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Lewis: Medical-Surgical Nursing in Canada, 3rd Edition

Study and Exam-Taking Tips

Assess Your Study Skills


Set Goals
Organize Tasks
Create a Schedule
Use Your Resources
Create Flash Cards
Master the Textbook
Take Effective Notes During Class
Review Your Notes After Class
Prepare for Exams
Tips for Taking an Exam

ASSESS YOUR STUDY SKILLS


This quick checklist is intended to help you assess your study
habits. Read each statement and consider how it applies to you. If
the statement applies, check Yes. If it does not apply, check No.

1. Y N I dont seem to have time to study and enjoy social activities. It feels like
I have to do one or the other.
2. Y N I tend to put off projects and papers until the last minute.
3. Y N I go to my classes, but I either doodle or daydream. Sometimes I have
trouble staying awake.
4. Y N I take notes during lectures but later have difficulty understanding them.
5. Y N I dont know what is the important content in lectures or in the textbook.
There is too much information to learn.
6. Y N I cant stay on top of my reading assignments, so I end up cramming all
the reading in right before the test.
7. Y N After reading a chapter, I am unable to remember and recall most of what
I just read.
8. Y N I usually study with the radio or the television turned on.
9. Y N I typically spend hours cramming the night before an exam.
10. Y N Although I study for the exams, my mind goes blank when I go to take
the test.
If you have answered Yes to three or more of the questions above, you really need to
continue on with reading how you can improve your study and exam-taking tips. If you
answered Yes to two or fewer of the above statements, you may not need all the study
tips, but you can benefit from the tips provided in the areas that you may be interested in.

SET GOALS
Begin by setting goals. Make sure they are realistic. A goal of scoring 100% on
all exams is not realistic, but scoring an 85% may be a better goal.

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Study and Exam-Taking Tips 2

Goals should set out exactly what you want to accomplish. Do not simply say, I
will study for the exam. Specify how many hours, what day and time, and
what material you will cover.
Create a specific time limit on completing each step and a time limit for
accomplishing the overall goal.
State the goal and each step in the plan in a measurable way that will
allow you to assess your progress.
An example of a good goal statement: I will spend 2 hours per day, from 2:00 to
4:00 PM, for the next 7 days studying for the exam covering chapters 1-9 in order
to receive a score of at least 85%.

ORGANIZE TASKS
Divide all the tasks that need to be done into three categories. These include
things that you:
o Have-to-do: These are things that will bring about serious consequences if not
done, such as going to class, going to work, eating, and getting adequate rest.
o Should do: These are things that are necessary but easy to put
off, such as studying, cleaning the house, and paying bills.
These tasks are often overlooked, and these are the jobs for
which time management is most essential.
o Want-to-do: These are fun things that provide pleasure and
escape from the routine of class, work, and study. Realize
that some recreational time is essential for effective time
management. These things can often be used as incentives for
completing what should be done.
Once your tasks are organized, you can create a schedule to accomplish your
goals and get everything done.

CREATE A SCHEDULE
Create two different schedulesweekly and master schedules.
Both schedules should be made by creating a table with seven columns for the
days of the week and one row for each hour of the day that you are awake.

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Study and Exam-Taking Tips 3

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday


6:00 AM
7:00 AM
8:00 AM
9:00 AM
10:00 AM
11:00 AM
12:00 PM
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
3:00 PM
4:00 PM
5:00 PM
6:00 PM
7:00 PM
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
10:00 PM
11:00 PM
12:00 AM
1:00 AM

The master schedule should contain all those things that are consistent from week
to week, such as class schedules, work schedules, eating, and exercising. These
activities should be taken from your have-to-do list and should be recurring
activities that cannot be done at any other time. Once the master schedule is made,
there will be gaps that are not filled with regular activities.
Unlike the master schedule, the weekly schedule will change
from one week to another. Using the master as a basis, fill in
the unused times with should-do and want-to-do tasks.
This schedule will be more complex than the master schedule.
It is intended to help you plan for study, recreation, family
time, and other activities that you want to fit into a typical
week. When filling in the schedule, the first blocks of time you
assign should be the most important ones to a studentstudy
time.
When assigning study time, plan 2 hours of study time for every 1 hour spent in
class. Also, consider when you are at your best personal prime time. Are you a
night owl who will learn more at the end of the day or do you wake up early,
ready to take in new information? Schedule your study time when you are at your
best.
Be patient and evaluate what works for you. It usually takes 2 or 3 attempts over a
period of 3 weeks to arrive at a detailed schedule that works for you.
Small blocks of time are often wasted or lost. If you can learn to use these small
blocks effectively, you can free up larger blocks for other tasks. If your class ends
10 minutes early or if you are waiting for the bus, use this time to study. Take

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Study and Exam-Taking Tips 4

advantage of these times to review vocabulary terms, rework a set of class notes,
or preview the next five pages of assigned reading.

