The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed with studying, be soft with yourself. You’ve come

so far, and with the right tools, you will make it even further!

Let’s face it. Nursing school is tough, and cramming for every exam is not a sustainable solution. Not when you’re running on 5 hours of sleep, can barely remember what your teacher said, and aren’t taking proper care of yourself! With that said, it is important to find the best strategies for you to study most efficiently and bring your best! We’ve listed 10 tips, so that next time the exam season is near, you will have a few more tricks up your sleeve. 

1. Spread it out

Instead of cramming everything that one night before the exam, see if you can squeeze in some studying time every day. These don’t have to be long sessions. 30 minutes each day will go a long way, making you feel more prepared and less overwhelmed when the day of the exam finally comes. In this way, you’ll also retain more information. 

Spreading study sessions in this way will make for more efficient learning! 

2. Join a study group!

Having more people who are going through the same situation can help you know you’re not alone. You can help each other and fill the gaps in each other’s knowledge. Everyone has their strengths and their weaknesses and being in a group ensures you’ll take care of any blind spots you may have when it comes to learning. 

On top of that, study groups can help improve understanding of the material. 60% of students in a study involving study groups said they learned more than they did when they studied alone, and close to 70 % said they were more motivated to study. 

You could review the material learned in the class, quiz, and teach each other. You will also be held more accountable, as you can’t show up to your weekly sessions completely unprepared!

3. Use Mnemonics

Mnemonics are a set of words, letters, sounds, or whatever other association that will help you recall another association. Back in 1967, a study by Gerald R. Miller found that students who used mnemonic devices increased their test scores by up to 77%. There are different types of mnemonics, such as: 

• Music mnemonics

Think of TV jingles and ads that use songs to get you to associate a specific melody with a product. Or, the ABC alphabet song, which helps students learn the alphabet through song.

• Rhyme mnemonics

For example, “On old Olympus’ Towering Tops, a Finn and German viewed some hops” is a way to remember the 12 cranial nerves, which are: olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, auditory, glossopharyngeal, vagus, sensory (accessory), and hypoglossal.

Mnemonics can be helpful when you have to memorize certain things, and this is especially important in the medical field!

4. Listen to music

Everybody likes music, and the good news is that it can also help you study and ace those exams!

Music is great for relaxing and calming down, and on top of that, a 2007 study found that music helps people learn. In short, brains absorb and interpret new information more easily when listening to music, especially classical music. So go ahead, put on that Mozart, and get to studying!

5. Be a teacher

Try to learn as if you’re going to be teaching that information to someone else. A study found that students expected to teach someone else retained more information than their counterparts who learned just for themselves. 

It’s not that surprising, because when we want someone else to understand something, we will learn it more. You also have to think about how to structure the information more simply so that someone else can understand, which will help you learn it yourself. 

6. Prevent the “curve of forgetting”

Forgetting things is perfectly normal when learning, and while you can’t expect to remember every single thing you learn, you can prevent the curve of forgetting. This essentially says that you will forget the information you do not repeat within a certain time frame. Information is lost pretty quickly if not revisited. 

You can prevent this by reviewing the material. If you review something you learned within 24 hours you will retain up to 80% of what you’ve learned.

7. Use the internet

Learning online has its perks. For starters, it is accessible. You can do it in any place where there is the internet and there are lots of great ways to learn. A key aspect of online learning is utilizing visuals. It’s been proven that visuals improve learning. This is useful when using the internet, as any learning platform worth its salt will include visuals. Go for an interactive platform that makes you feel like you can practically reach inside the computer and delve into the material. 

While the comparison is not always useful, it is good to know where you stand alongside your fellow students. Make sure to check out the most common medical questions and answers. How many of them do you know? Is there something you hadn’t even prepared for? Check them out, it will help you get a better idea of what is most important to learn.

8. Use online study guides

In today’s digital age, online study guides can be valuable resources for preparing for medical exams. They offer a convenient and accessible way to review and reinforce the material. Online study guides often include comprehensive content, practice questions, and interactive features that make learning engaging and effective. Utilizing visuals and interactive platforms can enhance the learning experience, as research has shown that visuals improve retention and understanding. Additionally, online study guides may provide access to supplementary resources, such as video tutorials and expert explanations, which can clarify complex concepts. 

For example, if you’re preparing for Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination exams, online study guides become even more essential. PANCE exams are comprehensive assessments that evaluate the knowledge and competence of aspiring physician assistants. You should do your research and find PANCE study guides that provide targeted content review, practice questions modeled after the exam format, and valuable insights into the topics and areas emphasized in the test. By incorporating online study guides into your exam preparation routine for whatever exams you are preparing for, not only for PANCE exam, you can leverage technology to optimize your learning and increase your chances of success.

9. Take it easy

Relax, and take a deep breath. That’s it. Nursing school is no easy task, so go easy on yourself. There are bound to be concepts you will have a hard time understanding, but this does not mean you should give up. It simply means you need to be more understanding and compassionate with yourself. Nursing students are taught to be compassionate to patients, but self-compassion can go a long way in helping you study. The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed with studying, be soft with yourself. You’ve come so far, and with the right tools, you will make it even further!

10. Exercise

Take a walk, go jogging, or do a cartwheel. Anything to get those endorphins going, and your brain strengthened! Exercise has been proven to improve memory and increase cognitive performance, so next time you’re in a slump, exercise and come back to the material. You’ll likely notice things you didn’t before and have a fresh set of eyes, and brains!

11. Change it up!

Simply moving to a different place and changing the scenery can help you reset your brain. More specifically, it can increase concentration and the ability to retain the information you learn. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, try and learn outdoors. Who knows, you might enjoy it!

Conclusion

Trial and error is the name of the game when it comes to finding the right way to study. What works for your friend may not work for you and vice versa. However, there are still things that undoubtedly help, and though we’ve tried to list a few of them, it is your job to try them out and see what works best for you. Remember to be gentle with yourself as you would be with your future patients!