Why am I a B student?

This sounds like me exactly! So any help would be great!

Without knowing your teacher's style, it is hard to give advice. Usually I will go through the powerpoints and learn the general definition of the disease process and nursing interventions. You have to put some critical thinking into your answers. Ask yourself, "why is this answer correct?" when you're answering those questions. I usually write out very simple rationales next to each answer why something is or isn't correct... or I draw a line through the portion of the answer that is blatantly wrong. I usually take the full time given for the test to think about each answer. You have to know what is normal and you have to know the basic physiology and nursing interventions for each area/disease process. If you get really comfortable about knowing physiology, you can almost guess the nursing interventions because it is logical. I spend very little time studying because I like watching tv instead. I'm still getting high A's on my tests doing this. Don't study hard, study smart!

I know this probably sounds unreal to you, but GET SOME SLEEP!!! My grades have VASTLY improved since I decided to dedicate 6 hours of my night to getting a good night of rest. No amount of studying you do will be of any use if you don't rest your brain.

I think you are studying too much to the point where the information is no longer penetrating your brain. My best study advice is to only study 10-15mins out of an hour. Get a good nights sleep. Things take time to absorb.

Its like if you play an instrument one of the best ways to learn a new piece is to place the piece once slowly but perfectly then sleep on it. The you find the next day its encoded in your brain

Similar try as much as possible to write notes in your own hand and to condense them to the shortest phrase possible that will still remind you of the concept.

I don't cram. I have a lab exam tomorrow and I'm not studying for it right now. The more information I cram in now the greater chance I will displace the information I need

First of all, studying for 24 hours straight is not smart studying. The instructor at our school tasked with helping students with study habits recommends setting a specific schedule for studying. 2-3 hours per classroom/clinical/lab/seminar hour per week. Take it in 4 hour incriments and spend 15 minutes out of each hour away from your studies.

I personally spend about 50% of my study time just working NCLEX style problems related to the material. I do practice tests from reviews and rationales and from the textbook editors. I read the rationales for the answers (all of them, not just the ones I get wrong). I attend test reviews to see where I went wrong on my tests.

I get a decent night's sleep most nights - not always, but I try to always get at least 6 hours.

make sure your getting adequate rest as everyone said...another suggestion, find out which TYPES of questions your getting wrong:prioritizing, application style etc...that might help too! and in the end, a B is fine in nursing school..keep plugging on!

Does it really matter if you are getting Bs or As in nursing school? What is important is to be consistently learning/improving your skills in NS and then passing the NCLEX. Too much emphasis is on grades. We really learn how to be a nurse once we're working anyway. Oh, and as previously mentioned, what you learn is cemented in your brain when you get a good night's sleep... so "don't let the bed bugs bite!!"

I study for exams by taking practice NCLEX questions with rationale. Does your school have a program called NCLEX 4000 or something similar available to you? NCLEX 4000 is available for us, and it is a really good review tool. You can choose particular systems or categories and the particular amount of questions. You can take practice exams, or go in study mode which gives immediate feedback with rationale. Another tool I use is the Evolve website (the website from my textbooks) There are many review tools there, as well as review NCLEX style quizzes. I notice that often my instructor takes questions right out of those questions. Nursing exams are not about memorization, but rather critical thinking, application and synthesis of information learned. I hope that this helps you! Good Luck & Get some sleep!:)

Wow! You all have given me fabulous advice. Thank you very much.

I'm thinking maybe I must try different techniques for studying. I have always known that I do not study smart. I never had good study habits in high school and my grades completely reflected that (mostly D's). But now I have a family and my study habits are taking its toll on my family and me; my grades are passing but could be better.

Some of you mentioned using Nclex style questions to help me study. What guide would you recommend?

So where do I start with the smart ways to study?

Because NS is not about information recall, it's about critical thinking and learning how to be a really awesome test taker.

Most of us were good test takers, we were able to digest a large array of data and regurgitate it for exams, but, well, nursing exams are different.

We just did our nutrition ATI for example, yeah it was hard, but all those UL's and DRI's and so on that I tried to memorize were hardly to be seen, it was far more about if client A has condition B what food should the nurse advise him or her to "regulate". And it was about which of the following four correct answers if the question was simply what the nurse should do is really the right answer if the question is what should the nurse do first...

Like that...So that is why I and several other heretofore 4.0 students are getting mid to high B's and happy that we are. Our bottom is C+ though.