Tips for Studying in Nursing School 

Nursing school can be quite challenging. For some, combining the challenge of nursing school with other life obstacles can seem almost impossible. After all, how do you keep up with everything you have to learn while also maintaining somewhat of a normal life? Sure, it isn't easy, but it is possible.  

Below, we'll outline some study tips for nursing fundamentals and study tips for nursing students. This includes techniques that will improve your performance and make life more enjoyable as a nursing student.

Study Tips for Nursing Students

Study Everyday  

Many students make the mistake of leaving their studies until the weekend or the last minute. Don’t procrastinate. The key to success in your nursing program is to study a little every day.  

Learn to Manage your Time  

One of the major obstacles that nursing students face is an inability to manage their time properly. However, this is critical to nursing school success. The most important thing you can do is set a schedule and stick to it. Always keep these best study tips for nursing students in mind.  

Study the Right Material  

There’s not enough time in a day to cover all your assignments. You must determine what information is vital and what you should focus your study on. Pay attention to your professor and what topics are focused on in class to determine where your focus should be while studying. Look for or create some simple nursing study guides to help you organize your studies.  

Practice Critical Thinking  

You will be memorizing a lot of information as a nursing student. However, don't let that distract you from practicing your critical thinking skills. Facts and data are essential, but critical thinking allows you to evaluate the condition/situation of your patient. The best way to develop critical thinking is through practice and repetition.  

Think About How to Apply What You’re Learning  

There's more to becoming a nurse than learning medical knowledge/facts. Patients don't care what you know; they care how you can help them feel better. As you study the various aspects of the medical field, ask yourself how you will apply what you're learning to help patients improve their health. Always be looking for tips for studying in nursing school to help you make it through.  

Skim, Then Read  

You will be learning a lot in nursing school and most of that will be through reading. You need to skim through each chapter before reading it. Skimming will give you an idea of the main themes and topics being covered. Review the chapter summary and the review questions at the end of each chapter. Then, go back and read the chapter in-depth.  

Determine Your Learning Style  

Everyone learns in different ways, and determining your learning style will help you learn more effectively. According to teach.com, some learn by listening (auditory). Some learn by seeing (visual). Some learn by doing (kinesthetic). When you know your learning style, you can structure your study time to be more effective and efficient. The additional study tips for nursing students on this list should be beneficial.  

Form Study Groups  

There are several reasons you might want to form a study group with your peers, but the primary reason is that studying with others helps facilitate learning. Studies reveal that working with other students increases retention over listening to lectures or reading. A study group allows students to teach each other what they have learned.  

Include Study Breaks  

The best study tip is to take a break. After about an hour of studying, your brain becomes overloaded, and any further study is ineffective. Therefore, it's not effective to study for 3+ hours at a time without taking a break. The ideal study session runs about 45 minutes to 1 hour. After that time, take a break - get up and walk away for about 10 minutes. This gives your brain a chance to process what you have just studied and retain more information.

What to Do After School?

Nursing school can be challenging. However, these nursing school study tips can help you get through it, become a new grad nurse, and prepare yourself for a career in travel nursing. When you're ready, Advantis Medical helps connect nurses to dream destination job placements.  

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