Not sure how to study....

[marilynmom, LPN, NP]

I am taking Fundamentals of Nursing. I am just not sure how to study for the lecture partion of this class, it's my first nursing class and the instructors tell us it will be NCLEX format (expected that) application questions...but how do I *study* for those types of questions? I'm just not sure what to expect I guess since it's different from all the gen ed and pre-req classes.

I know once I take the first test I will be more prepared but I am just not sure how to prepare for this first test.

Any thoughts, ideas, tips, etc??

I did go to the books companion website and have a so-so study guide that had sample NCLEX questions and I found those very easy but i know the test will not be so easy

[all4schwa]

A couple of tips that work for me:

1. Get an NCLEX-RN review book, you'll need it in the end, you'll use it all the way through and most importantly... study some and then do a few questions, this will let you know if you are on the right track, it's easy to study for a long time and completely study the wrong stuff. After all, if youre not a nurse, how would you know what is most important.

2. as long as you know your A&P, the most important part of the chapter is the careplan at then end of the chapter. i don't know how many girls see this as "oh, good, something i can skip" your instructor will be asking you about appropriate interventions and WHY the interventions will help the patient.

3. at home, ALWAYS have your book open. five minutes here and there (ie, while the coffee's brewing/pasta's cooking, ect) adds up to alot. revisiting concepts sticks better than long sittings. trust me, if you get stuck, keep coming back. eventually it will 'click' and that's a really good feeling.

4. get with a study group. pick the ones that are not gossip mongers and keep the group small.

hope this helps and good luck!!

[ear]

Our classes have a "handout," kind of like an outline of lecture. What I have found that helps me with studying is rewriting the notes I have taken from Lecture into another notebook (usually smaller sized so I can carry that around with me to study when I have a few minutes) I use the books to expand on a concept that I am hacing a little difficulty with.

If possible, read before the lecture, so the material isnt so unfamiliar, then kind of skim through it after, to get the highlighted parts.

I also love the companion websites to the books, most of them are full of practice questions. Also, the NCLEX books are a great tool for practice questions.

best of luck to you!

`ear

[HappyJaxRN]

Study the material and get to know everything. Practice with the NCLEX books before taking the tests....Get a book that gives you rationales. Once you work these problems over and over, you'll get the hang of it. It may seem overwhelming with all the information, but take it one page at a time and give yourself enough time to absorb the info. Study groups can be helpful.

A teacher told me to do this...and it actually works....When taking the test, cover the answers and answer the question in your own words, if you can. Then choose the one that is closest to your answer.

The further in you go in school, the tests will prove to be more challenging. Usually there are 2 answers that closely resemble each other and sometimes, both answers may appear to be right. If that's the case, go back into the question, read it again, because most likely you're getting hung up on the distracters and you missed something. My biggest problem in school and on the NCLEX were the distracters! Working the NCLEX book(s) will help with this. Good luck!

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

you know, i was on a board of nursing web site the other day and saw they had a link to practice questions for nclex. i thought it might be interesting to search different bon sites to see if there are others that do that. in any case, here is a web site with a tutorial on studying for nursing tests:

http://go.dbcc.edu/hhps/nursing/study_skills.html - study skills for the nursing student from daytona beach community college nursing department with some good advice.

http://go.dbcc.edu/hhps/nursing/test_taking_skills.html - test taking skills also from daytona beach community college nursing department. a couple of sample questions and how to chose the correct answer for these application type questions.

the major thing about nursing exams is that they like to start giving students what are called "application questions" in order to prepare you for critical thinking skills you will need for nclex. basically, what they are about is that they give you a situation. you have to know the "rule" of how to handle the situation. the answer choices are based on applying the rules, not the actual rules themselves. they are testing your ability to think out solutions and still follow established rules of nursing.