USE YOUR RESOURCES


Your instructor is one of your best resources. Your instructor
wants to hear your questions because that means that you are
interested in learning and actively engaged with the material of
your class discussions or lectures. Ask questions about what will
be covered on a test and the type of questions you can expect.
Office hours are designed for when your instructor is available to
you.
You also have a great resource in your classmates. We all have different learning
styles, strengths, and perspectives on the material. Participating in a study group
can be a valuable addition to your nursing school experience.
When forming a study group, carefully select members for your group. Choose
students who have abilities and motivation similar to your own. Look for
students who have a different learning style than you. Exchange names,
email addresses, and phone numbers. Plan a schedule for when and how
often you will meet. Plan an agenda for each meeting. You may exchange
lecture notes and discuss content for clarity or quiz one another on the
material. You could also create your own practice tests or make flash cards
that review key vocabulary terms.

CREATE FLASH CARDS


Pick a size of note cards that is convenient to carry with you and accommodates
your handwriting style. Flash cards are the best thing to study on the run, so make
sure that they are comfortable to bring with you everywhere.
Create flash cards for each of the bolded and italicized words in the chapter. Most
definitions can be found in the glossary in the back of book, and more definitions
are in the glossary found on the website. Definitions can also be determined from
within the chapter.
When reviewing your flash cards, if you do not know the exact definition, do not
automatically assume you cannot figure it out. Draw upon previous knowledge to
try to figure it out. Try to break the word into parts that you do recognize, such as
meningitis, which can be broken into mening- and -itis. If you recognize
meninges and you know that the suffix -itis means inflammation, then you can
deduct that meningitis mean inflammation of the meninges.

MASTER THE TEXTBOOK


Simply reading a textbook can be boring and make the
information hard to retain. Before you begin to read a chapter,
first just simply look through it. Notice the major concepts that
will be discussed. Look at words in bold and terms that are used
for headers. Be sure to look at the figures and tables. Often,
figures and tables are used to expand on an important idea.

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Study and Exam-Taking Tips 5

Making notations in the text can help you concentrate and make future review
more productive. Notations can be made by highlighting or underlining, writing in
the margin, and taking written notes from the text. All of these have advantages
and disadvantages. No single one will work all the time.
Before you begin making notations, read the material first without making notes.
If you mark things the first time you read them, everything will seem important
and you will find yourself making too many notations or highlights.

Making Notations
When you begin to make notations, be selective. Pick out the important ideas for
immediate learning and for future review.
As you read, be aware of the heading outline format used throughout the text.
This heading format is intended to help the reader understand the organization of
the text. It indicates the relationship or subordination of content within
the text. Look at the headings in the chapter. Some are in green in all
capital letters. These are the main headers for the broad concepts of the
chapter. Others are in blue with only the first letters capitalized. These
are the subsets of those major concepts in green. Headers that are red
are the subsets of the terms in blue. There is also a subset within the red
headers and those are black with only the first letters capitalized.

Also, pay attention to words in bold and italics. Those words are important, so
they need extra attention paid to them.
Be aware of the word selections made by the writers. If you see phrases such as
most important, the four main categories, or most significant, then these should be
cues that the following information is a critical concept or idea.

