Which Nursing Visual Study Resource Is Right For You?

You need the best learning resources to suit your needs. You may be overwhelmed with the different options out there, especially when it comes to visual learning platforms. In this two-part article, we’re here to break it down for you and explain what to look for so you can make the most informed decision to which is the best study tool for you; the student who needs an efficient and effective solution to mastering the massive load of information you need to know. Let’s use these two visual resources as our examples: 1) Picmonic Study App, the established leader in visual mnemonic learning for nursing students, and 2) SketchyNursing, the new video library offshoot of SketchyMedical.

Learning Aid for Broad Coverage of Topics

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TIP FROM A NURSING GRAD: As a student, you need to master information across the board of nursing topics. It’s better to focus on having just a few study resources that cover all the bases instead of overwhelming yourself with too many tools. Having a one-stop shop is what to look for.

#1 Content Coverage

In nursing school, you’re expected to know thousands of facts ranging across all the nursing areas; fundamentals of nursing, pharmacology for nursing, med-surg, psych, obstetrics and so much more. Content coverage is important to a well-rounded study routine, and if you’ve found an effective way to study using one tool, you’ll want to use it for all topics, not just a few topics.

Picmonic has a wide range of topics covered and have over 1,000 videos to get you through day one of nursing school, all the way till the NCLEX®. SketchyNursing currently only covers pharmacology and has 67 videos, but they are very detailed if your only focus is learning pharm.

Picmonic

Topic Coverage (10 Subjects, 1,000+ Videos):

• Anatomy
• Physiology
• Microbiology
• Fundamentals of Nursing
• Medical-Surgical Nursing
• Pharmacological Nursing
• Obstetrics
• Psychiatric Nursing
• Pediatric Nursing
• Critical Care Nursing

SketchyNursing

Topic Coverage: (1 Subject, 67 Videos)

• Nursing Pharmacology

Bonus! Knowledge of science is ever-changing, and so are the medical guidelines along with it. Picmonic’s team of medical experts is constantly auditing and updating the content based on the newest research and community feedback, and anyone has the ability to report errors if they exist.

#2 Tying Related Facts/Topics Together

It’s not just about memorizing every detail of all the bugs, drugs and diseases; you have to learn each topic AND how it relates to everything else. For example, if a patient presents with a set of symptoms, you need to remember every possible cause. You have a question about a drug? You’ll need to know every condition it could treat. Differentiating between annoyingly similar information is one of the most challenging aspects of medical education.

Picmonic

• With just one click, Picmonic relates the facts from one topic to the next, so you can form those visual connections and quickly navigate between the meaningful concept maps.

SketchyNursing

• Related topics are mentioned verbally during narration.

An Efficient Learning Experience

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TIP FROM A NURSING GRAD: You have zero time as a nursing student, so get a study tool that is going to help you to memorize things FAST in order for you to get the most amount of information solidified in your brain in the least amount of time.

#1 Which Nursing Mnemonics Resource Is The Most Efficient?

OK, picture mnemonics have been proven to be effective, but which ones should you use? Time management and the need for efficiency is the reality of a nursing student, and because of this, you need to consume and retain as much information as possible in the shortest amount of time. *Current research shows that there is diminishing value after six minutes of watching a video, but if you need a substitute for going to class, a longer, more comprehensive video may be helpful.

*http://up.csail.mit.edu/other-pubs/las2014-pguo-engagement.pdf

Picmonic

• Over 1,000 videos no longer than five minutes.
• Highlights the most important facts that you’ll be tested on, and breaks down complex topics into multiple videos; separating assessment, interventions, side effects etc, therefore you’ll never watch a Picmonic video more than three minutes long. Picmonic also provides you with a written transcript of the video you just watched, so you can pick out the important details by skimming through it if you prefer.
• Picmonic content is mapped by Courses, Body Systems and NCLEX-prep, and integrates popular nursing textbooks for more efficient learning.

SketchyNursing

• Videos range from 10-30 minutes with a lot of information in each video, almost similar to a lecture format.
• Videos walk through a lot of the factual information that is covered in class, which is helpful if remediation is the goal or if you need an alternative to your current instructor!

#2 Focus On The Most Need-To-Know Information

When deciding which resource to use, you must first discover which way you learn the best. The two tools provide radically different approaches.

Picmonic

• Prioritizes the high-yield information for you, leveraging known science around the maximum amount of information that can be effectively retained by the brain at any one time.
• Picmonic Image: 9 characters

SketchyNursing

• Allows you to pick and choose what will be most important to study, and tends to fill their videos with a lot of information, similar to a lecture you would have in class.
• Images: 49 symbols

Bonus! Picmonic talks a lot about efficient studying on their website and in their blogs and youtube videos. Their multiple course layouts (Courses, Body Systems, Books or NCLEX Review) and integrations with the most popular nursing textbooks can be a time-saver. As a nursing student, you are assigned a large amount of reading on a weekly basis. Are you really doing all your reading? In class, are you familiar with the lecture material and able to keep up with the instructor? Picmonic has mapped the most popular nursing textbooks into the platform, so you can follow along with your assigned readings and quickly learn the Picmonics that appear in those chapters.

For example, if you are assigned chapter 31 of the Fundamentals of Nursing by Potter and Perry, you know the exact 52 Picmonics to learn before class so that you create a framework of the information in your memory ahead of time, making it easy to keep up in class and retain your instructor’s lecture material. If you know what book you’re learning and pages you need to read, you can find exactly what Picmonics you should learn side-by-side.