Need A&P Study Tips

Alie · Aug 6, 2002

Highlighters work great for me GREAT! In A&P lab II out teacher didn't care if we video taped the lab. It was a great review for at home.

Lisa1970 · Aug 6, 2002

I copied this from a site. I can't rmember which one, but I think that it will help.

Study Skills

It all starts with ATTITUDE.

COMMITMENT. While some students really, really, really want to be

a nurse, they are not prepared to give what it takes to succeed.

Success requires sacrifice--not a "send us your virgins" kind of

sacrifice, but a sacrifice of your time and the ways that you are

accustomed to spending that time. Nursing school requires many many

hours of studying, and a weekend of playing vs. studying will probably

be the difference of passing or failing your next exam. Often, this

means having to tell friends and family "NO" when they want to spend

time with you, which may make some of them feel angry. But don't

worry, your true friends will be patient. Your family doesn't really

matter because 1) they'll get over it, and 2) they are family...you

couldn't get rid of them if you tried.

RESPONSIBILITY. Ok...I am stepping up on my soapbox on this one. I

don't know how many times I have heard students complaining about

the instructors--their tests are too hard, they grade too harshly,

they don't like me, they don't lecture well, etc.--and I've heard them

make several excuses as to why they were late or missed class or

clinicals. STOP WHINING ALREADY!!! The majority of the class is

doing well enough to pass--follow their example. It is your

responsibility to get to class on time, to get help if there is something

you don't understand--and who cares if the instructor likes you or

not--get over yourself. There are times when you may have to miss

class or clinicals, but they are not excuses for you to not do well on

your exams--you should work twice as hard to make up that

time--getting notes from another student (or even a couple of them),

listen to tapes made by another student, get together and discuss

what was lectured about. OK--stepping down off my soapbox now...

DETERMINATION. It's no secret that nursing school is difficult and

stressful, and you have to be determined to get through it all. There

will be bad days, bad exams, embarrassing moments, family stress,

financial stress, you might get chewed out by your clinical instructor

once or twice, etc. But don't give up, and don't sweat the small stuff.

Put everything in perspective and take it day by day--each day brings

you one step closer toward graduating.

2. Getting the most out of lectures...

Show up for class. Believe it or not, actually showing up is conducive to

learning.

Outline the reading. Most instructors expect you to read the assigned

chapters before you go into lectures. While this is a wonderful idea in

theory, most of us never get past the previous chapters we are

studying for the exam given before the new lecture begins. I have a

shortened method that helps me out--I outline the chapters. To do

this, I skim the main sections of the reading and write down the main

points (skip over the details). This usually takes me about 10-20

minutes to do, depending on how many chapters are assigned. It gives

me an idea about what material we will be covering in lecture so that I

don't feel completely lost.

Bring a tape recorder. Most instructors do not mind you taping their

lectures, but you should ask them before you do. You'd be surprised

at some of the material you miss just taking written notes.

Recopy your notes. This may not be helpful to some people, but it

helps me immensely. Rewriting the material not only helps to organize

my notes for more effective studying, it also helps me to retain the

material better when I write it a second time.

Take note of information the instructor emphasizes or repeats. There

is a good chance you'll see this material on the exam. I often put

stars along side my notes that I feel might be good test questions.

This is partly intuition, but mostly it comes from careful listening.

3.Getting the most from your reading...

Use highlighters effectively. I've known several students who like to

highlight with a rainbow of colors, but the colors have no rhyme or

reason. While this makes your pages look pretty, it is not effective

for studying. When you do use different colors, make sure that each

color has a meaning. For example, highlight main concepts in yellow,

definitions in orange, statistics in green, etc. After a while, your eyes

become trained to the colors, and you can pick up information more

quickly.

Take notes as you read. This is probably the most time consuming task

for me, but it is well worth it come exam time. After I have

highlighted the chapter, I take notes (in my own words) on what I

highlighted. For those of you who are visual-tactile learners like me,

this is a wonderful way to get material to stick in your brain.

Compare notes. Compare your reading notes and your lecture notes,

and write down any discrepancies between them or anything you do

not understand, and then ask about it. If a classmate can't help you

clear it up, go to the instructor. Most instructors welcome students to

call or visit their office during assigned hours--take advantage of

this.

