Conquering Nursing Exams: Strategies for Early Preparation and Efficient Studying with Lauren Chapnick

Maybe finals are coming up in a week and you're feeling the intense pressure , and I just want to review some of the basics on the art of studying Really , because sometimes we all just need a little extra boost , an extra dose of motivation to get us through and just tap into that deep well In our souls to just get us through .

I know you're tired , I know you just want this semester to be over . Maybe some of you are on the verge of meeting a certain grade to pass a certain class , and I am just rooting for each and every one of you Because you can absolutely do this , it is so worth it , and I hope that today's show can just give you a quick little boost of what you need .

So I want to start off by saying that when I speak to each of you individually , whether in coaching or in person , when I come and speak to your classes , a lot of you say . I've heard this a lot . You know I do so much better on exams .

I've noticed , when I start studying at least two weeks before , when I save it until the very end , when I save it and I only have a week to study or , god forbid , a few days Then it doesn't go my way . I don't do as well .

But this one exam where I really started preparing two weeks before , three weeks before , I did so much better and I say yes exactly Because it doesn't just start a few days before . This is nursing school , so you know that you are going to do better when you start preparing in advance . So that's number one . That's just the overall theme .

It starts the preparation for the upcoming exam starts the first day that that topic is covered in class . So start with a plan for yourself of how you're going to break down . How are you going to study for this class ? Is it textbook heavy ? Is it PowerPoint heavy ? Is it really just notes that you take in class ?

Is it really just all over the place and you're better off just drilling a bunch of practice questions ? What is it ? How can you be the most successful on this exam and start doing it as early as you possibly can , minimum of two weeks before the exam .

Okay , I want to first get into where to study , because where you study has a huge impact on how that session is going to go and what your results are going to be . So , in my opinion , there are three places you can study your home , your school or out in the world . So let's break those down a little bit .

If you're going to study at home , wherever you live let's say you live in a dorm room , so we're gonna talk about your dorm study space . Or if you live in an apartment or a house , or wherever an RV , a tree house , wherever you live , the place that you study at home needs to be a place with zero interruptions .

So if that's not possible in your situation , if you have a roommate and they just won't give you the space to study , whatever it may be , if you don't have a place in your home where you can be interruption-free , then that's not your study space . If you can have a place where you're interruption-free , great . So let's break it down even further .

Your home study space should really be your sanctuary . So , whether it's your own room or just a little area that's carved out where you study . That should be a place that you love to go .

So that means you can decorate it any way that you want , like put a nice little candle that's there that you can light when you're studying , or fresh flowers , or pictures of people that you love just a place that you love to go . And the workspace itself should be cleaned off .

If you're working on a desk , get rid of the piles of mail , the textbooks , whatever . The only thing that should be on your workspace is what you need to study , what the materials that you need that day . So , before you study , take five minutes , set a timer , put on a nice song that you like and just clean it off .

Clean off your area and it clears out the clutter in your brain so that you can focus only on what you need to be doing in that moment . Okay , no interruptions , neat , and it needs to be well lit .

So if there's not good lighting where you are , go out and get yourself a nice little lamp , because it should be a very well lit place and just a place where you enjoy spending time . So that's home . Then you've got school . I personally loved studying at school and for me it was so much fun to discover new places where I could study .

So if you have a campus , let's say if your school is 100% online unfortunately this doesn't apply to you but if you have an actual campus that you go to , where you go to classes at least part of the time , there are so many places that you haven't even discovered yet where you could sit and study and it is quiet and you will get so much done .

The first place to start is the obvious place the library . But within the library there are so many little nooks and crannies , little spots where you can find an interruption-free zone . Personally , I'm not a fan of the big open spaces with all the tables , because somebody will always find you and start talking to you or you'll be distracted by the other people .

My favorite spots in a library are where I can sit by myself . I'm a one-man show when it comes to studying . I like being alone . I like total quiet . That's me . So this is what I am suggesting to you . If it works better for you to be in a noisy environment , that's fine . That works for you .

But in your library , just walk up and down all the levels , go in between all the shelves . There are little desks and little tables tucked in places that you may have not discovered before Empty classrooms . Go into buildings where you've never taken a class before . Maybe there's an art building or a dance building .

There's a student center on my campus where there was a dance studio and there's a couch right outside and nobody was ever there . So I would go there early in the morning before class started and sit on that couch and study . That was a big plus for me .

But if you wander around and at different times and you kind of make note , well , lecture Hall 400 is open on Thursdays before fundamentals , whatever . I have spent so much time studying in an empty huge lecture hall and it's so quiet and it's great Early in the morning before anybody is . There is a wonderful time to find those spots .

