study skills for returning students

[jcol1460]

hello all, this is a question geared more towards those of you who have a degree in another profession and have gone back to school to become a nurse. of course, all feedback is welcome.

background:

i'm currently a therapist (bachelor and masters of social work) and have been in my field in case manager to therapist capacities progresively for the last 12 years. I found that during both of my degrees, I barely had to open a book and still maintained a/b grades. this was especially true in my masters program and the specialty years of my bachelors degree. I found that my professors were really good at teaching theory and concepts and 'why' I needed to know this information. I found that the social work field for me has been mostly intuitive, 'common sense' type of learning and work. I find that I learn concepts the best when I've been told why I need to know it, how and why it works, and then can integrate this knowledge into daily practice.

my question is this, since I've rarely had to study throughout my 6 years of higher education (and even less so during high school), how can I better prepare for the amount of studying i'm seeing from other students as necessary to be successful not only in school but as a competent practioner as well? doing what I do for a living, I don't think i'll have much trouble with the critical thinking portion of school, however, the regurgitation of information has always perplexed me (i.e. memorizing systems and functions like in anatomy and physiology, memorizing definitions, etc). also, maintain focus for studying has been difficult as well, which is why I don't think I worked harder at learning how to study.

any and all suggestions are welcome.

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

Good day:

https://allnurses.com/pre-nursing-student/how-get-any-846733.html is an excellent foundational article. I turned 50 this past May; after 3 decades in I.T. (where I didn't have to take tests, study for tests or quizzes, etc.) I was lead back to school to work on the prerequisites for an RN program.

I'm finding each class requires modifying the study techniques in order to do well in them. Some classes work great with just flash cards and general reading. Other classes, I get into rewriting notes, rewriting portions of the book, and re-listening to lectures over and over and over and over again.

For A&P, I also find myself spending all the lab time possible plus several hours per week in the model room where feeling each bone, muscle, etc. helps come up with techniques to remember. I.e. for the muscles, I worked through group sections (shoulder, shoulder to right above the elbow, elbow to wrist, etc.). I also took a lot of pictures to create my own lab study guides that I gladly shared with my classmates.

Here are some links that may be useful:

Note Taking Systems - Academic Skills Center: Study Skills Library - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Cornell Notetaking System Explained--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

Google Image Result for http://kenpitts.net/images/cornell_note_how_to.jpg

The SQ3R Reading Method

Time management

Reading University Level Materials--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

How to Read Effectively in the Sciences--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

How to Read and Study Medical Texts--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

More About Effective Textbook Study--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

An Effective Textbook Study Strategy--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

How to Mark a Section of a Textbook Chapter--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

Thank you.

[jcol1460]

wow, thanks. this should definitely help. I'll be doing a part time program as I have to keep my full time employment along with all the home duties, so effective studying is the name of the game here.