I am curious about whether it is possible to succeed in NS without study groups.
I am not opposed to participating in study groups... as a matter of fact I believe it is a good thing to share information and possibly help others...
I've just always been more of an independent learner. I also have family responsibility that might make it difficult to coordinate any kind of study group activity.
So, that said, would I be shooting myself in the foot to not try to MAKE time to join a study group in the Fall when I start NS?
(I realize it may be a non-issue for me, as I believe a significant number of my fellow program students have kids or work or both... so study groups might just fall in a great time slot for me... lol... but as most who are waiting for things to start, I am anxious and over-thinking everything in advance... lol)
I've never done really well in study groups; if the pressure isn't on, nobody ever gets anything done, and everyone's always at a different stage of studying so there's inevitably those of us who are pretty well prepared and those who haven't even looked over their own lecture notes yet and expect to be taught everything. Once in a blue moon I'll find a group that's as overachieving as I tend to be and we can study well because we keep up with material as the semester progresses instead of test-time cramming, but usually it's more frustration than help.
That said... I do often benefit from a day-before-the-test study session where (theoretically) everyone has reviewed the material thoroughly and we're getting together to quiz each other and fine tune our knowledge. I make "flash cards" on my computer using software designed for studying and everyone I've studied with has loved to get together and let the program test us. Those sessions have always helped me bump my exam grades up a couple of points.
So, no, you don't need study groups to survive. But if you can find a group to review with before a test, when everyone's focused and feeling the pressure, that can often be quite useful.
I definately know that I study better alone. Group studying can sometimes get out of control with too many topics, too many questions and even wrong answers. I have found over the past couple years to study on my own, since that is the way that I feel I get the most out of. It is different for everyone. If you do consider a study group, I believe the smaller the group, the better!! :)
I've never been a study group kinda person. In high school study group=Shannon teaching the slacker students so I got nothing out of it. I think I was scarred
We actually end up spending down time in the nursing lab (we call it the clubhouse lol) and we'll brainstorm about upcoming test subjects. Nothing organized, but I really found that impromptu review sessions are helpful. Sometimes I don't even contribute - just listening to ideas being bounced around is good for me!
I really think if we organized a study group the whole thing would fall apart. Someone would have to act as moderator and that just gets old after a while. I know some folks that do the groups and it really helps. We're just not one of them!
Good luck - and don't stress before you've got something to stress about It's just nursing school!
Of course you can succeed without a study group. It is hard to find good study partners...make sure you find people that are on the same level as you...because if your group is clueless about everything( you are going to spend most of your time explaining things to them)...instead of studying and helping each other out. You also have to find someone who cares about school, grades, future career and not someone who keeps talking about their personal life and other people non-stop.
I don't belong to any study groups. Everytime my friends ask if I want to study, I always decline because usually there is no studying involved, just chatter. I feel like I focus a lot better on my own.
my favorite way to study with someone is to meet up with a friend who also likes to study alone. then we sit at the same table but we each study whatever we want however we want & if we come across anything we don't understand in our notes or textbook, we ask each other and figure it out together. this way we benefit from each other's knowledge and we have someone keeping us motivated to study, but we aren't distracted by conversation or conflicting learning styles.
I always get together with a group about an hour or so before a test. We review and quiz each other. But other than that, I study on my own for the most part.
I'm (re)starting NS in January, at a new school that is a 45 minute drive from my house. I am assuming most of the students will be either staying in the dorms there, or live close by to the school. I probably wont be part of any study groups for that reason, as well as I dont feel they really help me much anyway.
maybe if i work up enough courage to become friends with someone in the class, I will stay after occasionally for big tests. (I can rent a dorm for $10 a night! ha!)
i've always studied on my own, and i am not a group person for studying, but for this semester coming up i am willing to try a study group along with me studying on my own at home. the study group won't be the only source of studying for me.
I'll be honest, we have had a study group since I started school. but with that said, it is now down to THREE versus thirteen. We realized first sememster that there were those who were there just to soak up YOUR knowledge. We all always had study group assignments, and half the time, the same people did them when everyone else slacked. SO. We had a huge parting of the ways, and now there are those in class who do not speak at all. So really, its best to just stick with a group of two or three, and study a lot by yourself!
It's just nursing school!
twois
260 Posts
I've never done really well in study groups; if the pressure isn't on, nobody ever gets anything done, and everyone's always at a different stage of studying so there's inevitably those of us who are pretty well prepared and those who haven't even looked over their own lecture notes yet and expect to be taught everything. Once in a blue moon I'll find a group that's as overachieving as I tend to be and we can study well because we keep up with material as the semester progresses instead of test-time cramming, but usually it's more frustration than help.
That said... I do often benefit from a day-before-the-test study session where (theoretically) everyone has reviewed the material thoroughly and we're getting together to quiz each other and fine tune our knowledge. I make "flash cards" on my computer using software designed for studying and everyone I've studied with has loved to get together and let the program test us. Those sessions have always helped me bump my exam grades up a couple of points.
So, no, you don't need study groups to survive. But if you can find a group to review with before a test, when everyone's focused and feeling the pressure, that can often be quite useful.