New nursing student in desperate need for a study plan

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I am a first semester nursing student. I am only in week 2 and already feel behind. (Nursing fundamentals) It's so much information I have no idea how to study. There are the books, and power points and notes and I have no idea where to start. I've never really had good study methods. So if anyone has an effective study plan they want to share that would be great!

Thanks!!

Specializes in Med/surg-Tele.

First things first. find out what type of learner you are. The VARK Questionnaire | VARK

do you need to listen intently at the front of the room, and take vigorous notes?

do you need to read it, see it, do it?

do you need to listen and not take notes?

there are specific ways people learn, and nursing school is sadly, the first place people have to commit to figuring out how to learn, and how to study.

I am a self paced learner with ADHD, and I do not learn by 'listening' the first time. So I have a Livescribe pen Livescribe :: Never Miss A Word , probably the best tool ever. I get side tracked quickly if someone doesn't get to the point, or talks slowly, with a live scribe pen, you can click on the note where you need to be refreshed, and then you can actually speed up the pace of the recording. I also sat in the back of the room, and typed the notes in the bottom of the presentation and then printed them 4 pages on a sheet. Then i would listen to the lecture, and write in different colors every time i listened.

The next thing to do, is to talk about the information. Find a buddy that will just talk it out with you. I spent many days at starbucks with a friend just talking over the material we covered, but we would also get in our social time as well, so it helped us to just keep going.-both of our test grades improved when we started doing this.

content based NCLEX questions (if you're on Heart Failure that week, only do cardiac NCLEX questions) The best way to do this is by using SAUNDERS nuclex prep

Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination:

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Can I get in on that help too? I'm in week 3...I have my first exam in Intro to Pharm next week and I am freaking out, especially after hearing stories about how all the people in the class ahead of ours bombed the first test. I'm doing my ATI's and reading the book. I'm doing the sample questions at the end of the chapters and in my workbook...just want to make sure thats enough. They were all saying it's not about knowing the info as much as it is learning how to think critically. Any help with that would be greatly appreciated. :)

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The first semester of nursing school felt like Med school boot camp! We had multiple exams a week, quizzes, labs, homework, online Sim practice and charting. Personally, Study the power points. Those are the key things your teacher took out of the book and put into a document to teach you about and thats what they will quiz and test you on. It is only then if you do not understand a disease or want more detailed information do you go into your book. Use your book as a resource, but do not try and read every chapter your teacher assigns you. I can assure you that there will be no time for this! Good luck, I recommend checking out Picmonic, our entire class signed up under one account for two years and it cost everyone $10.00 and whoever signed up for it gave everyone the email and password they made up specifically for that website. I hope it helps! :)

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One more thing...If you are in Pharm or med surgery classes I recommend making up stories. Ex: Tegretol (Wham bam thank you mam take your top off. A boy and a girl were driving down the sodium channel highway when bam, they both have seizures and hit an ox! Because they hit an ox he is having double vision and wont be able to find his way home). I know it sounds silly but through in a glass of wine when you study and you come up with the funniest stories that are easy to remember for when you take your exam! :)

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Specializes in Postpartum.

I'm in my second semester of pre nursing and so far, what I've done this semester has helped a lot! I always ALWAYS go into class with the chapter of the week read. All my notes are also done. When the professor lectures, I add onto my OneNote notes and record lectures. I go over my notes every single day and also the powerpoints. I make flashcards, watch videos (Crashcourse is AMAZING!) and then handwrite the important stuff from my notes onto notebooks. I like making study guides too and I memorize those. Good luck!

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While completing my A.S. Liberal Arts Degree, a student guidance assistant introduced me to this great course called College Orientation Seminar” (every college usually has this type of course and it's 1-2credits very easy). I learned a ton of great tips regarding time management, how to schedule your courses (considering location how much time & how far apart are they, are they all on the same day?/so will all your midterms/finals be, using free college campus maps ect.), study & test taking tips, ect.

While in the class the professor informed us of a free seminar called Seeds to Success” and it was taught by a really high ranking dept. head. That's where I learned about the SQ3R Study method (works for text book style vs novel books), the Cornell Note Taking System, and the TONS of free resources the school offered (i.e. general learning ctrs, major specific learning ctrs, programs set up to support specific majors, free tutoring, ect...

SQ3R Study method

SURVEY: Pre-read. Scan the material. Look for titles, subtitles, pictures, diagrams, bold & italic type.

QUESTION: After Surveying, ask yourself questions. Who, what, when, where, why & how.

3R:

READ: Go back to the beginning of the lesson and read normally.

RECITE: Cover the answers to your questions & recite them. Quiz yourself.

REVIEW: Go back over the material. Reread your notes and outline the main points.

A great book that encompasses school, work, & personal life is Time Management from the Inside Out, Second Edition: The Foolproof System for Taking Control of Your Schedule -- and Your Life, by Julie Morgenstern” Saw her on PBS & Oprah.

Lastly, I would suggest creating a closed/private FB Group for you & your classmates to organize study groups, network with each other for help, ect. Utilize allnurses by reading the MANY helpful tips from 10yrs ago to today.

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One more thing...If you are in Pharm or med surgery classes I recommend making up stories. Ex: Tegretol (Wham bam thank you mam take your top off. A boy and a girl were driving down the sodium channel highway when bam, they both have seizures and hit an ox! Because they hit an ox he is having double vision and wont be able to find his way home). I know it sounds silly but through in a glass of wine when you study and you come up with the funniest stories that are easy to remember for when you take your exam! :)

Reminds me of Picpneumonics on Youtube, I think I learned about that trick in PSY 101 when we got to memory, & how our mind stores & processes information.

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Thanks everyone!

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Pre nursing as in pre reqs? Oh man, actual nursing school is soooo different compared to regular courses.

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Get a critical thinking book. Everyone says dont just memorize but learn... I had no idea the difference until i saw a post elsewhere suggesting Critical Thinkomg for Dummies. I just saw it today but i think itll help

Also, google VARK QUIZ to determine your learnimg style.

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Can I get in on that help too? I'm in week 3...I have my first exam in Intro to Pharm next week and I am freaking out, especially after hearing stories about how all the people in the class ahead of ours bombed the first test. I'm doing my ATI's and reading the book. I'm doing the sample questions at the end of the chapters and in my workbook...just want to make sure thats enough. They were all saying it's not about knowing the info as much as it is learning how to think critically. Any help with that would be greatly appreciated. :)

Get a critical thinking book. Everyone says dont just memorize but learn... I had no idea the difference until i saw a post elsewhere suggesting Critical Thinkomg for Dummies. I just saw it today but i think itll help

Also, google VARK QUIZ to determine your learnimg style.

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