memorizing??

[premedturnednursing]

When I am preparing for exams, I take the time to read and study the material, attempt to understand it, and learn it in a way so that I can apply it and call on it later for NCLEX. One of my fellow classmates has been going around saying "oh, I just memorize my notes and I get all A's." I was always taught that memorization is short term and not the same as learning. When I said that aloud, my classmates looked at me like I was crazy.....

am i?? should i only be memorizing notes during nursing school??

[soon2bRN516]

Absolutely not....You have to understand the material or else your venture in Nursing will not go to far...My instructors always say there are certain things you can memorize and then there are those you can not....You can memorize basic lab values....but nothing critical....Continue what you are doing, and ignore everyone else....Best wishes...

[smartin13]

I don't recommend memorizing everything. Lab values sure, however you need to understand concepts and other things so that you can apply them to different situations. She may be doing well now but it may come back to bite her in the a** when she has to take the NCLEX.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Your way is what works for me.

[JAMIE__0421]

i agree with the suggestions you have been given already. memorization is not going to allow you to understand why things are the way they are. Or to understand why the steps to a process are important. There are specific things that memorization is apropriate for and other things it is not appropriate for. Stick to the method you have been doing! dont worry about how anyone else does it. and good luck!

[krenee]

I understand both POVs . . . I like to understand things, but some things just need to be memorized . . . like lab values, drug names, etc. I would say I do both!

Kelly

[Hisown]

memorizing anything you study does not necessarily mean you don't understand it. It's simply committing what you're learning to memory so you can recall it later...if you're studying in a way that's actually allowing you to recall information for an exam, as well as to fully understand what that information means and how to apply it, you are memorizing.

From where I stand, memorizing is a part of learning...if we simply hear information and understand it but do not somehow commit it to our memory (whether consciously or unconsciously) how do we remember this information when we need it? Hearing (and sometimes seeing) information, analyzing and understanding it and then assimilating it is all part of the learning process