4. Start a study group

Limit four per group. More than four in a group is way too busy for

effective studying.

A committed group. All members of the group should be committed to

studying. This should not be a social event. It's really easy to want to

use this time as a stress release and a time just to hang out with your

friends, but this isn't productive.

Be focused. Have a plan for the study group--then split up the

material evenly among the group. You'd be surprised how differently

people see and interpret things and even how one person catches

something that another person totally missed. It is a great

opportunity to discuss and get a better understanding of the material.

5. Don't sweat the small stuff...

Give up an emaculate house. This boils down to priorities. Would you

rather do well on the test, or have clean baseboards. Though, this

shouldn't be an excuse to live like a slob either. My best advice is to

do a ten minute clean up each day... and then DELEGATE, DELEGATE,

DELEGATE. (that is, if there is someone in your house to delegate

to!).

Take a break from the books. You know that saying, "All work and no

play makes Jack a dull boy." This may be true, but more than that, it

can make Jack go crackers...excuse me, I should be more politically

correct: It can make Jack mentally ill, or is it reality challenged?

Anyway, give yourself a break.

Bad day. If you have a bad day, brush yourself off and start anew the

next day. Holding on to anger, frustration or embarrassment is really

counter productive. It really is as easy as making a conscious decision

to start over tomorrow.

Test Anxiety Tips

Test Anxiety

Test anxiety is the name given to the uneasy feeling experienced by most people as the time

for a test approaches. The extent to which people experience test anxiety varies greatly,

and the symptoms experienced differ from person to person. Many people feel that mild

test anxiety is beneficial because the mind is made more alert, and the attention is focused

as the body gets ready to do "battle" with difficult material. However, severe test anxiety

can be overwhelming, leaving the test taker with a racing heart, sweaty brow, nauseous

stomach, and only fragmented thoughts. Test anxiety can occur before a student starts

preparing for a test, while studying for a test, and while taking the test. Here are some ways

to avoid or lessen anxiety:

Don't come to the testing area too early

While you need to assure that you will be on campus and at the test site before a test

begins, you should arrange your time so that you will arrive at the testing site right before

the test begins. Being excessively early, or arriving at the test site more than a few minutes

before the test starts frequently causes anxiety. Talking with classmates and sharing their

fears and problems about the up-coming test only add fuel to existing anxiety. Then, when

the test actually begins, all of these negative emotions come rushing back into memory to

haunt already nervous students. If this description fits you, avoid your nervous classmates

by not arriving early and try to keep yourself busy thinking about other things.

Use positive self-talk Anxiety frequently is accompanied by a little voice in our heads that

tells us that we can't succeed--that we will fail. Counteract this negative voice by

consciously telling yourself that you can succeed, that you've studied the material. In the

few minutes before the test starts, set a positive framework. Repeat over and over to

yourself, "I can do it! I will do it! I can do it! I will do it!" This will help build your

confidence. Talk positively to yourself. It will help you be a winner.

Test Taking Tips

Use relaxation techniques For those who have tape recorders or CD players, it may be a

good idea to take about five minutes before a test to play relaxing music. Find a quiet

corner; play your relaxing tape. Empty your mind of conscious thought. As the music plays,

let your mind flow with whatever images present themselves. This procedure not only will

relax you, but it will stimulate the kind of brain waves needed to improve test performance.

If anxiety occurs during the test, it usually will affect one of the major muscle systems of

the body (stomach, back, arms, legs, etc.). Make a conscious effort to relax if you feel

anxiety building up. Breathing deeply can help a person relax. It is hard for anxiety to build

up if you are concentrating on breathing deeply because your mind is occupied with

something other than the test.

Use visualization

Visualization, creating mental pictures, can remove anxiety and help students briefly focus

their attention away from the cause of their anxiety. What to visualize may depend on the

problem or situation, but every student should visualize success! Visualizing success takes

positive self talk one step further. See the professor handing back the tests, and yours has

a giant red A at the top. Visualize celebrating a good grade with friends and class mates.

