 minutes a day I am going over it when I am relaxed and undisturbed.

I try to type up my notes when there is time. If I am lucky I can carve out time to merge my notes, recorded lecture and text.

Read the text before class and again after.

Make up associations to aid your memory. It could have nothing to do with it, but if it jogs your memory, you got it.

Flash cards on a ring so you can take them with you.

Sometimes a different textbook or study guide helps.

Study group or talk/teach others - even if it is you kids, partner or dog.

Turn off the TV and step away from the computer. You have 7 weeks to kick butt, so make it a priority.

Good luck, you can do it!!

[hildreth80]

Ditto on the self-made flash cards. Where studying is concerned, that old adage "Know thyself" is immensely helpful. Consider your learning style and cater your study habits to it. Also, apply what you (probably) learned in psychology: study well in advance and make sure your notes are one of the last things you see before you go to bed and one of the first when you get up in the morning. Though, that whole strategy is shot if you're a fitful sleeper who wakes up in the middle of the night. Remember, current theory is that dreams are the brain's way of processing what you learned/experienced during the day. Mnemonic devices are also useful as long as they aren't overly complex. I had an A&P1 test today over the skeletal system and a classmate mentioned after the test that she has a hard time remembering which bone of the forearm connects to which side of the wrist. I told her that your thumb and forefinger do NOT make a "U" so the radius is on the thumb side.

Also, if you volunteer put that to use too. I volunteer in the ED and mentally quiz myself while I'm helping the CNAs and nurses with whatever I'm allowed to do, which, being pre-anything health is a bit more than you might think. Also, even just standing in a corner watching and listening to what the medical team is doing and talking about while in the middle of a procedure is a valuable learning experience. They use directional terms, abdominopelvic regions, and other jargon while they're working. You know a lot of that jargon. Briefly zone out on the rest of what they're talking about to do a quick self-quiz, skipping anything you aren't 100% certain about.

[NurseJeanB]

Record lectures and convert them to mp3 files which you can listen to on your IPOD. Also there is something to be said about going through the notes and typing them up as soon as possible. You can do it. All this you are learning now will come in handy in nursing school. Sometimes just knowing that it will be important keeps you more focused. Also hate to say it but hanging out on allnurses is one of my favorite ways to procrasitinate.

Turn off the tv, the computer, and every other distraction.

[aewelike]

what is the ed

[hildreth80]

Oh, sorry! The hospital I volunteer at uses Emergency Department instead of Emergency Room.