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Study and Exam-Taking Tips 6

Reviewing
After you have read the chapter and made your notations, review the highlights
and notes you created. Ideally the review should begin within 1 to 2 days after
you first read the chapter. Psychologists have found that we forget approximately
50% of what we learn in the first 24 hours after we learn it. Therefore the sooner
you review, the easier it is to move learning from short-term memory to long-term
memory.
When reviewing, make it active learning. Just as reading a
textbook without making notations is dull, simply reading
the notations will not help you learn. For example, if you
have highlighted a term, cover up the definition and try to
define the term from memory. If you cannot define the term,
then read the definition.
Also make use of the NCLEX review questions at the end of
the chapter. These are designed to help reinforce key
concepts within the chapter. The same is true of the learning
objective at the beginning of the chapter. Case studies will also help you learn to
apply the ideas taught within the chapter. Use these tools! The review questions
and case studies are in the book to help you highlight the important parts of the
chapter.
Review your text notations often. If the reviews do not go well and you have a
hard time remembering answers and concepts, review again the next day. If the
review goes well, then you can probably wait 2 to 3 days before reviewing it
again.

TAKE EFFECTIVE NOTES DURING CLASS


Effective note taking begins before class. Read the assigned materials ahead of
time so you can get the background needed to listen intelligently and be selective
about what is worth writing down. If you will be taking notes on a computer,
make sure that the battery is charged or sit near an outlet.
Be sure to attend class regularly. Once you miss, it becomes easier to miss again.
This is a bad habit to get into.

Taking Notes
If you decide to use a computer for note taking, be sure to keep a back-up copy of
your notes in several places in case the computer breaks down, is stolen, or is lost.
You will likely still want to print your notes to study from. Reading from a
computer screen is more uncomfortable and stressful than reading from paper. Its
easier to highlight and makes notes in the margin on a printed copy.
If writing your notes on paper, write your class notes only on one side of the
paper. Use the back of the page for questions, study notes, review questions,
summaries of the class, or general thoughts about the content.
When taking notes, actively listen to what is being said. Do not get caught up in
writing down each and every word. Focus on the most important ideas, terms, and
facts. A good rule is to write less and listen more during lectures. You can always

Copyright 2014 Elsevier Canada, a division of Reed Elsevier Canada, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Study and Exam-Taking Tips 7

write in key concepts and then leave space to fill in with details later from other
resources.
Listen for cues from the instructor that may help identify what is important. This
will vary from lecturer to lecturer, but some clues might include
sequence words (first, second, next, then, last, finally), contrast
words (but, however, on the other hand), and importance words
(significant, key, main, most important). In addition, be aware of the
instructors volume, tone, and pace of delivery. Some instructors
may slow down, get louder, or repeat ideas that are important.
Write your notes in your own words. Writing in your own style will
make them easier to understand and remember.
Do not doodle because it distracts. Keep eye contact when not
writing.
Put stars or check marks next to ideas that the instructor stresses so you will
remember to study this information when preparing for the test.
Be aware of the visual presentation. PowerPoint presentations will often highlight
the basic ideas and concepts that the instructor feels are important. If he or she
thought it was worth typing into the presentation, it is probably worth putting on a
test.
Listen for repetition of certain points. For example, if the lecturer introduces a
new term, defines it, gives some examples to clarify the definition, and then
redefines the term, then this is a signal that it is important to learn this
information.
Be alert to questions posed by the lecturer. These are also clues as to what the
instructor thinks is important.
Listen especially at the end of the lecture. If the instructor has not paced well, he
or she may cram half of the content into the last 10 to 15 minutes.

Reworking Notes
Your notes should be reworked within 24 hours and, for the most benefit,
should be done the same day as the lecture. During reworking, fill in any
missing points, underline or highlight important points, and summarize the
main points of the lecture. Creating a vocabulary list is also a good idea. This
list will make it easier to quiz yourself later and to make flash cards.
Some people may find it helpful to completely rewrite their notes into a more
organized, legible fashion. Some may wish to type their handwritten notes.
Others may simply mark on their original sheet.

REVIEW YOUR NOTES AFTER CLASS

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Study and Exam-Taking Tips 8

Review your notes frequently. It is better to review a small amount of information


often than to review a large amount of information once, especially right before
an exam when it is hard to remember what everything means that you wrote
down.
The first review of your notes should take place within 2 days of the class or
lecture. Do not wait more than 2 days. Remember, psychologists have found that
we forget 50% of what we learn within the first 24 hours of learning it. When the
second, third, or successive reviews occur will vary depending on the success of
the previous review. This is similar to the process used for the textbook review.
Review each day until you remember and understand 80% or more of the
material. After that point, continue to review every 3 to 4 days.
Similar to reviewing the textbook, actively review your lecture notes. Dont
simply read the information. Turn headings into questions to quiz yourself. Say
these questions aloud. Framing questions orally is what makes this review active.
Ask and answer questions in your own words. Recall is strongly enhanced when
you express information in your own terms. The best way to prepare for a test is
to take a test. By using this question-answer format, you are creating and taking
your own test. You may discover that some of your questions may appear on the
next exam.
In addition to asking questions, define the vocabulary presented in the class. If
you have not made flash cards, this is a good time to do so. Flash cards make it
easy to learn new terms, even on the go.

