Make your nursing journey easy. Get all the details on how to succeed in nursing school with Picmonic, the go-to study tool for student nurses.
How to use mnemonics to study
Mnemonics help you learn, remember, and recall information—it’s science! Mnemonics come in different shapes and sizes; they appeal to and activate parts of your brain to convert short-term memory into long-term memory.
Popular mnemonics are acronyms, visual pictures or videos, audio like rhymes or songs, patterns, compelling emotional or funny stories, or organizing information into chunks.
Everyone is different, so it’s important to get creative with mnemonics if you’re making your own. Combining different mnemonic devices will create multiple pathways in your brain, strengthening your memory and allowing you to recall information more easily. This is commonly known as dual coding theory.
Over 1,700,000 students have used picture mnemonics to prepare for exams. Overall, mnemonics help nursing students to study for school, pass exams, and remember complex information. To study with mnemonics, experiment with different kinds and see which is the most interesting for you!
What to study before nursing school
It you’re wondering how to succeed in nursing school, other than focusing on your nursing school prerequisites, it’s recommended you brush up on your math skills. You’ll eventually deal with medication doses and conversions in nursing school, so you must have it nailed. If not, practice makes perfect and now’s the time to work on it!
You should also begin reviewing and learning medical terminology and reaffirming your knowledge of the sciences. Anatomy, physiology, biology, and chemistry are important foundations for everything you’ll learn in nursing school.
How do I prepare for a nursing lecture?
Keep your eyes and ears open, listen, and take notes. Prepare for a nursing lecture with a note-taking template or your go-to organized note-taking method. Trust us, it’s the worst having to comb through notes that don’t make sense, so do your best to keep it simple.
Other than practicing your active listening skills (an important skill to have as a future nurse, by the way), read the syllabus and any assigned readings before every lecture to familiarize yourself with concepts. You should also create a list of questions you may have after reading. While they may be answered in the lecture, it’s best to ask for clarification if you still find yourself confused.
While you can prepare for lectures all you want, you should also have a routine right after every lecture. Review and re-organize your notes if needed, access provided lecture materials, and re-read assigned readings afterward to solidify information in your memory. If you ever need a refresher on a topic, you can always download the Picmonic app, search for a specific nursing topic, and take a quiz to maximize learning.
How Picmonic can help you master nursing fundamentals
Ah, the trusty nursing fundamentals. This is one of the very first courses you’ll take in nursing school and the most important thing you need to learn and master. And you most certainly can with Picmonic.
With memorable picture mnemonics that have whacky, fun characters and stories, Picmonic covers the fundamentals of nursing and thousands of need-to-know topics for future nurses. Picmonic’s fundamentals of nursing playlist is key for studying and recalling your nursing fundamentals. After watching a mnemonic video with unique visuals and anecdotes, take the quiz to review what you’ve learned. There are over 1,500 nursing fundamental quiz questions available so make use of ‘em!
How Picmonic can help with your NCLEX study sessions
By mastering the fundamentals of nursing with Picmonic, you’ll be set up for success in nursing school, and for the day you’ll take the NCLEX. While you may be studying for the NCLEX year by year, you’ll probably crack down on your study sessions a few months before your big exam day.
When you have Picmonic along for your nursing journey, you can review complex nursing topics in a short amount of time. You can pair Picmonic with other study tools like an NCLEX question bank to be more than prepared, and you probably should create your own playlist to study topics you struggle with.
Be sure to make use of NCLEX-specific Picmonics and playlists for review books like Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination, 8 Edition.
Even though Picmonic can help you remember more in less time, don’t cram. The NCLEX is a comprehensive exam and requires an adequate amount of study time and dedication. You can create a Picmonic NCLEX study plan with the help of our study scheduler.
Why using Picmonic is the most effective way to study in Nursing School
Other than being a fun and efficient way to learn, Picmonic is research-proven to increase long-term memory retention by up to 331% and test scores by up to 50%. Covering 1,200+ nursing topics and over 13,000 key facts, there isn’t a category you’ll miss. And with daily spaced-repetition quizzes to increase long-term retention, you’re going to absolutely conquer nursing school, ace your exams, and pass the NCLEX, guaranteed!
Don’t just take our word for it. Read our student reviews and sign up today to smooth sailing on your nursing journey. We’re beyond honored to be a part of it.
