Study Skills for Nursing School.

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Hi all! I will be starting my first semester of clinicals in August and I need some serious advice.

I have horrible study skills and know this for a fact as it has gotten worse since I've started college. It is often times difficult for me to focus on the subject at hand and my mind will start to wander and I have to take breaks often because of this, but I know that I lose some retention when I do this. Is there anything that anyone would recommend????

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Does your nursing school offer "nursing school success" class in the summer? the class is usually offered a semester before you enter the program to prepare you for what to expect. They will teach you how to read, how to succeed, and how to break your bad habits. It is believed that we only retain 10% of what we read, while that may not be the case for everyone but you will need to first identify why kind of learner are you. Are you visual? kinesthetic? etc

I am a visual learner, reading the book does not help me retain anything, but I still read. I read 50 minutes, 10 minutes break, so that I don't get bored. You should go buy Fundamental success book by Nugent Vitale, it will teach you all that you need to know on how to study, how to take nursing exams and how to succeed in the program. Nursing school is very different from other programs, it's time consuming and fast pace. If you fall behind, it will be hard to catch up. This summer will be perfect for you to start reading ahead. good luck!!

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

Everyone has a different learning style, the key is to find yours. I learn best buy re-writing my notes. I kind of skim the chapters, highlighting while I read, that way when I study for exams I can re-write all of the highlighted stuff in the book that I found important, along with my instructor's powerpoints.

I have also found that talking out loud while I'm studying helps. It sounds crazy, but I talk out loud like I'm teaching the subject to someone, and it really helps the information stick! When I did this for my respiratory exam, I ended up with a 94.

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I have trouble focusing and concentrating as well. Ritalin works wonders :yeah:

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