Seven Study Tips From My Second Month of Nursing School

[nervousnursehopeful]

Hi Guys!

I'm back with more tips! This time I wanted to focus more on studying. I want to start by saying that studying is something that is VERY hard for me. In high school, I never had to study, EVER! In fact my high school had a program where we could be exempt from final exams, so up until I got to college I had never taken a final! Even when I was in my pre nursing courses I hardly ever studied. I would for anatomy and the more nursing involved courses, but I really could of cared less if I got a C or a D on a history exam (Why do I need history anyway?!!?!) BUT now that I'm in Nursing school anything below a 75 is FAILING! So obviously I want all of my test grades to be above a 75 for sure! My goal is to not make anything lower than an 80, which so far I have! SO anyway here are my tips

1) Spend an hour after class every day WITHOUT YOUR PHONE reviewing. To me this is crucial! I did not do this at first but when I started it was like everything just came to me. Believe me it works!

2) Divide time up. I would study 45 minutes then take a short break. The key to this is making sure during the break you don't start doing something that you enjoy. Because then it will be harder to study. Usually I fold towels or something.

3) Notecards!! This is not everyones thing but it sure became mine! The good thing about notecards is that you're learning when you make them and you can take them anywhere. While everyone is on their phones waiting for dinner at a restaurant I take them out and flip through them really fast. Plus they're cheap!

4) I LOVE websites like Quizlet where you can take your notecards and enter them in and then it makes games you can play with them. I love my notecards but its good to have some fun with them every so often.

5) Get family members to help you. Nursing is a profession that deals with people, so why not try to incorporate people wherever you can? I am not above having my 6 year old niece hold up notecards to quiz me when I am babysitting her. She loves it, it makes her feel grown.

6) Drink water or something better than soft drinks. My first study session I had 4 mountain dews, I was hyped and the night before the test I couldn't sleep. Going into a test exhausted after you've worked hard is NOT fun.

7) Start studying for a test early. I know this can be hard when there are like 3 tests in two weeks but you have to prioritize. I'll start looking at materials that will have to do with the first test, and maybe add in some of the second test toward the end. When the first test is over, I'll study the second test material only at first then slowly add in the third test. It works better than studying everything in large amounts all at once.

I hope these are helpful to someone! Happy Studying!

[GoFar]

Thanks for the great tips. Im starting an LPN program on the 17th. Im so anxious to start and use some of these tips