Study Tips for Nursing School PT 1

By Millennial In Medicine: Gabriela R. @thenursegab

thenursegab.com

Unfortunately, a large part of your time as a nursing student is spent studying for nursing exams. There is no way of getting around it, and you have to be mentally prepared to put in the work. So, it is important to develop study techniques and strategies that fit best for you. 

Before each semester begins, I go to rate my professor .com and look up each one of my professors. Former students sometimes comment on how they passed the exams, what they did to get an A, what the teacher bases the exams off of, etc. So I’ll jot down some notes on each professor beforehand to get an idea of how to be successful in their class.

Taking good notes in class is key and will make it easier for you to study for the exams later on. I felt that bringing my laptop to class was the best option for me to be able to type down large amounts of information without missing any details. Each professor is different in how they like to teach, some go through powerpoint slides over the projector screen, some like to write notes on the board, some even like to read off of a paper from their own notes. When a professor reviewed powerpoints in class, I would download the powerpoint, and take notes under each slide to add any additional information that the slide did not include. Some of my friends in nursing school liked to print out the slides, and hand write their notes. This is all about preference, but for me I would print them out later at home or in the library and then handwrite my typed notes as another way to review the slides and further “absorb” the information into my brain. Handwriting notes helps you further process and remember the information you learned. 

Easier said than done, but try to study/go over class material and reading material one hour every night. Especially for subjects you have a harder time grasping. This also helps with time management, and you wont feel like you’re cramming everything in the day before the exam. It’s best to repeat the material for days beforehand in order to retain what you have learned. 

The day before an exam, I would leave the whole day free to just relax and study. I would make sure everything else for the week was done before, so I would only have to focus on/worry about the exam material. Make sure you are taking breaks in between studying, eating snacks, and staying hydrated so you don’t overwork yourself or feel too drained.  But give yourself time to enjoy the rest of your night after studying, put on your favorite show, or just do something that relaxes you.  

Stay tuned for Part 2.