Med-surg help

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I began Med-Surg in January and am struggling big time. I have never failed a test until recently and am very discouraged. I study 2-3 hours a night. I am looking for any advice on how to study for exams. I read the chapters and I admit not as good as I should. I use ATI, Saunders review, and the powerpoints from class. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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You only study 2-3 hours a night? I study 5-6 hours a night, that's after sitting in class all day. On Saturdays and Sundays I study 10 hours each day. I am getting 'A's in my accelerated entry level master's program.

Maybe you might consider studying more? Don't mean to sound snotty, but really, what you get out of this will be determined by how much time you put into it.

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Specializes in ER/ICU/STICU.
You only study 2-3 hours a night? I study 5-6 hours a night, that's after sitting in class all day. On Saturdays and Sundays I study 10 hours each day. I am getting 'A's in my accelerated entry level master's program.

Maybe you might consider studying more? Don't mean to sound snotty, but really, what you get out of this will be determined by how much time you put into it.

Your study habits seem pretty extreme and I would hope you are getting all A's with that kind of study habit. Unfortunately not everyone has all that extra time to study.

OP I would try and figure out what exactly you are having problems with. The amount of information you have to sift through can be tremendous, but if you can start picking the important points you might be able to perform a little better. I would also talk with your classmates that did well and possibly pick up some pointers. When I was in school I found study groups to be the greatest help because you can learn from each other.

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I just took my first med-surg test so I can sympathize with you!!! It was a toughie.

I don't think it's a matter of studying HARDER (read: longer) it's a matter of studying SMARTER. You can't just read the information or even memorize the information- you have to read to understand why the pieces are coming together the way they are. I know it sounds simple and I'm sure you've heard it a hundred times before but it really does work if you stop and ask yourself WHY is the body reacting this way.

I did not read the textbook for my test. I read the Saunders NCELX review about the topic areas, got an "Incredibly Easy" book, and studied the power points. It worked fantastic for me- maybe additional resources will work for you too.

Side note- I go to study group every Saturday with two gal pals of mine. Teaching each other goes a long way to success.

GOOD LUCK!!!

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I agree with the comment about studying smarter (or more effectively). I don't know about all colleges, but if there's a learning strategist available, use it. Find out what your learning style is and go from there.

“We Learn . . .

10% of what we read

20% of what we hear

30% of what we see

50% of what we see and hear

70% of what we discuss

80% of what we experience

95% of what we teach others.”

One of my teachers says that some of the students go home and teach their family what they covered in class. For me, I find that going to class, paying attention, making good notes during class, making notes as I go over the reading material and rewriting the notes for the tests is enough repetition to get good marks. Find out what resources are available at your school and use them. They're there for a reason. Don't let them go to waste.

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I am in my first semester, I study about 10 hrs on weekends and 3 hours per day on the weekday, I am a visual learner so I do concept map. I read my powerpoints, the book, do any study guides, I even do fundamental success and other online source. But my grades have been around 88% throughout all my tests. I found my problem, and it's about the way I read the questions. I can never get what it's trying to ask, over analyze, and sometimes I read too fast. I realize the questions I missed are easy questions, and I know the answers to them. If someone were to ask these questions to me verbally, I can answer them fine. But when it's in written form, I always get confused. why is that? what's my problem? I don't understand. I mean.....maybe I left my brain at home on the day of the test, I might be half awake or something, I mean I am just struggling to understand. I utilize the full 2hours we get, I go back and check all the answers, still, i fail to recognize the ones I missed, when i get my test back, I was like huh....what was I thinking? how can I become a better at testing? how do we learn the skill? I mean ........I learned so much this semester that I promise if anyone were to ask me, I can tell them anything they want from fundamental. But when it comes to written test, I am just not good at it. I am so lost!

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You only study 2-3 hours a night? I study 5-6 hours a night

Geez! I don't even do that in a week. I make A's too. Need new learning methods?

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Go back and review your a&p, if you understand the body systems, it should help a bit with the nursing interventions to make more sense.

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