requesting Ideas on how to study

cherokeesummer · Jun 5, 2004

Hmmm...well I don't have kids but I do have a full time job and go to school full time and am married and have doggies..not the same as kids I know!

I try to read a bit on my lunch break at work. I then try to read when I get home. It is hard to find time but that has been my norm thus far.

Some of my classmates that have children said that it is easier for them to study if they go to the school or go to a library to study rather than stay at home. Is that an option for you?

:):)

studentnurse74, LPN, LVN · Jun 5, 2004

I just started reading this book:

Test Success: Test-Taking Techniques for Beginning Nursing Students

I'm only a little bit into it, but it's very interesting.

Energizer Bunny · Jun 5, 2004

I absolutely cannot be around the kids when I study. I have to leave the house or wait until they go to sleep. Consequently, their bedtime is 7 pm.

chris_at_lucas_RN, RN · Jun 5, 2004

The best thing I have found is to make the most of my study time (no distractions, no games on yahoo, etc.), and to make sure my resources were the best.

My first three semesters (first year of the program) I attended a traditional school. I took notes like there was no tomorrow. I usually read the material, which was dry already and more so because it was what the instructor had just lectured about.

My second year I enrolled in a nontraditional school. There were no lectures, no classes. That sounds great, but it means you have to go out and get your own information. Oddly enough, I found that I got more out of ferretting out information I didn't know, than trying to learn material that might be on the test, if that makes any sense.

My suggestion--read the book assignments, pay good attention to the lectures. Since you obviously can do the internet, use google to look up stuff that seems hazy or you don't understand. You may find that just looking for it in that manner makes it more interesting to you, which will naturally result in your learning and retaining more.

Good luck--oh, and get enough to eat, plenty of sleep (schedule it! it's a necessity!!), and learn some de-stress techniques before school starts, or you will gain weight from the stress.

ARmickie · Jun 5, 2004

What seems to be working for me at this point is the computer, believe it or not. While the kids are watching tv, playing in their rooms, or even eating dinner, I'm typing away here. I tend to retype my notes everyday, which helps me to remember them. Luckily, my classes are in the same building, and only a few doors apart. I take advantage by going from one class to another, and when I get in there, I read over as many of the previous days notes as I can to help me get familiar again with what we're building on. It may also help if you can record lectures to listen to on your way to and from school. The times that I actually have to study seriously, or have papers to write get more confusing. Usually I have the DH take the kids out for a bit, or like Kim says, wait until they are in bed. But, I still can find time to write out the outlines and such while they are occupied with something else.

EyesForward · Jun 7, 2004

I realized I was wasting entirely too much time in the car traveling here and there on family business every day, so I make flashcards, and then carry a pack of them with me everywhere I go. You'd be surprised how many opportunities you have to 'study'. I pull them out waiting for my daughter's train, while kids are in activities, at traffic lights, even in the bathroom. (OK, I use them while driving too...please nobody blast me for being unsafe!) Flashcards in general are such a great tool for studying. I find just writing the information is helpful for initial storage, and then the short, visual bursts of information sink in permanently so much better than a big page of notes. You find yourself visualizing the actual flashcard. They travel well, too. I organize mine by subject so I can easily find "Electrolytes", or whatever. They will be with me throughout nursing school to review over and over until I pass the NCLEX.

Energizer Bunny · Jun 7, 2004

Oh yeah, I took my notes everywhere with me when I was in school three years ago. I mean, everywhere!!!! There is always an opportunity to study.

jackleg27 · Jun 7, 2004

I absolutely cannot be around the kids when I study. I have to leave the house or wait until they go to sleep. Consequently, their bedtime is 7 pm.

I go to the local coffee house aka starbucks and study where other students are studying. It keeps me motivated if you are in there with others doing the same thing.

Nurse-o-Matic · Jun 8, 2004

I don't have children but several of my friends at school do. A couple of them do this "kid swap" thing to get in some study time. Each will take all the kids for a couple of hours so the others can get some study time in. Perhaps you will meet someone in your classes who will be willing to try this. Good luck!

LouisianaNurse2006 · Jul 16, 2004

I realized I was wasting entirely too much time in the car traveling here and there on family business every day, so I make flashcards, and then carry a pack of them with me everywhere I go. You'd be surprised how many opportunities you have to 'study'. I pull them out waiting for my daughter's train, while kids are in activities, at traffic lights, even in the bathroom. (OK, I use them while driving too...please nobody blast me for being unsafe!) Flashcards in general are such a great tool for studying. I find just writing the information is helpful for initial storage, and then the short, visual bursts of information sink in permanently so much better than a big page of notes. You find yourself visualizing the actual flashcard. They travel well, too. I organize mine by subject so I can easily find "Electrolytes", or whatever. They will be with me throughout nursing school to review over and over until I pass the NCLEX.

I also use flashcard for memory aids, they are wonderful! and, yes, I admit that I also use them while driving , I know. Just on the straight highways though, not in town!

jschut, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2004

I have to go to the library. and sometimes I even have to take the kids....but that's ok. I warn them to NOT bother me unless it's an emergency and they are pretty good about it.

Hubby is the one who drives me nuts...he can't seem to grasp the concept of me having to read without him talking!