Remember that most people live up to their own expectations, good or bad. If you continually

see yourself with shortcomings, you increase your chances for failure. To answer test

questions efficiently, nursing students could visualize themselves working in a hospital as

they answer procedure questions, or education students could visualize themselves teaching

as they are taking the test. To relax and escape the stress of the test, students could

visualize a warm Caribbean beach with the white sand and hear the relaxing sounds of the

blue water.

1.Plan ahead for your study time You should know the first week of classes when the

instructors hand out the course syllabi the times all tests are scheduled. As soon as you find

out this information, note test days on a calendar, and write the date one week ahead of

each test. It is a good idea to use two different colors of ink in writing down this

information so that there is no possibility of confusing the two different dates--the actual

test date and the begin-studying date.

Equally important, if students wait until the last minute for study, a serious problem exists

if they find that they don't understand some of the material. Other students are studying

for themselves and cannot be bothered by helping someone else. It is too late to reach the

teacher or to get a tutor. There is not even much time to think through the material.

However, by beginning study a week early, by going through text and notes once, students

can see which items they know and can get together with other students, with the

instructor, or with a tutor. They can have the time to think out the problem themselves.

2.Decide what to study

Another way to think about this next test taking preparation tip is THINK before you

study. All course material is not equally important. Ask yourself: what material has been

most important; what did we spend a week, two weeks, etc. working on; what did we spend a

full day on; which text chapters seem more important; during lectures where did the

instructor emphasize text material or differ from text material; what kind of material was

on the last test? Instructors frequently ask the same types of questions again. For example,

if an earlier test contained several researchers' names, later tests will do the same. If an

earlier test contained many questions on theories, the later ones will too. Use your answers

to previous test questions as guides for your study.

3.Develop a study procedure

Now you're ready to actually begin studying. Go through all of your material once. Don't

stop on anything you don't know. Then, go back through the material studying only what you

didn't know the first time. Study the third time only what you didn't know the second time.

Continue going over your material until you know and understand it. As you study, divide your

time into 30-40 minute periods. Long study periods without breaks are inefficient. Study for

a half hour; take a short break (5 minutes); study again, then break again. Repeat this

process until you feel confident about your material. On breaks, reward yourself for work

well done. Do something short that you like to do (eat, listen to music, etc.). Following this

pattern can enhance studying. Remember that there really is no short cut for studying, only

more efficient methods!

4.Have good health habits

Be sure to eat right during your study times. Coffee or other caffeine or high sugar items

only have short term benefits. At exam time, it is particularly important to maintain a

balanced diet. While a piece of fruit may give a quick burst of energy before a test, the

best aid to effective study is a balanced diet. Adequate sleep is also important. People who

are well rested are better able to function during tests than those who are tired.

GENERAL TEST-TAKING TIPS

What should I do when I first get the test?

The most important element in determining whether or not you will do well in a testing

situation is understanding test directions. Listen to and read all directions before answering

any test questions. In each class there are people who will lose points--and sometimes lose a

huge number of points--because they don't follow directions.

Now, before actually writing down anything, read very quickly through the entire test. You

want to know how many pages are on the test and what the point values for each section are.

This information will help in planning test taking strategy. You will know which sections count

most heavily so that you can plan your time to be sure to allow sufficient time for those

parts.

What strategies should I use when I take the

test?

Sometimes tests have only one section for which specialized knowledge is needed. Do this

section first. For example, some nursing tests have math calculation problems at the end.

These problems are the only area of the test for which math formulas are needed. By

finding this section, writing down the necessary formulas, and doing these problems right

away, the student can dump this easy-to-forget knowledge and concentrate on subject

specific items.

Read through all of the test questions answering only those that you know. By doing this, you

assure yourself of all of the points for these questions. If you don't follow this procedure,

you might not get to questions near the end of the test--questions which you might know.

Another reason for following this procedure is that, especially in objective tests, it is quite

common that later questions may help to answer earlier ones.

A final reason for doing questions we know first is the "light bulb phenomenon." Frequently, a

person will read a question and have no idea of the answer. Then, maybe even 20 questions

later, that person will suddenly know the answer to this earlier question. If this happens to

you, write the answer down immediately. If you don't, the light may go off, and the answer

may not return.

In answering each question, read the entire question including all answer options carefully.

