Mental Health Suggestions?

Nursing Students Student Assist

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I am a horrible test taker! :uhoh3: Bottom line! & that is NOT a good quality to have during nursing school! I am in Mental Health, Professional Seminar I, and Geriatrics for the second summer session in my nursing program and it is compressed down into 6 weeks which makes it a lot more "busy" work and on such a time schedule of learning because we only go to class one day a week (on Wednesdays from 7:30-4:15 :yawn:).

We had our first Mental Health test yesterday and I made a 70 on it and of course we have to have a 75 average in order to sit for the final and after the final to pass. It was the first time I have ever had this teacher for a course so I didn't really know what to expect and especially it being a Mental Health test (which I heard a lot of people have trouble in this course?).

So my question is, does anyone have ANY suggestions at all of the best ways to learn the material? Or maybe if you have already taken the course the things that worked the best for you in order to have success in the class? ANY input would be helpful! Thanks! (: :up:

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Specializes in Rehabilitation; LTC; Med-Surg.
I am a horrible test taker! :uhoh3: Bottom line! & that is NOT a good quality to have during nursing school! I am in Mental Health, Professional Seminar I, and Geriatrics for the second summer session in my nursing program and it is compressed down into 6 weeks which makes it a lot more "busy" work and on such a time schedule of learning because we only go to class one day a week (on Wednesdays from 7:30-4:15 :yawn:).

We had our first Mental Health test yesterday and I made a 70 on it and of course we have to have a 75 average in order to sit for the final and after the final to pass. It was the first time I have ever had this teacher for a course so I didn't really know what to expect and especially it being a Mental Health test (which I heard a lot of people have trouble in this course?).

So my question is, does anyone have ANY suggestions at all of the best ways to learn the material? Or maybe if you have already taken the course the things that worked the best for you in order to have success in the class? ANY input would be helpful! Thanks! (: :up:

You need to learn about the different mental disorders (bipolar disorder and their phases, eating disorders, compulsions, etc.) I found mental illness easy when I finally realized the correct answer is almost always the one where it encourages the client to express their feelings. That's all we're really dealing with anyway, right? Helping people learn to cope with themselves and find different avenues to "express" themselves?

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Specializes in M/S, Tele, Sub (stepdown), Hospice.

We had a book called 'Reviews & Rationales'...purple book. It was very helpful. I read the required material and made flash cards for the different disorders & drugs....things I needed to memorize.

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always make flash cards--just the act of writing the material then reviewing it will help you learn it. That's one of the best ways to learn things that simply need memorized.

As for mental disorders--simply write them down with a one or two sentence description that will give you the basic information that will connect with more details in your brain.

Nursing concerns for mental health issues are going to be concerned with patient safety--for instance someone who is bipolar and is in 'depression' mode may become suicidal.

Most mental illnesses can be simplified to one or two sentences, though.

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