What study habits work?

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Hey guys,

I start ns in August. I'm hoping some of you can share the study habits that you've found that works well in ns. I know everyones different, but anything helps. I am a very visual person, I highlight and colorcode everything. I make flashcards, diagrams, lists, etc. How many hours on average do you study a night?

Thanks!

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Honestly, what works best for me is just studying my powerpoints/notes. I also highlight important points in them and write down pages that have charts/diagrams etc to look at.

That being said.. there are some things that I make my own diagrams or flashcards for. Normally I love flashcards, but with SO much information to cover, it just seemed like it took too long to make them and it wasn't worth it to me. I am, however, working on making flashcards for normal lab values. I have a hard time remember many of them and I think flashcards would help.

Some people record lectures and listen to them while doing housework or taking a walk. I don't have a recorder, but if I did, I'd probably do that too. You could also listen to them while driving.

Others make their own study guides, condensing the powerpoints into a few sheets with the main points in outline form. I think this would help if re-writing/typing things helps it "stick" in your head. Also, a few pages of condensed notes are much easier to carry than a binder of notes if you want to study while waiting for an appointment or something.

How long I study each day varies, depending on my schedule and the topics being covered. Sometimes it might be a hour, sometimes 4 or 5, sometimes none at all.

Good luck!

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I am a senior in nursing school now. If all goes well, I'll graduate in may. My study habits are not as extensive as some students, but it works for me. I read each chapter at least once, I take good notes in class and highlight whatever the teacher says in my books, and then before a test I re-read all of the little boxes and care plans (a lot of questions come from those boxes!), and I review my power points and syllabus. The thing that has helped me the most is practice questions! I do as many practice questions as humanly possible and are available to me. I find them in study guides, online, at the end of assigned chapters, NCLEX books, etc. Anything that I can get my hands on to self test my knowledge and application of the material, I use. I study anywhere from 1-2 hours a day to 10 hours. It really depends on my schedule, if I understand the topic or not, or if a test is coming up.

Congratulations on getting accepted and good luck!

Sounds like you already have a studying system that works for you. I hope it continues to serve you well! :-)

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

this webpage links you to study strategies for visual, aural, reading/writing, and kinesthetic types of people:

i am also a visual learner. i learned to use my computer to make flashcards many years ago. these days i compose them directly into word using table commands. i seldom print them out anymore. i use font colors to turn them invisible to me on the computer monitor when i am testing myself. i have files and files of flashcards. there are websites that you can create flashcards on and some of the companion textbook websites have flashcards already installed on them. i liked making my own because i also designed possible test questions on them as i was reading and studying and they were saved in a file which saved a lot of time later when i was getting ready for tests. i know your next question is going to be what the websites are for these online flashcards. i wasn't good about saving them because i didn't care for them, but i do have one link, but i know there are others, i just never saved them:

i attempted to write the instructions some time ago for the way i do my flashcards. i read it over some time ago and thought it a bit hazy. if it is not clear, pm me and i'll try to clear it up for you.

  • [attach]4887[/attach] sample page of online flashcards (these are not for nursing and the last row are not a matched front and back pair)
  • [attach]4888[/attach] the instructions on how they are made

when i took notes in class i used colored pens and highlighters. i have every colored post-it-note you can think of as well. my "brains" at work (report sheet) was also highlighted with color. i took report with blue ink, documented during my shift with black ink, highlighted unusual stuff that i needed to stand out and get my attention in red, and used yellow highlighter to mark labs and x-rays that were going to be done on my shift. people often commented about it, but you know what? it kept me organized and i seldom missed or forgot something that had to be done for one of my patients. it worked for me.

there are two sticky threads on studying and test taking that you should check out:

one new thing that you will be exposed to in nursing school, particularly on tests, is critical thinking. you can learn all the facts in the world, but if you cannot "think" to pull the correct facts together to make a decision about which answer to choose, you will have difficulty. this is the decision-making part of nursing that is new to most. i guarantee that you have never had tests like this before. no one is going to tell you that you should have remembered some little tidbit of information from biology or chemistry--it will be assumed that to get to the correct answer you will automatically know to do that on your own.

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Specializes in ICU.

I guess I'm a visual learner also. There were plenty of times on tests where I'd know the answer was on the bottom left corner of the page of lecture notes, but DARN if I could remember the answer!

When studying for a test, you'll need to learn whether the instructor draws questions mainly from their lectures, their PowerPoint slides (if used), or from the book. Your studying will be different in each case.

When prepping for a test, I'd review my notes, the PowerPoint slides, I'd review the highlights of the chapters out of the textbook. Anything I seemed to feel that I didn't know well enough, I'd write on a separate sheet of paper for further cramming. As I got each of the chunks of info crammed into my head as the test approached, I'd mark it out on the "cram sheet."

As you said - everybody's different. This is what worked for me.

Good luck!

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I guess I'm a visual learner also. There were plenty of times on tests where I'd know the answer was on the bottom left corner of the page of lecture notes, but DARN if I could remember the answer!

rofl.. me too!

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Specializes in Psych (my husband says I fit right in!).

I just went through my first year of nursing, and boy, was it rough! I found the thing that helped me the most was going over the notes from class, reviewing the textbook, and getting a NCLEX review book, and studying it as well (or any other general nursing books with condensed important facts in it!). If we were studying respiratory, any chapter in the NCLEX book that had to do with respiratory, I studied it. This gives you a condensed version of the most important information you'll need to have as a registered nurse. Also, any practice sessions online from your textbooks, or NCLEX review questions really make you think through the information and help with putting it altogether. It also helps by explaining why you got a question wrong, and how to think it through correctly the next time. The textbooks from class are very good for learning the basic info, but anytime you can get your hands on different material about the same subject that can give you a different angle, with condensed information--that is very helpful, because the teacher may or may not have went over everything in class that may or may not be on the test. Just remember, whether you study 10 or 20 hrs a day, there will ~~always~~ be a question on the tests that you wonder where did that get that from!!! Just study, and read and study and read and study and read and study some more! Good luck to ya!

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