Yes nursing school is hard, BUT it's doable. I'm a firm believer that if you are of average intelligence and above average discipline, you stand a great chance at doing well in nursing school. Here are 10 tips to help you ace your next exam.
- Read before attending lecture.
- If you can get the syllabus a few weeks before class read the first chapter before class starts. You are not reading for full understanding at this point. You are just familiarizing yourself with with the content and most importantly, getting past the word recognition phase of learning.
- Skim the chapter by reading the first & last paragraph, the first two lines of each paragraph. The last line of each paragraph.
- Pay special attention to bold, italic, or highlighted words.
- Pay special attention to all tables and graphics.
- If instructor supplies PowerPoint notes, read this before class, defining all words you're not unfamiliar with.
- If permissible, record the lecture. This will come in handy when you are travelling in the car, taking a jog, or doing chores at home.
- Take notes during lecture. If the instructor says something during class, it's usually fair game for the exam, even if it's not in your textbook. This is another reason why step 2 is so important.
- Within 24 hours, re-read the chapter paying close attention to the areas your instructor mentioned during lecture.
- Answer questions at the end of the chapter. Read both the correct answer AND the wrong answer to understand why it's not correct.
- Test yourself by doing practices quizzes. This is such a important step because it revels your areas of weakness before your exam. You can find practice quizzes online by doing a search or you can purchase books to test your knowledge.
- Focus on your weakness. If you are strong in a particular area of study, there isn't much room for growth in that area anymore BUT if you focus on your weak areas the potential for growth is much larger thereby increasing your overall average.
- One week before your exam, start studying. Focus only on 1 or 2 chapters a day. Leave the last day free to take as many practice exams as possible.
- Get a calendar and schedule regular study time. Rule of thumb, schedule for 3 hours of study for each credit of class each week. So if your class is a 3 credit course. Schedule at least 9 hours of study time each week.
- Your brain, which weighs only 2% your body weight, utilizes 25% of the glucose in your body and 20% of the oxygen. Proper nutrition, water, regular exercise, and rest is very important. Slow digesting, complex carbohydrates and lean proteins are your friend. Brisk walking for at least 30 minutes, 3 times a week, improves your cardiovascular system which its the way nutrients & oxygen is delivered to the brain and the rest of the body for the sake of that matter.
For more details regarding these tips, watch HERE.
