when it comes to sciences, do you try to understand the material or you go with pure memorization?
For me, I need to understand the material, I just can't memorize things. Yes, I can actually but it is pointless since I forget it in 2 days. When I was worried about my A&PI grade, one thing made me feel good: I know that stuff, I understand the material and at that particular moment, the grade didn't reflect what I knew I retained from that course. It turned out I got a B which just made me feel even better lol. :)
BOTH are necessary. You have to understand the concepts but memorize the specific terms, reactions, pathways, etc... You can't succeed in science without both.
I definitely agree with the above poster.
Sometimes one method is needed more than the other. Also, if you have a good memorization skill it could be better then understanding because you will understand while you are memorizing and you will have it in a nutshell. In other words, you can't have one without the other. How can you understand if you can't remember (memorize what's important). If little details are on the way of your learning, I would say memorize and then generalize (understand). One without the other can be crucial.
You probably already got all this in the other answers, but here's my two cents: memorizing without being able to comprehend the "and now what do you do" means nothing. Even in subjects where the understanding of the subject matter counts (beyond rote memorization), they don't begin to touch upon the degree that's required for nursing tests.
Read the material, study the notes you took, ask lots of questions, and then see if you can answer questions such as "if I had a patient with X disease, what clinical manifestations might I expect to see" or "I've just come upon Patient X and she has XX symptoms. What is my first best intervention?" or "Patient X presents with XX symptoms. What can the nurse expect to see on the lab report?"
A study partner of mine had it "all sewn up" when she started the core nursing classes (after surviving A&P, chemistry, etc). She could memorize and regurgitate anything for a test. She just made it through first semester and couldn't pass a single test for the second semester's first module.
She could describe in detail everything discussed in class, but when it came to prioritizing interventions and anticipating symptoms, etc, it was a different story.
Unfortunately, she failed out.
Don't memorize, learn assessments, diagnosis, and interventions!
The sign over or trainingg center door states: We are here to give you the tools of knowledge, When you come through these doors you are not her to learn just from a book but how to pull out of yourself a way to own this material and make it yours. If you own it you retain it. The material must be made to have some personal value to you to retain.
It is not enough to pass an ACLS class because you understand the theory of it. But if it is called for youto be the care provider you have to understand every reseaon of why you are taken what action you are.
If you memorising something, then it's going to be much harder to apply your knowledge!! You can't effectively apply your knowledge to things like case studies and on placements if you don't understand the material being taught.
So yes, I make every attempt to understand information, the only things I have memorised are vital signs.
I hate to say it..but I "just memorize" a lot. I find the stuff fascinating, don't get me wrong..but it doesn't feel like I have much time to realllly grasp it as deep as I would like to. I do understand a lot of stuff..but if you start asking me about the lipid bilayers and ACH, etc...forget it. Blah. I have an A- in both of my classes. Kind of feels like I'm cheating the system and I wish I had more time to absorb it in a way that I could enjoy.
Maxs
168 Posts
I definitely agree with the above poster.
Sometimes one method is needed more than the other. Also, if you have a good memorization skill it could be better then understanding because you will understand while you are memorizing and you will have it in a nutshell. In other words, you can't have one without the other. How can you understand if you can't remember (memorize what's important). If little details are on the way of your learning, I would say memorize and then generalize (understand). One without the other can be crucial.
Maxs