Study Tips for Nursing Students (Bonus: Decker Specific Classes!)

by Tina

As a nursing student, you will be taking multiple content heavy courses at a time and it can feel overwhelming trying to remember everything you learn. To help alleviate that feeling, here are some studying tips to optimize your learning.

1. Get Organized

   Picture this: it's the beginning of the semester and you receive the syllabi for all of your classes. You read each syllabus and know the due dates for major assignments and exams in each class. However, you realize there will be weeks where you can have things due from multiple classes. How can you stay on top of all these due dates? My answer: a combination of Google Calendar, Google Sheets, and a notes app or notepad.

   
   

   Google Calendar is helpful for visualizing the amount of time you truly have in a day to do what you need. On Google Calendar, I schedule my classes, extracurricular commitments, and work shifts. I use the "Tasks" function to input content I would like to review or sections of assignments to work on for a given day. To ensure I am aware of dates for exams and assignments, I create a separate color-coded schedule for them so I don't miss them on my calendar.

   
   

   Google Sheets is helpful for organizing the details of each class. On Google Sheets, I make table versions of the syllabi for each of my classes. I have columns for the date, topic of content to be lectured on, and any pre-lecture assignments to be completed. I highlight any exams or major assignments as well. I also type in the grading breakdown for reference.

   
   

   A notes app or notepad is helpful for prioritizing tasks on a daily to weekly basis. One could also use Google Calendar for this function but from my experience, it can be faster to eliminate a task you completed on a notes app rather than going into Google Calendar to mark it as completed. Notepads are also great if you are more of a pen and paper person. I love the To-Do list pads that are offered by Success Coaching at the Student Transition and Success Center at Binghamton!

   
   

   Using all three applications may seem like a lot but they have helped me immensely in staying on top of everything inside and outside of college.

   
   

2. Start Early

   There will be some weeks during the semester where you will have assignments due or one exam after the other so ensuring that you have adequate time to review the material is essential for preventing stress. For one exam, I suggest studying at least one week in advance, maybe even two weeks if you know you will have multiple exams lined up.

   
   

3. Chunking Your Schedule

   As nursing students, I think it's common to want to study for stretches of hours in one day but realistically, it's not possible. You still need time in your day to eat meals, run errands, and take care of yourself. Chunking is a method of time management where you separate your day into chunks of time. Chunks can range in the amount of time and are based on how long you feel comfortable working before you need a longer break. For me, I like having chunks of 3-4 hours so on any given day, I have 2-4 blocks of time dedicated to working. I focus on 1-2 things to work on during each chunk and take small 10 minute breaks after each hour. After a chunk of time, I usually break to do something non-school related. Chunking can be helpful for focusing attention and allocating time.

   
   

4. Methods of Studying

   Everyone has a different method of studying that works for them. Anki and Quizlet are popular platforms that cater to fans of flashcards. Anki in particular has a built in spaced repetition feature, which is a proven technique to help retain information better long-term. However, there may come a time in nursing school where there is simply too much information to organize onto flashcards and you may find yourself wondering about other effective studying methods.

   
   

   I find making brain maps and speaking the information out loud as if I'm the teacher of a class to be helpful methods of retaining and understanding information. Brain maps are drawn out versions of content that allow you to see how information connects with each other. They may be helpful for certain topics, such as in patho for the cardiovascular system or in pharmacology when you are first learning the basics of pharmacological principles (brain maps tend to be less helpful in pharmacology after the first exam in my experience). Brain maps are good visual tools and allow you to understand things from a macro perspective. Speaking information out loud is also a technique that works well -- if you can break down the information into simple terms and explain it without looking at your notes, you have achieved a basic understanding of the content via active recall, another proven technique to retain information long-term. Doing practice questions in combination with these methods is also helpful for testing your understanding.

   
   

   If anyone is interested in other methods of studying, I would recommend checking out videos on Youtube from Elizabeth Filips or Ali Abdaal. From Filips specifically, one technique I learned and found helpful was the process of setting up "cues" for pieces of information. If you've ever had the feeling of being unable to recall specific information on a test question because you studied so much other information, "cues" may be helpful. Setting up "cues" entails finding methods to link information by associating information with something. For instance, a patho lecture has all the needed content for an exam on one powerpoint deck for one topic. While you are going through the deck, you can set up "cues" by using outside material, like watching Youtube videos, reading articles, or linking it to a personal experience. That way when you try to recall the information, you will associate it with the "cue" rather than the powerpoint deck, which already has a lot of information.

   
   

   You may find yourself using different methods for each class as each class presents their content differently. Find what works best for you! Decker also offers resources in aiding you with your studies, such as UTS tutors for certain nursing courses and the ISPC student workers for practicing your skills. Don't forget, your professors are also a good resource -- attend office hours!

   
   
   
   

5. Take Breaks!

Last but not least, taking breaks! It can seem like there's always something to do in nursing school but it's important to remember your life outside of academics. See your friends, go for a walk, listen to music! There will always be time to study, but don't forget that there should be time for yourself as well. Stepping away from studying might be the thing you need to refocus your attention.

Good luck to all the nursing students out there and remember, you are not alone and you've got this!

*Bonus*: How I Studied for Each Class at Decker

Depending on the class, the method I used varied and my studying methods have changed from junior to senior year. But for those who are interested, here is how I generally studied for the nursing courses at Decker:

• Junior Year

  • N320: Socialization I - Reviewed PPT, occassional PrepU

  • N321: Nursing Assessment of Clients - PPT, PrepU

  • N322: The Client System of Nursing - Reviewed PPT, paying special attention to definitions as the class had many new terms for me to learn

  • N351: Pathophysiology I - Reviewed PPT; tried to get at least 3 reviews in per slide. 1st review involved understanding the material and seeking additional information out if I was confused about anything. 2nd review involved typing questions about the material in the speaker notes of the slides and testing myself throughout to see if I could answer them without referring to my notes. 3rd review involved purely looking at the questions I created to see what I could and couldn't answer. Occasional brain maps if I felt the content would take a reasonable amount of time to make and was "visualizable."

  • N352: Practice of Nursing I - Reviewed PPT

  • N353: Practice of Nursing II - Reviewed PPT

  • N361: Pathophysiology II - Same method used for N351

• Senior Year

  • N360: Socialization II, Nursing Research - PPT

  • N362: Practice of Nursing III - PPT, outside resources as needed

  • N363: Practice of Nursing IV - PPT, outside resources as needed

  • N365: Pharmacology in Nursing - Brain map as needed, spreadsheet of medications

Note: Senior spring semester is mostly group projects and less didactic focused so I omitted my classes from that term.

Good luck to those studying :D