Being a nursing student can be overwhelming and take up a huge chunk of your college experience. As a second year nursing student, I can relate to the struggle of getting FOMO due to not being able to go out with your friends and have a “normal” college experience. From clinicals, anatomy, chemistry, and the expectation to maintain a certain GPA, nursing majors can struggle immensely and face burnout before even graduating with their BSN. To avoid people from dropping the program and being able to balance course work and college life, here are three tips that help me when doing assignments.
#1 Using Quizlet
Yes this is a classic, but it works really well for me. Quizlet offers a variety of study methods such as flashcard, matching, and learn (which has you type in the term or definition and then study the concept with a flashcard). You can also generate your own practice tests to get an idea of what your exam may look like. Plugging in course material from classes and your study guide can be exhausting, but on Quizlet there is a way to upload your study guide and have AI generate the flashcards. It will also generate definitions for terms if you would like certain things simplified. Although technology may not be the best way to study, Quizlet comes in clutch as a mini study tool without having to write paper flashcards and being able to review material in different ways.
#2 Using a Whiteboard
Writing things out has been proven to help people retain information better. I personally love using a whiteboard to write down information because it allows me to write terms and then answer them with definitions. At the end of a study session with the whiteboard, I will take a picture of what I wrote and save it to help me remember the concepts. This technique is perfect if you’re taking a patho-pharm class or anatomy. For patho-pharm, using a whiteboard is very helpful for memorizing the medications because you can write down the medication and list its action on the body, side effects, contraindications, and indicators for use. If you are unable to get access to a classroom/study room with a whiteboard, you can always get away with buying a small whiteboard from Amazon and let me tell you, it comes in clutch when those rooms are booked.
#3 Creating Paper flashcards
As ironic as it sounds based on my opinion of Quizlet, paper flashcards do come in handy. They are helpful in writing down the information on paper rather than typing it, which is better for memorizing and you can easily organize them via different topics. Using classic flashcards came in handy for my patho-pharm class because I was able to narrow down the material and avoid outside distractions that would hinder my study habits using Quizlet. Yes Quizlet is the best, however if you tend to get distracted easily and go from tab to tab, you might want to utilize making your own flashcards. My only warning is, pace yourself and don’t feel pressured to do it all at once since you will probably be using almost one hundred flashcards. When using this technique, I would break down the concepts and put the functions, side effects, and mechanisms of medication and organ systems on a different card rather than condensing everything on one flashcard.
While being a nursing major is hard, you can also find time to have fun with your friends to still get that college experience you want. My philosophy is to put 60-90 minutes aside everyday to study for your exams and take 30 minute breaks in the middle before moving on to a different concept or going about your day. Although everyone has different habits when it comes to studying and learning material, these are the tools that have helped me succeed and maintain good grades in my classes. To all my fellow nursing students, stay strong, keep going and it will all be worth it in the end when we earn that degree!