STUDY strategies

Nursing Students Student Assist

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I'm in my 4th week of NS. We had our first test last week. I'm still trying to get a grip on how to STUDY. I don't need "test taking strategies"... I've had tons and tons of that and I get all of that. My problem is adjusting how to STUDY differently. I had a 4.0 GPA coming in, but as I knew already, this is not the same as studying for an A&P exam. I feel like I just keep reading the lecture notes over and over and over... and it is doing me NO good at all. (reading notes has never worked as a study habit for me) I just can't figure out how to study for application. ::sigh::

Any advice?

This is my study method, and I've got a semester and a half of NS As under my belt:

1. Read the material before class. I highlight as I go. If I fail to read all of if before one class, I make myself finish that afternoon. I really try not to get behind.

2. Print out powerpoints/outline if available, and take good notes either on this or in my notebook as appropriate. I take my in-class notes by hand, because this forces me to type them up later, and I get more review in.

3. I record every lecture, and usually play them back when I type up my notes. Our classes are team taught, and a couple of professors I only usually need to listen to once, but I still record them in case I get to a spot in my notes that isn't clear. I type all my class notes in kind of an outline form, since I actually hate powerpoints and don't like to study from them. Depending on the class, the professor, and the topic, I might supplement with additional info/clarification from the textbook, especially if that part of the lecture wasn't clear to me. I try to do this not the same day as the lecture, but within a few days so the material is still fresh.

4. In some classes, we've been given some type of topical outline, study guide, review questions, or objectives that should be "areas of focus" on our exam. I pull relevant info to answer all of these, and retype it all again. At this point, I really know the material - I learn through all these steps involved in creating my "study guide," not from studying it.

5. Whatever time I have left before the exam, I spend doing NCLEX questions, review questions from the chapter, questions from the study guide that accompanies the textbook, questions from the textbook website, etc. I'm allowed to look up answers that I don't know, since I usually remember whatever I've looked up if it shows again on an exam.

I also listen to the instructor. It's part of why I record lectures. Some of them will actually tell you what or how to study, and I follow their advice. Others seem to emphasize certain topics, maybe just with the tone of their voice, that tend to show up on the exam. You might be able to learn what to listen for.

Try to understand the whys of what you're learning. That's what NCLEX-style questions test, is reasoning and application with the assumption that you know the basic material. You also really need to find out what works for YOU. Some people in my class swear by notecards, and claim to do well, but I quit making them after my first NS test - they weren't useful to me like they were in A&P - except in pharm, where I went back and made drug cards when I realized that those do come in handy.

Hope some of that was helpful! It's what I do, and while time-consuming, it works well for me.

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Specializes in Travel Nursing, ICU, tele, etc.

Here is a couple of things I learned about studying that really helped and continues to help me.

If you are learning new material, do it early in the day, because if you do it at night your mind will work at understanding it and you may not be able to sleep as well. The stuff to study right before you go to bed is memorization, because as you sleep your mind will categorize the information, it already understands it, so it won't cause anxiety and keep you awake and you will memorize easier.

Also, as you are studying, don't ever skip something you don't understand, because your mind will get stuck at the information you skipped and it will be very difficult to learn anything else. Either look up what you need to understand the information, or tell yourself very clearly to 'let go' of that information, that you will find the answers out tomorrow in class (or whatever) so that your mind can let go and continue to retain information.

Also, it is very useful to go through the information using as many different sensory or different ways to remember that you can....for example: don't just read the information, write it out, perhaps make flashcards, speak the information outloud so you can hear it, or have someone ask you questions, use different colored pens and highlighters or paper....anything that will help your brain... the brain gets bored very easily and the more variety the easier it is to retain information. The more creative you are, the more fun it will be and the easier it will be to remember.

As you study, do a thorough job as you go, don't lightly skip through, write and rewrite the information if you need to....

Just a few suggestions, but once I heard these tips, my ability to learn and test well dramatically increased. Good luck to you!!

;););)

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

how to study, in general:

assessing your frame of mind:

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how to study for nursing school:

how to study, in general:

thanks, daytonite! i had my second test on tuesday and i got a 94% on it!! i was so happy!! i think there were only 2-3 a's out of 98 of us, so i did something right this time around. :D

oh and yay, i have a sticky now! lol! there really are some good hints on this thread.

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These are some great tips and resources. Thank You. I have my first foundations exam on Monday and we covered 22 chapters this first week. There is so much info! But it's all important. It's not like you can cut down what you study. I'm going to focus on note cards and practice Qs.

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Thank you for the useful websites!!! I am about to embark on 16 credits this month and I want to get started ASAP.

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I really wated to thank you Daytonite for the ctitical thinking flow sheet. Nursing is something I have never done. Your sheet helps me organize my thoughts. But I might have found it a little late because I am not doing so well in my med surge class. I am so how convinced the professors dont want us to be successful and it hurts so bad. But anyways I just wanted to thank you for that cool sheet.

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I am panicking.I got a 100% on my math portion of NET but a 48 on english which has ALWAYS been my best subject.I have been bawling..gardening, praying, tantruming.But I need a reasonable strategy to study for the english portion of the net so I can get on with studying for the Hesi exam.

PLEASE HELP.I feel so discomboobilated I can hardly organize my thoughts.WHAT in the WORLD is wrong with me? I am not an idiot.

Please , if anyone has a suggestion I can grab hold of and get busy with I would be so grateful!!!!

Signed, A frustrated and bordering on depressed student.(My husband is a heart patient and I have GOT to get myself into a stable and strong frame of mind so I can support my darling who has supported me all these years:redbeathe....Time to get out of my pity party and DO da dance.

Thanks ladies and gentlemen.

A determined LPN working tward an RN then BSN .

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I do some studying on my own, reading the book, reading my notes, reading the NCLEX review. I then get together with 3 of my friends and we got hrough NCLEX questions. We ask every question out loud and we discuss why we think the answer is. We then go through the rationales and try to understand as a group what the answer is. This has been most helpful in helping me think more like a nurse. Good luck! Study groups rock

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Purchase the lastest edition of the saunders book. Do the practice questions on the CD.

I was having a difficult time during my first semester, however once i started doing the practice questions, something clicked and my understanding of the material improved. I just started to connect different concepts. Doing practice questions really made a difference.

hope this helps & good luck

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