PREPARE FOR EXAMS


Anxiety leading to an exam is normal. Reduce your stress by studying often, not
long. Spend at least 15 minutes every day reviewing the old material. This
action alone will greatly reduce anxiety. The more time you devote to reviewing
past material, the more confident you will feel about your knowledge of the
topics. Start this review process on the first day of the semester. Dont wait until
the middle to end of the semester to try to cram information.
Ask your instructor about the exam. If he or she says the test will cover mostly
lecture material, spend more time reviewing your class notes. Ask about the types
of questions on the exam. Knowing the types of questions will help
you develop a strategy for quizzing yourself.
Work with a study group to create practice tests.
Review the learning objectives at the beginning of each chapter, then
answer the NCLEX review questions at the end of the chapter and
the questions related to the case studies at the end of the chapters. Use the Study
Guide that accompanies the textbook for further review. On the Companion CD
that came with the textbook are more case studies and related questions and more
NCLEX review questions. After you have answered all of the questions, you will
have a better idea of the areas where you need to study more.
Study and prepare during your personal prime time as was discussed earlier.
Study at the time of day when you are most alert and able to focus the best.
Get a good nights sleep before the exam. Staying up all night to study before an
exam rarely helps anyone. It usually interferes with the ability to concentrate.

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Study and Exam-Taking Tips 9

Eat breakfast or lunch before the exam. Avoid greasy, heavy foods and
overeating. This will help keep you calm and give you energy.

TIPS FOR TAKING AN EXAM


Before the exam, allow enough time to get to the room without hurrying.
First, look over the entire test. Do not read itjust flip through to see what types
of questions and how many questions are on it. Develop a general plan for taking
the exam. If the test has 60 questions and you have an hour to take it, then you
know you should answer one question per minute. Allow more time for essay or
short-answer questions.
Next, read the directions. For example, some true-or-false questions may ask you
to correct the statement to make it true or others may ask you to justify your
answer. If you just answer true or false, then you have lost important points
because you didnt read the directions.
Finally, start taking the exam. Pace yourself. Read the entire question and
all answer choices before answering the question. Do not assume that you
know what the question is asking without reading it entirely.
Start with answering all the questions that you feel confident in answering.
If you cannot immediately think of the answer to a question, give it a few
seconds of thought. If the answer comes to you, mark it and move on. If not,
skip it, circle the number so you know to come back to it, and go to the next
question.
If you are taking an exam with boxes on an answer sheet that will be read
electronically, be sure to skip the numbers on the answer sheet for those questions
that you skipped. Some students find it helpful to circle the number of the
questions skipped on both the test form and the answer sheet to ensure that their
numbering on the answer sheet corresponds with the numbering of the questions.
Notice how the subjects of the questions are related and, through that relationship,
the answers to some of the questions you skipped may be provided within other
questions of the test.
If you have trouble with test anxiety, the Stress-Busting Kit for Nursing
Students on the Companion CD that accompanies this textbook can help you
learn techniques to remain calm and focused.
After you have answered all the questions you feel confident about, go back
and answer the questions that you skipped. Check how much time is left so you
know how much time you have to figure out the answers. If you are still unable to
think of the answer to a multiple choice question, mark a line through the answers
that you are sure are incorrect and then make an educated guess from the
remaining answers.
Answer every question. A question without an answer is always a wrong answer,
so go ahead and guess.
When you have answered all the questions, look back over your answer sheet to
ensure that you have not skipped any questions and that the numbering on the
answer sheet corresponds with the numbering of the questions. Make sure that all
your erasures on the electronic answer sheet are thoroughly erased.
Turn in your test and celebrate your success.

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Study and Exam-Taking Tips 10

Screen Beans Art A Bit Better Corp.

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