Nursing Student Study Tips Contest

Kialya, ASN · Oct 11, 2015

When I was studying, I audio recorded the lectures, took my laptop to class and typed in anything I felt I needed during lecture.

After class, I took my rainbow of highlighters and I would highlight the dickens out of my textbooks.

I then took 3x5 note cards, but cut them all in half. I would write a question on one side and then (here is the trick) word the answer in the form of another question on the backside. For a poor simplified example, front side would read "How do you convert kilograms to pounds?" The back side reads "2.2 pounds equals how many kilograms?" You get the idea. This does multiple things: It forces you to slow down and write up questions from your text book and it does so in a meaningful way that drives the point home since you are required to think of the question in a way so that the answer also forms a question.

When you have a whole chapter of these small notecards, you 'speed study' them. You can do this anywhere because they are tiny and portable. Read the question; if you know the answer right away, you confirm the correct answer, TURN THE CARD OVER and place it in the back of the stack. If you did not know the answer immediately, put the card still facing the question you missed about 20 cards back in the stack and keep going. This will make sure the questions you are getting stuck on will be ones you return to repeatedly. Once you have mastered the stack you will start to see the back side questions. Mastering the whole stack means you have them all down back and front. Do this for each chapter.

I got straight A's in college nursing school with this method. Is it fast? Nope. Does it require work? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

rmbuchok · Oct 15, 2015

I am currently in my 3rd year in the BScN program in Canada. I am mostly a visual and tactile learner and I have adult inattentive ADD which also adds a challenge.

My favourite and most effective ways of studying are to use online flash cards and charts. When a test is coming up, I make flash cards to self-test and I make them NCLEX style questions. I like to use websites like StudyBlue because it automatically will keep track of the questions you got wrong and at the end you can focus on those and it saves the flash cards so I can use them again during a final or to review. When I test myself, I write down the answer before I flip the card so that it really drills in. I always go through the whole deck twice and then I start to focus on the ones I frequently get wrong, then the morning of I do the whole deck again. This method gets me high 80's and I learn the information very quickly but it does require some time to make the flash cards and condense the information.

I use charts for topics like endocrine where there are a lot of opposites. An example would be Cushing's Syndrome vs Addison's Disease with "etiology, diagnostics, labs, symptoms, treatment, drugs, nursing implications, etc" headings on the left and then I can compare the two when reading it over AND I'll leave the boxes blank and write in the answers by hand with pencil, erase it and do that over and over so that I am forced to retrieve the information.

To help with time management and maximize productivity, I like the "Pomodoro" time management method. This method includes working/studying for 25 minutes and then taking a 5 minute break, repeat 4 times and then you get a longer break on the 4th round. There are many Apple and Android apps for this time management method and my brain doesn't seem to get over tired and it seems to work at maximum capacity when I use this method.

My only other recommendation would be to make the flash cards / charts or whatever study notes you want, soon after you learn the information or a lecture, not right before a test. You forget 50%-80% of what you originally learned after just a couple days of the lecture and you will have to re-teach yourself the information if you don't review along the way. (Source: https://uwaterloo.ca/counselling-services/curve-forgetting).

Study smarter not harder!

Editorial Team / Admin · Oct 25, 2015

For those interested in sharing tips, please submit them in the Nursing Student Study Tips section.

akanta · Oct 25, 2015

Not everyone going into nursing school knows exactly how to study, so this can be your biggest challenge. BUY all of your books so you can keep them to study for your NCLEX and to use as reference for later. I found myself doing this often. Look around online for the best used book prices to save. Tell the people around you what you have learned so far. This helps you "teach others", but it also helps you evaluate what you have learned, what areas you are weak in, and what you need to go back over. Sometimes it's better to just listen to the lecture rather than try to take notes. You will hear what the instructors are saying rather than focusing on if you are writing down the correct information. Record the lecture if you need to and listen to it in the car, while you're cooking, or whenever so you can hear everything over as needed.

happyface27 · Nov 2, 2015

Mnemonics were really helpful when I was in nursing school. Look for them on youtube, google, etc.

JenniferMilesHam · Dec 4, 2015

I have been using U-tube a lot! Its great for learning the pathways of the body. I can watch the videos and pause them and repeat what was said.. Then I watch more and build the memorization of the pathway of sound through the ear for example. The combination of the video and words and repetition has helped me to get great scores on essays!

Columnist · Dec 4, 2015

We have a WINNER!!!

The contest is over. A big thanks to all who participated in the contest. There were so many great study tips submitted....it was hard to pick one.

And the winning study tips submission is....

From one student to another by achurley

Congratulations!!!!!!

Your 3M Littmann Classic III stethoscope is on its way.

Editorial Team / Admin · Dec 4, 2015

CONGRATULATIONS, achurley!!!!