CHEAT SHEET
STUDY CHECKLIST
Hey there, friend!
There's a lot of nursing school rumors floating around out there about how to study,
how to pass your exams, and what to focus on.
And unfortunately, most of them are totally wrong and will leave you feeling stressed
and burned out.
Thankfully, there's a better way to study. And I'm walking you through it in this
checklist.
All my best,
Christina
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LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This cheat sheet is intended for educational purposes only. This is not medical advice and errors
may occur. Never treat a patient or make a nursing or medical decision based solely on the information provided in
this cheat sheet. Never practice nursing or medicine unless you have a proper license to do so.
STUDY CHECKLIST
CHEAT SHEET
WHAT TO FOCUS YOUR STUDY TIME ON (STEP-BY-
STEP)
Step #1: Learn the pathophysiology first
Learning the pathophysiology of each disorder should be your number one priority.
This is the foundation that everything else you need to learn is built off of.
So you need this foundation of knowing the pathophysiology FIRST, before you can
go and learn everything else that you need to learn.
The pathophysiology of a disorder is just what is happening inside the body that is
not normal. So you'll need to learn the process that's happening inside the body as
the disorder takes place.
Step #2: Focus on the 3 main topics for each disorder
There are 3 primary things that you need to know about for each disorder, along
with the pathophysiology, and those are:
1. The common signs and symptoms
2. What you need to assess for
3. The nursing interventions you will do (including patient education)
If you look at your nursing school exams, those are the 3 main things you are tested
on: the signs and symptoms, the assessment for the disorder, and the nursing
interventions that need to happen for that disorder.
You're not often tested on the actual pathophysiology of the disorder; you're mostly
tested on these 3 things. But learning the pathophysiology is crucial to
understanding these other 3 components.
Step #3: Study efficiently
Make sure that when you sit down to study, you are refreshed, you're rested, you've
got your coffee with you and your water, and you're ready to go.
There are the 3 main ways I recommend you study:
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Visual Learners
If you're a visual learner, write or draw out all of the concepts
I like to write and re-write my notes over and over again, as well as create concept
maps and diagrams.
I'm more of a visual and auditory learner, so those 2 things really help me out.
And if you need a review on how to create concept maps, make sure you check out
this video.
That video will walk you through exactly how to create concept maps. Plus, I add in
some really great questions to ask to help you critically think. So either way, make
sure you check out that video.
Auditory Learners
If you're an auditory learner, talk concepts out to yourself so that you can hear it.
Talk about the concepts out loud as if you're teaching them to yourself.
You can also create songs to help you remember it, or go through mnemonics.
All of those are really good study tips for auditory learners.
Do-er/ Kinesthetic Learners
If you're more of a do-er and kinesthetic learner, use the skills lab and go through
some patient situations.
Grab your nursing bestie and run through case scenarios together.
Ask each other questions that will get you thinking more critically about the
disorder.
This hands-on experience will really help it all sink in your mind.
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STUDY CHECKLIST
CHEAT SHEET
HOW TO STUDY FOR FINALS (STEP-BY-STEP):
Step #1
Collect all of your notes from throughout the term.
Go through your car, your locker, your desk, your kitchen table, your kids' rooms, or
anywhere you think some of your notes may be hiding.
Step #2
Organize all of your notes by week of the term you learned that information, or by
topic.
You should aim for at least 7-or-so different "packets" of notes, as this will make
them small enough to study later (and not go totally crazy!)
Step #3
Go through each one of those packets and highlight ONLY the information you don't
know and can't remember.
TRUST YOURSELF. You know more than you think you do, and you
are smarter than you realize. Don't get discouraged if a lot of
information is highlighted. That's totally normal. Don't worry, you'll
know it all by the end of this process.
Step #4
Take one packet at a time and rewrite only the information you highlighted.
After you are done with this step, you should end up with a sheet of paper (or
multiple sheets of paper) with only the information you don't yet know.
Step #5
Focus on studying ONLY those sheets of paper that have the information you don't
know yet.
Repeat this process daily: highlight what you don't know, rewrite that information
onto new sheets of paper, and study only that information that you rewrote (the
information you don't yet know).
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Tips for studying for finals
Remember... Start studying EARLY and give yourself GRACE through this process.
The earlier you start studying for finals, the more information you'll be able to learn
and convert to long-term memory.
I recommend starting this process at least 2 weeks before your final exams. That
should give you enough time to learn all of the information you need to know for
your test.
The first few times you write and rewrite your notes, you might feel like you don't
know a whole lot.
Trust yourself and your ability to learn. You WILL learn more and more every day as
you go through this process.
By the end of it, you should know just about everything you need to know for your
exam.
If you want more tips on how to study for finals, check this video out!
WHERE YOU MIGHT GET STUCK (AND HOW TO
OVERCOME IT)
1) If you're spending all your time reading the textbook…
It's temping to want to read everything in the textbook. I get it, I've fallen into this
trap, too.
But the problem with this is that you'll end up knowing a little bit about a lot of
things, but you won't know enough about the things that matter (i.e. the things
you'll be tested on!)
So when your exam rolls around, you won't be as prepared simply because you
didn't focus your study time on the things that mattered.
How To Overcome This:
Focus on studying the things that your instructor talked about in class because
those are the things that you'll most likely to be test on.
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STUDY CHECKLIST
CHEAT SHEET
2) If you're studying too much and burning out…
Most nursing students want to know everything about everything. I totally get that,
I'm the same way.
But here's something to consider: if you're spending all of your time studying and
never give yourself a break, you'll hit burnout and then be forced to take a break
simply because your brain is too exhausted.
How To Overcome This:
It's much better to pace your studying and build in break times, rather than go 150%
for a short time, burnout, and spend a week recovering (and not studying!)
A good rule of thumb is to study for 2 hours outside of class for every hour that
you're in lecture class per week.
So let's say you have a 3 hour pharmacology class each week. You would want to
study for 6 hours for that pharmacology class each week.
You don't need to study 24/7. You just need to make sure your study times are
focused on the right things and that you're being productive.
3) If you're feeling stressed and overwhelmed…
There's a rule of life that most of us don't realize until it smacks us in the face: if
you're stressed, anxious, overwhelmed, or burned out, you are not going to be as
productive as you would be if you were joyful, grateful, excited, or hopeful.
How To Overcome This:
It all starts with how you're thinking. If you're constantly telling yourself, "I can't pass
this exam," "I'm going to fail out," "It's not possible for me," or anything else in the
"beating yourself up" category…you can't expect yourself to be productive when
you're studying.
Instead, if you can tell yourself something you believe that's more hopeful, like "I can
figure this out," "I'm going to do whatever it takes to pass," or "I'm capable of doing
this," that's a much more positive mindset to be in when you're studying. And it will
help you be more productive.
