trouble converting to ns study

Kevin RN08 · Sep 9, 2008

Much depends on the instructor and the material.

I will "pre skim" the chapters before class, just to get the general idea of the material, then after class I will read what was covered in class for thorough understanding.

Rewrite and supplement my notes and do text book tests/quizes and Saunders NCLEX review of the whole unit at the end.

lemonaidangel · Sep 9, 2008

I read all of the chapters once, but usually not until after lecture unless it is required because pre-reading doesn't seem to work with me very well. Then I go over my notes, my power point, and my syllabus about 2 or 3 times. Before a test, I go over all of the little boxes and care plans from the test. The rest of my time is spent doing practice questions. I do as many as humanly possible before exams. Practice questions seem to be the one and only thing that truly helps me. The CDs that come along with the books, online practice sites, Saunders NCLEX review, study guides, you name it, I use it. Just search around. There are a lot of great resources out there for you to help you succeed in nursing school. :-)

lemonaidangel · Sep 9, 2008

Do you mind if I ask what school you attend? I live in Michigan too.

~FutureNurse~ · Sep 9, 2008

Maybe you could try to read the chapter aloud, record it, and then instead of re-reading the entire chapter you could just listen to it.

Just an idea.

michigansstudent · Sep 10, 2008

Thanks for all the advice. I think I need to relax a little. I do the questions on the cd with the book. They only give like 10 per chapter so going through those twice and it is a done deal. I attend Macomb Comm. I think my biggest problem is getting over the concept of knowing every word on every page like you have to in A&P or Micro. A friend of mine just gave me some good advice. She said that you will only be tested on about 70% and that is all the main points and ideas. So you dont want to spend time on little details. In nursing exams it is the concept and main ideas that they are testing your knowledge of. No reason to get bogged down on every point. The teachers want to make sure you understand the big picture more than they want to know if you can recall when the final revision of the nursing practice act was amended. lol That is in the book too. I just need to relax!!!!!! maybe more than just a little. hee hee

intuition · Sep 10, 2008

I started out the same way you did, I ended up dropping the writing of the notes. I pre-read, read the chapter again, and did the questions at the end of each chapter and in the c.d.'s. I also went over any material the teacher may have handed out.

I dropped the writing of the notes after we had 20 some chapters to read. So far, I have still pulled really good grades, but it all depends on your own individual learning style.

msfb · Sep 10, 2008

Maybe you could try to read the chapter aloud, record it, and then instead of re-reading the entire chapter you could just listen to it.
Just an idea.

I had a professor suggest that to me. I learned with online courses I am an audio-learning. Just reading it in the book isn't enough. Hearing it makes it sink in for me.

tiggerdagibit · Sep 10, 2008

I also had to change the way I studied when I started NS. I used to pre-read and take notes and study from both of them. Now I mainly use my notes/powerpoints and only read concepts in the book that I didn't really understand in lecture. This has worked for the most part. I did have an instructor that didn't lecture well and I ended up reading a lot more than I usually do. Most of my instructors are really good about making their powerpoints on what they will put on the test. To me, it's much more efficient to study those than reading 10 (15.. 20..) chapters so fast to try to get all the information because it doesn't really stick in my head. I'd rather study powerpoints several times.

MB37 · Sep 10, 2008

Do questions. Saunders is a good resource - and so are Mosby, and Davis, and Lippincott, and Hogan. I have them all. I've graduated, and I made straight As through NS. I read the text about 90% of the time, but I just read it once and didn't take notes. I went to class every day and took very good notes, then went home, converted the powerpoints to Word, and typed my notes in while I condensed the material. I'd wind up with a "study guide" that was about 20 pages per exam, and was essentially class notes condensed way down. Then I'd do as many questions as I could - I aimed for at least 1000 per test, although I coudn't find that many in every class. I have a previous degree, and I never studied this way before. However, I also never had so many multiple choice tests. You need to know how they're going to test you and study accordingly.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Sep 10, 2008

I recommend a study partner or group. You have to set rules, like no pizza, no talking about SO or anyone else, be on time, be prepared. If you can explain a concept to someone then you understand it. Also, once explained everyone in the group gets to ask questions so that they all feel comfortable. We would quiz one another, etc. The second year of nursing school (ADN) I gave up on all that reading. I skimmed the material and used study guides to get the meat of it. You will not retain all that stuff, so concentrate on the why's and what-nows.

lemonaidangel · Sep 10, 2008

I attend Macomb Comm.

Cool beans. I almost went to Macomb but I got accepted into SC4 instead. I think you guys have clinicals at the same places as we do, because we pass Macomb students in the hospital all the time! What a small world.