The Ultimate Nursing Student Study Method

If you're a nursing student reading this, you likely fall into 1 of 3 categories.

1. You are currently procrastinating.

2. You are not currently in a semester of nursing classes.

3. You're desperate.

You're a nursing student. You don't have free time.

You've heard everyone say it hundreds of times: nursing school is hard. That's an overused phrase. You study every day before the test, and you still don't feel ready. I've been there. Anything I write to you right now is going to sound cheesy. But I do have a study method to share, so let's get into that instead.

What you need to know: Everything is important. Every syllable uttered from your professor's lips is a possible test question. This was my pitfall in nursing one. I thought, "There's so much. What's the important stuff that I really need to study?" Everything. This is only a minor exaggeration. Your studying needs to focus on covering all of the material over and over again. The strategy is to maximize the number of times you do this.

You already know this: the day after the exam is the time to start prepping for the next one.

This piece breaks down the study method I used when I was in nursing school. You can tailor it to create your own. The important thing is to have a consistent, laid-out plan to follow. Here are the disclaimers up front:

Disclaimer 1: Everyone is different. What works for one person doesn't work for someone else. You need to know yourself and evaluate how you learn. I am an auditory learner, so this method is consistent with how I learn. But I was always bugged when someone would give me the pat "find what works for you" answer. I wanted the specifics of how.

Disclaimer 2: My area for improvement was clinical. Some nursing students are natural at clinical and struggle with all the "head knowledge" they need to pass the exams. I can confirm that I made it through all 4 semesters of nursing classes the first time and passed the NCLEX on the first attempt. Look, we're all different. Just because you fail an exam does not mean you will be a bad nurse. And all the head knowledge in the world will not make you a good nurse. I'm not judging you. You're trying, and that is a good thing.

The Method: 7 Phases

Phase 1: Prepare yourself for lecture.

Know the class schedule. Understand what topics are going to be covered each day and how many questions on the test will be from each unit.

Before lecture, make sure you are ready to take notes in the format you want to use. Often my professors would have a "pre-lecture" version of their PowerPoints available. I would make sure to have this accessible on my computer.

If you're more of a paper person, make sure you have an organized format that allows for speed.

What about the 6 chapters of reading my professor assigned?

The good little student in me would tell you the supplemental reading will help hammer home the material for you. The best time to do this is before lecture. The honest person I am would tell you that I often did not do a lot of the reading. I'm a slow reader.

With the reading, focus on the key points and gauge yourself. Are you a fast reader? Read it. It's another way to go over the material.

Phase 2: In lecture, get an audio recording and take notes.

If at all possible, get audio recordings of the lecture. It's likely that you will miss something the professor says.

Sometimes, professors want students to ask for permission before taking any recordings. Go through the appropriate channels. Knowing you can go back if you miss something will give you peace of mind.

Taking notes: Fill in blanks and add in any material the professor says that is not in the PowerPoint. If something seems confusing, make a note that you have a question about this area.

Learn to read the professor and know the level of in-class questions the professor is comfortable answering. Realistically, if the PowerPoint is 93 slides, it's better to wait. But some professors are happy to answer in the moment and others are better with follow-up.

Think about actively participating in lecture as a round of exposure to the material. You're already studying, and you haven't even left the classroom yet.

Phase 3: Create a fresh version of notes, adding together previous material and lecture material.

This is where your audio recording comes in. Listen to the audio again, adding anything to your notes that you missed the first time.

One nice way to do this is to create a new PowerPoint or Word document that contains all the lecture notes.

As you go through the audio this time, write down any questions you have. It is best to have these in a chronological order (I'll explain why in phase 4).

Check to see if the professor released any version of his or her notes. Add these in to what you have. Remember, the goal of this is to create a comprehensive compilation of your study material.

What about the medications?

The medications that might be asked about on the exam are enough to make any nursing student cry. As you go through your notes, write down any medications that were explicitly mentioned in lecture. This is a great time to start creating flashcards or a quizlet. Keep it simple. For example, put metoprolol on one side of the flashcard and a brief explanation of what it does on the other side (lowers blood pressure, regulates heart rate, etc.)

At this point, don't go into detailed explanations about side effects and food interactions. Wait until phase 4.

Phase 4: Clarify any inconsistencies.

Take a look at the list of questions you have. Organize these and clarify as much as you can from the lecture itself. Create questions that are highly specific. Then it's time to talk to your professor.

I liked to have the questions correspond to the slides from lecture to make it easier for my professors. Try to prioritize which questions you need to have answered.

Know your professor's office hours and utilize that open time. Ask questions about the lecture material and about possible medications that will be mentioned on the exam. Once you know what medications to focus on, you can create more comprehensive flashcards.

The timing of this phase is a little fluid. When you have time, go. Sometimes it's best to wait until the end of the unit, so your notes are more complete. For example, if you have 5 lectures on cardiac, wait until the cardiac unit is finished. It is possible that your questions from the first lecture will be answered in the second lecture.

Phase 5: Create a new audio recording.

Create an audio recording of yourself reading your notes. Add in your own explanations and word it in a way you understand. Once you have this, you can listen to your notes while you're doing other things, like driving to clinical or doing laundry.

Again, this step is highly specific to being an auditory learner. But it is a way to review all of the content again.

Phase 6: Rewrite all notes to create a hard copy.

Take out the ancient pen and paper. Rewrite everything, creating a comprehensive hard copy. You can then even have this in front of you as you review your audio recordings. Handwriting it is another way to review all of the content again.

Phase 7: Study with your friends.

In the last few days before the exam, meet together with one or two other people to quiz each other on material. At this point, you have your beautiful hard copy of your notes that you have been creating all along.

A group of more than 4 people becomes a group to socialize. If you want to get together to socialize, don't guise it as a study group.

Find people you trust who will grill you on the material. Plan to go through everything, meeting over one or two days as needed.

That's it. Take the test.

With these 7 phases completed, go to bed the night before the exam. Give yourself a distinct end time for your studying. As tempting as it may be, don't study on the morning of the exam. If you don't know it at this point, you're not going to know it this time around. Try to relax as much as you can and take your time with the test.

Nursing school is insanely hard. It's easy to complain about how hard it is, but that energy is better spent getting through it. Hang in there. It is possible to get through it. Focus on that. You can do it!