Many mistakes occur because people read questions too quickly. They may read information

that is not there or miss words that change the meaning of the question. Similarly, many

people read answer choices until they find one that looks right, mark that answer, and quit

reading. Frequently, these people do not read the choice that is the best answer. Careful

reading will assure that this will not happen.

As you are getting down to the end of the test, if you find there is an answer which you

don't know--GUESS. Answers left blank are most frequently marked wrong. Even a wild

guess gives a chance for points.

Let's suppose that you have plenty of time to answer all questions. There is a great

temptation to leave as soon as the test is finished. The best advice about leaving early

is--DON'T. If time remains, re-check answers, especially those you really weren't too sure

of. Remember that in a test situation, the mind and hand work very fast. And they don't

always cooperate.

TIPS FOR OBJECTIVE TESTS

TRUE

OR

FALSE

Are there clues for taking tests? Yes, but these clues should only be used to help answer

questions if you have followed these first two principles that supersede all other clues:

Obviously, study until you know and understand the material. If you know the right answer

from your study, it doesn't matter if it violates all of the clues. It doesn't matter if it

seems too easy to be right. If you know it's right, it probably is. The second principle is use

common sense. We have all lived long enough to have stored up a fund of experience--our

schema. If logic, based on our experience, tells you a thing is right, it may well be right.

Trust yourself. Here are some techniques that are helpful to know when working with

true-false questions.

It is useful to begin with the assumption that the statement is true; your job is to

find any reason why the statement might be false.

Keep in mind that general statements, those which allow for no exception, are likely

to be wrong answers. When you see words like "all," "no," "only," "always," "never,"

often called absolute words, expect the statement will be false.

Be sure that the entire statement is true. Sometimes the statements are written so

that the first part is true, but the last part is not. This is one instance where

careful reading is important. Read the entire statement to be sure that it is totally

true. A variation of this same type of statement occurs when the true-false

statement gives a reason. Part of the statement is true, but the reason given is

false. When a true-false statement is only partly true, you must mark the answer

false.

A final clue about true-false questions is to be alert for negatives, such as the word

"not" or a negative prefix, in the statement. Once again, careful reading is essential.

If you don't pay attention to that negative word, you will answer the question

incorrectly. For example, these statements look very similar:

MULTIPLE

CHOICE

The other main type of objective test question is the multiple choice question. This type of

question has two parts--the stem (the question or statement) and the options (the answer

choices). An effective way to answer this type of question is to read it as a series of

true-false questions. Read the stem with each option separately as you answer whether that

particular choice is true or not. In this manner you are less likely to be confused by several

slightly different choices because as soon as you find one answer that you can eliminate, you

can cross that one out and only concentrate on the remaining possibilities. Deal with each

option in the same way. The clues for true-false statements will equally apply to the

individual options in multiple choice questions.

There are some additional clues as you look at multiple-choice items:

See if you can find two options that are opposites. If so, one of these is likely to be

the answer.

Watch for repetition of a word or idea. If material from the stem is repeated in one

option or if two options use similar words, look for the answer among the ones

repeating key words or ideas.

"All of the above," "none of the above," "a + b only," etc. tend to be correct

answers. In dealing with these options, it is important to remember some basic

facts. First, remember that the words "all" and "none" allow for no exceptions. That

means that when you are reading the options for the question, if you find even one

option that doesn't fit, you have, in effect, eliminated two possibilities.

Avoid choosing unknown words. If you don't know what a word means, it is likely to be a

wrong answer. Instructors are usually not trying to trick you. If you think you have

never seen a word before, you probably haven't (provided that you've taken good

notes in class and have done your reading assignments). So, don't choose the unknown

unless you know none of the other answers is correct.

Choose middle numbers unless you know an extreme figure is right. In the number

series: 225, 100, 150, your right answer is likely to be 150, the middle number.

Obviously, if you have four numbers to choose from, two will be in the middle. This

rule does not say which of these is correct, but one of them is likely to be.

Avoid value judgments. If an item contains words indicating something is good or bad,

this statement is probably wrong. The only exception is if an expert said it. For

example, the statement "Capitalism is evil," is probably false because it is a value

judgement. There are occasions, however, in which judgments may be contained in a

correct answer. This happens if we are asked whether a person or group believes in

the stated judgement. The statement, "Karl Marx considered capitalism evil," may be

true because here we are judging not capitalism but Marx's beliefs about it.

