6 nurses study hints

STUDY HINTSAND

D. D. Millett, RN, BS

You cannot cram for an exam the few days before the exam. This is because every exam you take in nursing school will be related to what you NEED to be learning, comprehending, and practicing, not only right now, but in the future.

You cannot wait until the night before and pull an all-nighter. There is way too much information and it is critical that you learn it, not memorize it.

Drinking caffeine orEnergy drinks all nightare not only not healthyfor you, but will leave you exhausted by the time of the test the followingday.

And no amount of wishful thinking or osmosis will work!

SO, WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS TO BECOMING A NURSE?

STUDY!!

BEST ADVISE:

Nursing school is unlike any other types of classes you have ever taken in the past. Each exam or quiz material cannot be just memorized because you must FIRST build a foundation of knowledge: as a nurse and in medicine. This foundation will be what you MUST completely understand and comprehend, all the way down to the basics, because your entire nursing career relies on what you are learning right this moment.

STUDY “TIPS” LIST:i. Manage or revise your daily, weekly and monthly

schedule so that you have allotted yourself sufficient time with which to study everyday ~ at least three to four hours a day.

ii. Acknowledge how much time it takes you to review your lecture notes, answer the questions you created for yourself on your lecture notes, and how long it will take you to read your text book chapters AND summaries.

How Long Until You are Ready,ReallyReady,ForThe Exam??

When you first open up to the chapter you are to learn, skim through it and find out how long it is; what it covers; is the information completely new to you; and do you understand what the chapter is stating?Finding these things out will help you to establish how much time you will require to comprehend each chapter and if you will need any help with subjects that are not clear or that you do not completely understand.

STUDY “TIPS” LIST (CONTINUED)

iii. If writing down questions on the right side of your lecture notes does not work for you, then completely REWRITE your lecture notes. The main point is that by visually seeing them and repeating your notes or the text to yourself, you will learn – not just memorize – the material.

iv. The old tried and true method of Flash Cards still is a tremendous idea and will cause you rewrite your notes and answer the questions you write on the front.


v. Make certain you are studying in a well-lighted room.

vi.Take 5 to 10 minute study breaks every hour…get up, walk around, and do some stretches.

vii.Eat small, healthy snacks and drink plenty of water. If you are used to drinking a certain amount of caffeine in one day, do not change that now.


viii. KNOW your own body and when are the ideal times that you are able to concentrate the best.

ix. Change up where you study from time to time, i.e. the library, the park, a café, or even on the beach!


x. Periodically, change positions in which you are sitting and take some big deep,

relaxing breaths.


xi.Use mnemonics to help you learn all of the parts of an idea, a solution, or a procedure. When you create a mnemonic, try to really use your imagination by associating the actual mnemonic of an idea or solution in a funny place or by using a funny or a somehow elicit mnemonic phrase...you are more likely to remember these. a. If the origin of the mnemonics are from a similar system or part of the body, say the heart, try using different locations that you can link each mnemonic to, so you will not confuse them later on or forget them.


xi.Some examples:a. For someone who hashad a stroke, try this easy mnemonic: F.A.S.T.

Facial DroopingArm WeaknessSpeech DifficultyTime to Call Help


xi. Or, for something much more difficult and life threatening, a patient without a pulse but showing a Ventricular Tachycardia or Ventricular Fibrillation on the cardiac monitor – otherwise known as a probable heart attack. Besides all of the things that a nurse must know about someone having a heart attack, the nurse, and the entire code team, must run down a long list of other possible causes for the PULSELESS VT/VF or a PEA (PULSELESS ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY).

HERE IS THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION PLAN OF TREATMENT:

You can obviously tell there are multiple steps that the medical team, using collaboration, must complete. One of these, is trying to establish what other possible causes could there be to render the patient unresponsive – with NO pulse. (Now do you understand why you must learn by building on a solid foundation from the basics??)

CARDIAC ARREST WITH PEA

•As a nurse, you must KNOW ALL of the information on that one card…and there are many more card memory devices like that one!)• FOCUS ON THIS ONLY:

FOCUS ON THIS ACRONYM ONLY. THIS ENABLES THE MEDICAL TEAM TO REMEMBER ALL OF THE

POSSIBLE CAUSES OF A PEA (PULSELESS ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY): “THE FIVE H’S AND

FIVE T’S”


xi.(continued) “The Five H’s and the Five T’s”• Everything is broken down into memorable mnemonics with imaginary funny locations or wild meanings that prevent you from forgetting their meaning. Or acronyms are used, like remembering the phrase: “The Five H’s and the Five T’s.”

•Use whatever method you find to help you remember something or some part of something bigger. Ask your study partner, instructor, or another student if they have come up with any ways to remember something difficult.• It comes down to how you remember, learn, read, and retain EVERYTHING about becoming a nurse and treating patients, even going into specialties, like the ER or ICU.

Now, do you remember what those “Five H’s and Five T’s” stood for? Don’t worry, you WILL get there sooner than you think if you make studying a habit with a SCHEDULED PLAN; and you are ORGANIZED, have PRIORITISED, and have become a DISCIPLINED student.

WHATEVER IT TAKES FOR YOU TO BUILD YOUR FOUNDATION TOWARDS BECOMING A NURSE:

Use colors, codes, anonyms, mnemonics, rhymes, songs, beats or whatever it takes for you to comprehend and retain what you are learning.

6 nurses study hints

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