There will always be empty classrooms and they're just waiting for a nursing student to just come in and Do what you got to do . And what's the worst thing that could happen ? People start coming in , fine , so you leave and you find someplace else . But just explore .

There's so many places you can go and if the weather is nice , if you have athletic fields , find some empty benches to sit on . Maybe pack a blanket you could sit like on a nice open fields in the grass , find the spots on your campus when it's quiet and you can go and do the studying that you need to do .

Now let's talk about just out in the world , out in public . Well , you got public libraries , which I personally love . I love going to different libraries and seeing what the energy is like there and finding my quiet spots to study . So that's always an option .

But you can also always find like a cafe , a coffee shop , where there's lots of different characters that go to coffee shops . So these old men love to go to coffee shops and play chess and talk to you and it's kind of fun . But Coffee shops are a great place to go .

But I have one Really big recommendation when it comes to going to cafes and coffee shops , and that's headphones . Bring your headphones , because it can drown out noise . First of all , you can put on some nice Meditation , focus music or something . But it also , even if you're not playing anything in the headphones , it tells other people to leave you alone .

So it's sort of a social cue , especially like the big headphones that you can wear . I Always , always . If I'm working at a coffee shop , I always have those suckers on because , as much as I love talking to people and sometimes I'll take them off you know , of course , if I'm taking a break or I'm doing something that doesn't require as much focus .

I do love talking to strangers it's one of my quirks but when you got to study , when you have an exam , pop those headphones on . Nobody's gonna bother you . So , okay , let's talk about how to study . Once you sit down for your study session , how should you study ? How should you spend that time ?

So , first of all , you should have everything that you need for that session when you sit down , so you don't have to get up to get anything . So we're talking water , snacks , coffee and , of course , everything that you need to study .

Whatever books you need , your laptop , whatever you're using , have everything you need for that session so that you are prepared . Have a plan . Number two is to have a plan . Don't just sit down and say , well , I guess I'll maybe study Fundamentals today , maybe I'll read a chapter , I don't know .

No , and I have a whole podcast on this and a whole YouTube series on how to use your planner so you can go back and listen to that . But have a plan when you sit down to study . If you have two hours that you're spending at the library , that is valuable , precious time . Know how you're going to spend that time .

So you could say , alright , from 10 to 10 30 . I'm going to drill practice questions in ATI or Hesse or Coursepoint , whatever your school uses . I'm going to drill questions from 10 to 10 30 to kind of warm up my brain .

Then from 10 30 to 11 30 , I am going to review the PowerPoints from Lectures 1 , 2 and 3 , and then from 11 30 to 12 , I'm going to close my session with more practice questions . So that's just one example . Maybe you want to spend the entire two hours Reading the textbook , outlining Chapter one and two , let's say .

But whatever it is , have a plan for yourself , know how much time you are working with and how you are spending that time . Okay , you want to eliminate all distractions .

So if you are sitting down to study , even if you have 20 minutes , you take your cell phone , put it on silent , put it far away from you , face down , so that it is not even an option for you to look at that thing . So that is number three . Number four is get up and move your body every 30 to 60 minutes .

So we've all heard my 27 three rule , where you study for 27 minutes , you're focused on that one thing and then for three minutes you get up and you just do something . You move your body , maybe in a coffee shop or a public library .

You're not going to get up and do a crazy dance or run around in circles , but at least get up and move your body for a minute or two and then sit back down again . Don't spend more than an hour sitting in one spot , so you want to just break that focus for a little bit so that you can come back refreshed .

So those are the top four on how to study . We've got have everything you need when you sit down , have a plan , eliminate distractions and get up and move every 30 to 60 minutes .

So that's all I got for you today , guys , I hope that this helped you with kind of your mindset of how to study , because you cannot approach it with anything other than complete clarity and specificity and you cannot study while you're trying to do other things . It's not a good idea to sit there and have Netflix on and maybe coast through some flash cards .

You've got to just get prioritized , get focused and know exactly what you're tackling that day , have a plan , know where you're going and what you are going to do .

So until next time , guys , it is my personal mission to help put more great nurses into the world . Thank you for sharing episodes that you love with a friend who could also benefit , and thank you also for your ratings and reviews . It takes just a minute and it really helps put the show in front of more people who may not have found us otherwise .

So have an awesome day , guys . I love you . I wish you the best of luck on these finals and I will see you next Thursday . Bye-bye .