These are my tips for studying: everyone has a study method
in which they learn best, but you will benefit from using multiple study
methods. Don't stick to just 1 thing - mix it up and try to learn the
material in a variety of ways.
- Make study guides - use your teacher's PowerPoint (yes, some are better than others) to pull out key information and organize it. Sometimes this means rearranging the content - but just make sure that the flow makes sense to YOU. Use your book and other sources - YouTube, journal articles, other online sources, whatever you need, to help you understand and expand on those key points.
- Find the things that you are confused on and focus your search and study on that until you have it.
- Utilize your teacher's office hours if you need them. Ask for extra lab time if available to you. Use down time in clinical to work with the equipment.
- Do the questions in your textbook!!!! And what is available online with the publisher - use the code that comes with the book, don't miss out on that resource.
- Make your own tests, case studies, worksheets, flashcards - anything that gets you writing and practicing the information more. Make open-ended tests with your study guides or teacher’s PowerPoint – either as flash cards or just write the questions out. Do anywhere from 10 to 20 at time. Be able to answer every question over several days correctly and without looking, and then you can move onto a different set of questions. If there are any that you particularly struggle with remembering, keep them on your “new” test. You’ll be surprised by how much better you retain the recall questions this way.
- Working with study groups - have everyone do #5 and come together to answer each other's questions. Quiz each other but use the book or the PowerPoints. Be careful that you don't end up getting wrong info from a study group. If you have homework, do it on your own or with the help of your teacher FIRST. It's ok to then discuss it in a study group, but doing the homework on your own is also meant to help you study and pull information. Use your homework to study when it comes time for a test - don't do it and forget about it.
- Verbalize! Say things out loud. Whether you are reading your notes, asking yourself a question, or explaining things. Tell your friends and family members what you're learning - pretend that they are patients you're educating. If you're practicing for a lab check off, make a script, read it and act it out until you've got all the steps and instruction down.
- Have a study schedule that makes sense for you. Do a little every day. Don't study for hours on end. If you find yourself not absorbing the material, walk away. It won't help to keep at it - your brain is telling you to take a break. More study isn't always better, effective study is what counts. Study smarter, not harder.
- Understand that this is like one giant class over the length of your program and what you learn at the beginning of it, you still need to know at the end. Classes will overlap, concepts will come back and be built upon. It is VERY hard to catch up if you get behind and don’t ask for help early. The biggest mistake that I see students make is to not get help until they are about fail out. Do not let yourself get behind! There will be lots of things where it takes time to fully grasp a concept, and that’s ok. But you don’t want to be at a point where you are not getting any of the material and it’s showing in your grades.
- Take time for yourself and your family – you will have to sacrifice a lot of time and energy for this but is for a short time only (although it may feel long at times). While much of your time is going to be spent on school, do make sure that time is set aside for you to relax and be with your family or friends. You WILL feel burnt out and overwhelmed at some point. Probably multiple points. Without some good coping mechanisms and self-care time, you will struggle more.