Avoid joke answers. Yes, there are ridiculous options and joke items on tests. If an

item sounds stupid, it probably is. For example, in a psychology test, one stem read,

"The shape of a trapezoidal window...." One option read "C. Depends on what you had

in your morning coffee." Clearly, this is a joke and should not be taken seriously.

Another rule for answering test items is that longer, more complete items tend to

be correct answers.

Watch for double negatives. Sometimes an option or a stem contains two negatives.

Sometimes these are negative words ("no," "not," etc.). Sometimes they are suffixes

("-less) or prefixes ("non," "in-," "ab," etc.). Combinations of these possibilities can

allow for four or more negatives in a statement. To effectively deal with multiple

negatives, cross out negative words and prefixes in pairs.

Lisa1970 · Aug 6, 2002

Wow, sorry the last post was so long.

- Lisa

studentdeb · Aug 6, 2002

Wow! t hat is what I said also. but I am printing it because it has alot of good info. Thanks Lisa.

Peeps Mcarthur · Aug 6, 2002

Oh no it wasn't too Loooooooooong. The original poster has graduated by now, but no that wasn't to looooooooong.:chuckle

Study bones:

Highlight objectives.

The study guide should have a list of bones that are objectives. 1. Highlight them.................2. Identify them in the atlas or textbook. 3. The first day of lab start learning what they look like in the 3 dimensional world of the lab practical. You will not "know" them until you can identify the bones by themselves without the landmarks you will use in the book. It doesn't look the same and you will have done all that work for nothing if you don't memorize the way the models look.

I don't know of a program that doesn't start out with the skeletal system in the first practical.

I didn't incorporate a video camera until APII, but it was an indispensible tool for the practical...........if I had only had it for the cat muscles....*sigh* ...........I used a digital video camera for APII and it was very helpful in identifying my lab practical specimens. I even used it on histology slides, but thought I might scratch the lens without the proper equipment.

My lab instructor was resistant to it and I never got her to do a video, but my lecture instructor was very sweet and scheduled a time.................I then got her the finest box of choclates that I could buy..............she showed up on time. I still have the video and am waiting for the department to get the website running so I can donate them.

My advice is to make your own flashcards. You'll take in the material if you have to process it onto a flashcard.

I had a paticular method that worked very well.

I made test questions out of the studyguide material, and wrote them in short-answer form.

Example: 1. The Thyroid gland is in the _________ system.

Flip the card over

1 Write the question again but include......Endocrine.........and underline it, and highlight it.

You'll find that by putting the text and studyguide into questions that focus on main points you will be exploring, and reasoning the material..........which is the whole idea.

Now if you're still awake after my loooooooong post..........study bones!!!

studentdeb · Aug 6, 2002

Thanks Peeps, that wasn't too long. I hope I can retain everything. I feel like my brain doesn't work too well these days. It's scary.

Peeps Mcarthur · Aug 6, 2002

You are very welcome StudentDeb. You may PM or email me anytime.

As well as anyone else in the Allnurses family.

Peeps

suzielee · Aug 7, 2002

Anatomy and physiology coloring books made a world of difference for me-as did flash cards. Constantly review course content-that way you dont have to cram-give yourself a minimum of 1 week to study daily before your exams-draw diagrams and if possible review any audiovisual materials.

JillyT · Aug 7, 2002

Lisa ~ I printed your post (from a while ago) and pasted it to my wall (except I changed Jack to Jill) Thanks!

Motivated, SN · Aug 11, 2002

Very long, but very helpful. Thank you for taking the time to share this.

hcnursesoon · Aug 11, 2002

I re-drew every diagram I could in my notes, wrote down just about everything, and re-read my notes (from that day) every night as a review. Our book also came with a cd-rom that was really helpful.

Oh, and our instructors tell us all the time that if there is one thing that they wish students would retain from A&P it is the renin-angiotensin pathway... I did and it helps a lot with renal to be up on that from way back.

KC CHICK · Aug 11, 2002

I've got a fun way to study anatomy.....it does, however, involve a good looking man.:kiss :lol2: