B ACK T O S CHOOL
Study Tips from
NSNA Members
Over the summer, NSNA asked its members to share
study and wellness tips that helped them through nursing school. Following are some of the highlights from
the many submissions we received. Thank you to everyone who submitted! An extended version of the study
tips can be found on NSNA’s website at www.nsna.org,
under What’s New.
Good luck in your studying!
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Shower Power
I liked to make flashcards or study
sheets and then stick them in plastic
sleeves and study in the shower! No
more wasting time trying to stay clean!
I know it’s a nerdy thing to do, but it
helped!
Samantha Jaynes, 2006 Graduate
Jackson State Community College
Roswell, GA
Stay Healthy
We all know the saying, “Do as I say
and not as I do.” Well, I decided to
“Do as we have been told,” even if I
don’t see anyone else practicing it. This
is particularly true when it comes to
dealing with the stresses of nursing
school:
Second, I changed my sleeping schedule
to gain more hours. I started getting up
at 4:00am to gain more hours in a day.
Consequences: Decreased immune
system and I was constantly tired.
Third: Praying, deep breathing exercises, meditation, and listening to J. S.
Bach’s relaxing music. It helped me to
decrease my HR, B/P, and increased
concentration.
Consequences: I ended up with “A’s”
in all my classes.
Summer 06 Semester:
I increased rest and saw an herbalist to
reinforce my immune system.
Consequences: A’s in my two accelerated
classes for the summer.
a) I now eat a low-fat low-cholesterol
Lessons Learned:
low-salt non-alcohol diet.
1) Do not sacrifice work benefits
b) I practice the compassion techniques
we are expected to use with clients
toward my instructors, classmates,
and myself. (I have too often seen
instructors and students not affording
the same grace and kindness toward
themselves that they give to their
patients).
c) I take vitamins that are matched
to my body’s requirements.
d)
I joined a gym to increase my
stamina, mobility, and hardiness.
Annie Grecynski, Freshman RN Student
Suffolk County Community College,
Ammerman campus
Selden, NY
Increase Rest
for school.
2) Do not sacrifice sleep.
3) Improve immune system.
4) Prayer, meditation, and Bach’s music
helped me to achieve my goals.
Siboney Zelaya, RN-BSN
University of Nevada
Las Vegas, NV
Creative Copy
I photocopied the labeled systems
in my anatomy book, marked out
the labels with white out, and then
placed the unmarked copy in a plasticene sleeve. I then wrote in the labels
for the anatomical parts with a dry
erase marker over and over until I
had them down pat.
First, I stopped working full time and
worked part time. I sacrificed benefits,
salary, etc. to complete my master’s
degree in Nursing Education.
After studying, I reviewed what I had
just studied while swimming. This
accomplished two things: the swim was
not as boring, and the mental review
allowed me to retain more information.
I am not sure if exercising immediately
after studying helped in the recall, but I
sure stayed awake longer!
Consequences: I ended up with pneumonia and did not have money to take
care of myself and no full health insurance.
John Buehler
Nevada State College, BSN Student
Henderson, NV
I took ten graduate nursing classes
Spring 06 semester and worked part
time.
Simplify! Simplify!
Simplify
Studies have shown that patient teaching should be at a seventh grade level
for the majority of lay people. I’ve
found that if I take a subject chapter by
chapter and prepare a mock lesson plan
geared towards seventh grade students,
I learn the material well enough to
actually teach my fellow classmates. At
times I’ve even used a flip chart with
colored markers to enhance the visual
aspect. Also, speaking out loud to a
mock class helps enforce the material.
Silly, I know, but it works!
Diane R. Novellano LPN-RN
Saint Joseph School of Nursing
Nashua, NH
Don’t be
“psyched”
Like most students,
I was completely
intimidated by
the horror stories
I heard about
Med-Surg classes.
The anxiety caused
by hearing that “it’s the hardest class
you’ll ever take” made test-taking
almost unbearable.
My advice to any student about to
start a Med-Surg class and/or clinical
rotation is to start with the big picture.
For example, if you understand the
concept of ischemia to myocardial
tissue, you can then move to the more
detailed work of comprehending the
similarities and difference between a
myocardial infarction and angina.The
more you can simplify the material,
the better you can grasp the breadth
of the content. Furthermore, ask your
clinical instructor to assign patients
to you that manifest some of the health
issues that are being covered in lecture
to provide a holistic view of a particular
disorder.
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B ACK T O S CHOOL
Don’t be “psyched” out by everything
you’ve heard from others. It is a difficult
course, but the purpose is to have a
firm understanding of the entire patient
and his/her health care needs.
Tom Kelly S
Vice President, Student Nurses’ Association,
Rush University
Chicago, IL
Make It Fun
Because nursing students are almost
always required to learn long lists of
information I like to try and use
mnemonic devices whenever possible.
The devices can relate to sports, cooking, clothing or anything that will help
you remember. Countless combinations
work just as long as you remember the
information. Some of my favorites are:
The vertebra:
C - Can’t
T - Take
L - Loving
S - Sugar
C - Cookies
-
Cervical
Thorasic
Lumbar
Sacral
Coxas
The vital signs:
P - Please
P - Please
B - Bring
S - Some
R - Rice
-
Pulse
Pupils
Blood Pressure
Skin
Respirations
The cranial nervers:
O- Oh
O- Oh
O- Oh
T – To
T – Touch
A – And
F – Feel
V – Very
G- Good
V – Velvet
Ah – Ah
H- Ha
-
Olfactory
Optic
Ocular Motor
Trochlear
Trigeminal
Abducens
Facial
Vestibulocochlear
Glossopharyngeal
Vagus
Spinal Accessory
Hypoglossal
Try to make up some of your own and
have fun with them!
Mark Lannatuono, Jr.
Harford Community College
Bel Air, MD
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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006
“Tell the patient”
3) Purchased extra resource books.
In order to make it through
Pharmacology I had to come up with
a different way to study. My normal
methods weren’t working for me: flashcards didn’t help, redoing and rewriting
notes didn’t help, study groups didn’t
help, reading the book didn’t help.
The only way I learned the material was
if I went through my notes and talked
through each drug as if I was explaining
it to a patient. I would “tell the patient”
(talking out loud to myself) what the
side effects were, signs and symptoms to
look for in case of an overdose, how the
drug worked in layman’s terms, how
often to take the drug, etc. By the end
of the class, I really felt like I knew my
stuff, and along the way I came up with
new and interesting ways to explain
certain drugs to patients.
4) Ate healthily, stayed hydrated, and
didn’t skip meals! My clinicals began at
6:30 am and lasted until 12:30 pm on
Tuesday and Thursdays. My class started at 1:00 PM on those days. I would
frequently eat just a snack between clinicals and class or skip eating altogether
until the day I blacked out while I was
backing my car out after class. Thank
goodness no one got hurt and there was
only minimal damage to my car! I
never missed a meal after that. And I
made sure that I was fully hydrated!
The combination of the two could have
killed me or worse yet, someone else.
Taylor Abney
Texas Woman’s University
Dallas, TX
Step-by-Step
I passed my first semester of nursing
boot camp with A’s! It was a difficult
journey, but here are the tools I used:
1) I asked my instructors if I could
record their lectures. I then took the
digital recordings and burned them on
CD-Rs so I could listen to them in my
car to and from school each day. As a
commuter, buying a digital recorder
was an excellent investment.
2) I participated in some study groups
but quickly realized that there is not
sufficient time to actually sit and discuss study questions for an exam. This
is especially true for commuters.
But it is definitely a worthwhile endeavor
to have at least one or two partners
with whom you can share study guide
questions for exams. For example, two
weeks before our final we received a
90-question study guide. Several of us
pitched in and answered questions, then
one student combined everyone’s answers
and sent the completed document out so
that we all had enough time to use the
study questions before the exam.
5) I am researching the purchase of a
PDA with nursing software for clinicals
in the fall, which I believe will be a
great purchase for at least two reasons:
a five ounce PDA is much easier to
carry around than 50 pounds of reference books; and, the PDA software has
links between diagnoses, drugs, and lab
tests, for example. If you look up
“levofloxacin” in a reference book, you
may also see an entry that says “See
Fluoroquinolones.” On a PDA, you go
right to the information you need, without having to page around in a book.
Since pricing varies for both the hardware and software, do some research to
find what models best suit your needs
and your pocket-book!
Happy Studying!!
Deborah Leyva
University of Tampa
Tampa, FL
Pace Yourself
I have found that taping my lectures
and listening to them a second time
while working out on the elliptical or
treadmill is very helpful. If you keep
reviewing the material in little chunks
on a daily basis you don’t have much
studying to do right before an exam,
and you’ll be staying healthy and inshape.
Carrie Werner
South Dakota State University
Rapid City, SD
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B ACK T O S CHOOL
I Practiced Yoga
I made it through my last semester by studying by myself
most of the time. I practiced yoga and established a certain
amount of hours for studying. I would then study for 20
minutes straight, take a 5-10 minute break, then repeat the
same thing until my hours were done. I also prayed and drank
a lot of coffee. I think these study tips would get anyone
through a nursing semester.
Rachell Mansaray
Helene Fuld School of Nursing
Camden, NJ
Work in Groups!
1) Study in groups... this helps to broaden your knowledge!
It also allows you to quiz each other.
2) Break down the study guide by section; each person of
the group should take one section, this way you actually
have time to study the information on the study guide!
3) Use a chalkboard and write the topics out: have each
person in the group state what they know about the topic.
4) Don’t wait till the night before... it won’t be enough time
to absorb all of the information!
5) Read the instructors’ notes over and over again; book
often delve too far into detail and the instructor can help
highlight important sections.
Clare Beals
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL
Picture it!
Over the last two semesters I have used my digital camera
in the Anatomy and Physiology lab to take pictures of the
many models that we were required to know I took my
digital camera to the local drugstore and had the pictures
put on disk. I can view them anytime on my pc using the
disk. I also printed color pictures of the models and put
them in a binder to study from. I practiced labeling the
pictures of the models over and over again. This way you
can carry the pictures around anywhere you want to go
and labeling them helps to commit the various anatomy
parts to memory. ¥
Jennifer F. Lovvorn
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, TN
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