Study tips?

[Sarah196]

Hello everyone!

I am beginning my RN program in just another month! I have been waiting for this time and I cannot wait to begin!

I know nursing school is incredibly challenging. It takes dedication, passion, and a lot of hard work to succeed.

Any grads or current students have any tips for success? Ways of studying that worked best for you? No matter what your learning style, I am interested in hearing from you. Thanks in advance. :)

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I think one of the most important things a student can do to facilitate success is to know how they learn best. There's no point in reading page after page if you're not a read/write learner. There are many learning styles inventories out there to use; my personal go-to is VARK.

Beyond that, here in the student section is an entire forum dedicated to study tips. If you click on Students in the yellow bar across the top of the page, it will take you to the list of student forums, and from there you can find the study tips forum.

[Larry3373]

The basic idea is when you read to ask yourself how you would apply the information in a given scenario. For each objective you should make yourself some flash cards showing what you as the nurse would do and in which order you would do it. For example, if you are studying chest pain or acute coronary syndrome, ask yourself how you would apply that info to a patient who walked into your emergency department complaining of chest pain. Not saying this is true or false because I haven't looked it up in a while, but it used to be MONA or morphine 1st, oxygen 2nd, nitroglycerin 3rd, aspirin 4th. They want to see how you would apply the information you are learning and what is your priority in any given situation. The basic premise is that you should be prepared to take the NCLEX on graduation.

[dorkypanda]

Don't try to read every little itty bitty in the book, it's too much for too little time. study what you need to know and put that knowledge into working use. download nclex apps onto your phone it will become handy. You can buy books too, a good series is the success books by Davis. stop and read the rationale of why something is wrong and right. it may seem time consuming to do so many nclex questions but it's time spent well.

[Natasha A., CNA, LVN]

Best advice is to keep your passion and goal in mind during nursing school. Learn that perfection does not exist and being in an uncomfortable state gives you self growth. Find out how you memorize best and take power naps. Prepare your mind around support and encouragement. Time management and stress management is key.