Studying

I'm in my 2nd Semester of LPN school and I am still not retaining information like I should. I passed last semester with a B, but I struggled for that B! My first test of this semester was rough. All those signs/symptoms, and interventions were the devil! I have tried every single way to study and don't know what else to do. Any tips?

How do you organize your notes? What helped me in med surg was typing up each disease and its signs, symptoms, interventions and any other relevant information on one sheet of paper. Then I would use that to study for tests. For me, rewriting information seemed to help burn it into my brain and help me remember.

Also, if you aren't already doing so, I would suggest using an NCLEX style book to practice questions on each body system and diseases as you cover them in class. This really helped me especially because the exams were always NCLEX style.

So basically Med Surg requires the same study style as Pharmacology does? That's great to know. Next term I have Med Surg, Nutrition, Mental Health and Integumentary. Pharmacology kicked my butt but I'm thankful that I passed with a B. For Pharm I used flash cards, printed out the teacher's powerpoints and recorded the lectures. This term I plan on using the (Made Incredibly Easy) series of books. We shall see how it goes....

So basically Med Surg requires the same study style as Pharmacology does? That's great to know. Next term I have Med Surg, Nutrition, Mental Health and Integumentary. Pharmacology kicked my butt but I'm thankful that I passed with a B. For Pharm I used flash cards, printed out the teacher's powerpoints and recorded the lectures. This term I plan on using the (Made Incredibly Easy) series of books. We shall see how it goes....

Good for you for that B in pharmacology. Keep doing what you are doing.

Med surg for me is where it all came together and I started feeling like I was starting to think like a nurse. You learn the disease process, diagnostic testing, signs/symptoms, pharmacological interventions, surgical interventions, nursing interventions, complications....

It helped me to have the most critical information about each disease or body system on one sheet of paper and having that be my main study guide instead of flipping through pages of notes.

Those Made Incredibly Easy books are fantastic. I credit the "Fluids and Electrolytes - Made Incredibly Easy" book with finally helping me understand metabolic and respiratory acidosis/alkalosis after struggling so hard with it.