From prioritizing coursework to study tools and techniques to creating balance in your life, Jerllyhia Dotson, Student Nurse shares her tips for avoiding costly nursing school mistakes. It’s never too early to start preparing for the NCLEXⓇ, and these techniques will get you on your way.
Looking for a Summary of These 5 Nursing School Mistakes?
We’ve listed them below:
Mistake #1: Not creating a study plan.
Keep your study plan. Know the time you have in between each exam, and schedule your study time. Plan to study 15-20 hours weekly, or more. The week before the exam you should familiarize yourself with the study material your professor is planning to test on. Seven days before your exam, you should have your exam study guide completed and study material organized.
Bonus! Using your study guide, create a Picmonic playlist to help you study. To create a playlist:
- Head to Browse or Search in your navigation bar.
- Find a Picmonic you’d like to add to your Playlist and click the Add to Playlist icon or click the More icon to choose which Playlist you’d like to add your selection to.
- If you’d like to add an entire Path to a Playlist, just find the Path you’d like to add and click the More icon to choose which Playlist you’d like to add your selection to.
Mistake #2: Not preparing before lectures.
Preparing for your lecture is KEY. Most nursing lectures are three hours or more. Don’t waste time sitting in a three-hour course going over material you don’t recognize. Read the material before the lecture and come prepared with your questions. Use your lecture time to ask important questions and highlight key points your professor stresses during the lecture.
Did you know? Picmonic aligns page-by-page with popular nursing school textbooks? Choose your textbook. Pick your study material. And play the Picmoinc. You’ll remember more during class and when it comes time for class and board exams.
Mistake #3: Not using spaced repetition.
Spaced repetition is a powerful technique proven to improve your brain’s ability to recall what you study. Spaced repetition is exactly what it sounds like. Spacing out the material you’re studying and reviewing it repeatedly over a period of time. This method is proven to increase material retention and therefore your exam scores.
Picmonic’s Daily Quiz with Spaced Repetition algorithm will intelligently quiz you on the facts you need to review to cement everything into your brain…forever.
Mistake #4: Not adopting a pre-exam day routine.
Whether you’ve heard or witnessed just how hectic nursing exam days are, here’s a routine with tips to slay those nursing exam days.
- Plan to review your material for about five hours. Study any material you’re not being tested over first, and save the best (testing material) for last.
- Wrap it up by 7:30 or 8 pm. Your goal is to be in bed BEFORE 9:30. You will see why in just a sec.
- Perform your nighttime routine but make it special. Practice yoga. Light scented candles. Get in a run. Binge a favorite TV show. Anything that makes you feel good.
- Get quality rest and wake up EARLY. With 8 hours of sleep, you should be up around 5 am. This will give you time to review your material one more time, eat a quality breakfast, and clear your head.
Note: All this review should be just that—a review. Don’t try to cram, it won’t work.
Mistake #5: Not taking your time on exam day.
- For every question, ask yourself “What is are they really asking?”
- Know where you are in the nursing process and consider that when selecting your answer.
- And, take a short mental break after every 10 questions or so. Try a deep breath and a stretch.
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