Without a doubt, nursing school is difficult. The quantity of studying you must complete may feel impossible when you are juggling your nursing courses with your family and work obligations. How in the world are you supposed to read all of these chapters, let alone take notes for review, be ready for the nursing exam, and remember everything you need to know to have a successful nursing career?
Breathe deeply for a moment as the first step. You are capable of completing this. Just a little bit of planning, time management, and study techniques and tactics will help you differentiate the "need to know" material from the "good to know" information and increase your memory retention for nursing school.
1. Stick to the nursing test study manual.
Focusing your learning on the NCLEX exam is one of the best strategies to keep your nursing studies on track. Examining a study guide exposes both the topic areas that the nursing exam emphasizes as well as the format of the test's questions. Obviously, the licensure exam does not cover everything a nurse needs to know, but if you prepare for the nursing exam all along, you'll feel more at ease on test day.
2. Do some studying every day.
A week's worth of studying cannot be condensed into a few Saturday afternoon hours. Practicing Nurse Test Bank questions will take you a long way till the day of your actual exam. Make a commitment to working on your nursing studies for a little while each day, even if you have to break it up into multiple smaller chunks to fit it in. You'll experience less overwhelm and learn more things.
3. Pay close attention to the course material.
Each week, your lecturers will assign numerous chapters to read as well as additional resources to examine. Take a cue from your class time instead of reading and outlining every single word in detail. What subjects does the teacher spend time going over? What main topics were covered in class? Pay close attention to these places.
4. Consider actions rather than information.
It's critical for nurses to comprehend the causes of specific diseases as well as the physiological processes taking place in a patient. The patient merely wants to feel well; he or she is not interested in learning such facts. Think about how you may use the material to benefit your patients while you study for the nursing exam. Both as a student and as a nurse, you'll improve.
5. Create a study group.
According to research, students who study in groups with their classmates remember about 90% of what they learn, compared to only 60% of what they learn in class alone and only 10% of what they read. Not to mention that studying alongside others can boost morale and offer encouragement. Get together with a handful of your fellow nursing students (three people in a group is the magic number, according to research) and collaborate to exchange study strategies and raise your performance.
6. Read only the gist.
There is a lot of reading involved in nursing school, but trying to remember it all will only make you frustrated. Skim the content of each chapter before reading it. To decide which information is most crucial, examine the headers, subheadings, and highlighted terms as well as the summaries and questions at the end of the chapter. Don't have time to read? Check out our Audiobook section to kickstart your textbook reading.
7. Refer to outside resources.
There is no rule that says you must learn from your teacher or your material. Add to the resources provided in class by using additional sources. For instance, if you are learning about diabetes, visit the websites of the Mayo Clinic, WebMD, and American Diabetes Association to learn more. As a kind of "preview" to your reading, carry out this action before beginning a chapter. But keep in mind that the final, accurate authority is your textbook and your instructor.
8. Recognize your preferred methods of learning.
Everyone has a distinct preferred method of learning; some prefer to see and hear information, while others prefer to learn by doing. Everyone must therefore determine which study methods work best for them. Recognize your distinct style and capitalize on it. For instance, because writing helps memory, kinetic learners usually perform best when they write out their notes.
9. Make use of downtime for study.
Certain amounts of memorizing are necessary for nursing studies. Make notes or flashcards to assist you study those facts while you are completing other tasks. When brushing your teeth, for instance, attach cards with vital sign ranges to the mirror in the bathroom. Eventually, those numbers will come naturally to you without even trying.
10. Get some rest.
You will simply become overburdened and possibly not retain as much information if you spend all of your time learning. Take frequent breaks to avoid losing interest or passion. Even a brief change of location might occasionally be beneficial for recharging your batteries and enhancing retention.
With a strategy, some helpful study advice, and the appropriate approach to studying, you may easily tackle the significant commitment of finishing nursing school.