Please offer your study tips!!

dan1100rt · Jan 18, 2016

I was very glad to have paid focused attention on pathophysiology which was in the first semester of my program. If you understand how body systems are supposed to work and what happens when they don't work correctly, you'll have a basis of understanding of everything else: what to look for in your assessment, how other body systems are affected, how specific medications and other interventions will address those problems, and what adverse effects to look for. There will be some things like lab values, ABGs, vitals, EKG, anatomy that you'll just have to memorize and know.

For pharm, understanding the mechanisms of actions of medications is especially important, and having that patho understanding will help. You will be able to learn tricks to remember classes of drugs (e.g. "-pril"'s are ACE inhibitors) but if you understand why the meds work the way they do by understanding the underlying patho and anatomy, you'll have a greater grasp on the big picture. I used flash cards to help memorize/understand meds.

Overall, don't procrastinate. Programs go fast, fast, fast, and the classes mostly build on what was covered the previous session, week, etc. If you start falling behind, it will be difficult to catch up. When reviewing notes or text, read once through quick (almost a skim) to grasp the overall picture, then re-read for specifics, taking notes. I used a system where I re-took notes on my class notes; I wrote the notes during class on the right side of the notebook and my review notes on the left side in a different color.

Also, don't be hesitant to ask for help. There are some pretty complicated things, and really, in this career, there are lives at stake - you do need to know this material. Ask for help from the instructors, TAs (if there are some), and co-students for things you don't understand. My study groups, which met for about an hour a week, were very beneficial to me.

CecilyQ8888 · Jan 19, 2016

I was very glad to have paid focused attention on pathophysiology which was in the first semester of my program. If you understand how body systems are supposed to work and what happens when they don't work correctly, you'll have a basis of understanding of everything else: what to look for in your assessment, how other body systems are affected, how specific medications and other interventions will address those problems, and what adverse effects to look for. There will be some things like lab values, ABGs, vitals, EKG, anatomy that you'll just have to memorize and know.
For pharm, understanding the mechanisms of actions of medications is especially important, and having that patho understanding will help. You will be able to learn tricks to remember classes of drugs (e.g. "-pril"'s are ACE inhibitors) but if you understand why the meds work the way they do by understanding the underlying patho and anatomy, you'll have a greater grasp on the big picture. I used flash cards to help memorize/understand meds.
Overall, don't procrastinate. Programs go fast, fast, fast, and the classes mostly build on what was covered the previous session, week, etc. If you start falling behind, it will be difficult to catch up. When reviewing notes or text, read once through quick (almost a skim) to grasp the overall picture, then re-read for specifics, taking notes. I used a system where I re-took notes on my class notes; I wrote the notes during class on the right side of the notebook and my review notes on the left side in a different color.
Also, don't be hesitant to ask for help. There are some pretty complicated things, and really, in this career, there are lives at stake - you do need to know this material. Ask for help from the instructors, TAs (if there are some), and co-students for things you don't understand. My study groups, which met for about an hour a week, were very beneficial to me.

Thank you so much for these tips!!!

They are all just on point. I used to procrastinate a lot and usually keep quiet and be hesitate to ask for help in my previous semesters. However, I decided to force myself to change them last semester. I think I have improved a little bit. I will keep trying.

Btw, are you working as an RN now or...?

Editorial Team / Admin · Jan 19, 2016

Have you checked out the Study Tips for Nursing Students forum? Lots of good tips there, some that will work for you and some that may not.