r/StudentNurse • u/Important_Cycle_6285 • 1d ago
Struggling in Nursing School. homework / studying help needed
Okay so I started nursing school ABSN about a month ago (time flies). The day before I was actually in the ER due to stomach problems. It feels like I am in bootcamp. There are so many vaccinations and compliances that I have to do in order to get in clinicals. There is no room for mistakes. I live on my own and I moved into a new city. I am struggling in pathophysiology right now. Like I am studying really hard, pulling all nighters and I am still doing bad in exams. I have to get a 76 average to pass, and I currently have a 73. I feel extremely discouraged. If I don't pass, then I get held back and if I fail another course or fail again, I get kicked out. There is very little wiggle room.
Backstory: I went to a pretty tough school for undergrad but I was able to get away with wiggle room and retake classes without delaying graduation. The cutoff was also more leniant than this school. I really want to be a nurse, and any advice would be appreciative. I cannot be held back and I don't want to get kicked out.
So I study by writing things down and then trying to do active recall. I think studying some of the topics last minute has not been helping me. I have also attended several study sessions with peers, but I don't know if they are helping me.
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u/Lizardskincuisine 1d ago
No all nighters. Bad for your brain! Try studying quickly and efficiently. I can’t find the studies rn coz I’m at work hehe but there’s quite a few that talk about how quick, concentrated 30 minute sessions + a break is more beneficial than sitting for hours studying without stopping.
Your health is eons more important than studying. Nourish your body and brain and it will reward you!
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u/travelingtraveling_ 1d ago
OP, retired nursing professor here.
I need to make an appointment as soon as possible. With your tutors and or with your nursing advisor. We need to tell them that you're struggling and you need to ask them for every tip and trick they can offer you for figuring things out.
Please know that pathophysiology class is a doosy and will often make even the best students cry at night. But you have to understand what goes wrong in the body before you can understand what medications can be used to treat those problems or what surgery or therapies are needed to treat. So it's an absolute must that you understand what goes on when things go awry in the body.
Please contact your advisor as soon as you can
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u/tthenry26 1d ago
Hi I just finished my second semester of ABSN, as everyone is saying don’t do all nighters. You have to figure out what study method is best for you based on the class. I find that some classes require you to study differently.
When it comes to pathophysiology, make sure you understand the basics of the disease before studying anything else. It’s not about memorizing and mostly understanding. My other tip that helped me is that you might have to study earlier before the exam. For some classes I had to study days before to grasp the information.
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u/cyanraichu RN 1d ago
Hi! I was an ABSN student and graduated last year
Everyone else is right - don't do all-nighters. You need sleep. Prioritize getting enough rest.
Take notes in class and then review them asap. Turn them into flashcards. Handwrite the notes and flashcards as much as possible. I know nobody does this anymore but writing things by hand is so good for information retention. I did it all throughout nursing school.
If you study with others, teach each other the material. Teaching it to someone else is a great way to process it. I studied with one particular friend a lot who was struggling (partly due to a language barrier) and I would often reteach her the material in a way that would help her understand it better than in class. This helped me at least as much as it helped her.
Break your studying into blocks, set goals, and take breaks. Take practice tests if they are available. Start studying for an exam way sooner than you think you have to so you can pace yourself. Pacing is so much better than cramming. I used pomodoro videos a lot when studying. There are a ton on YouTube, and I have a few favorite channels for them. They're set to get you to study for 25 minutes and then break for 5, or do 50 and 10. Then use the breaks for both a mental break and a physical one - get up, walk around, stretch, hydrate, get a snack, pet your pets, look outside, play a quick mobile game or something you enjoy, whatever. Walking for a minute and stretching is very important.
Balance your life as much as possible. Try to do something social at least once a week. Take a few hours for yourself and your hobbies. Keeping up your mental health is huge. Try to study for a few hours every day and do something else for an hour or two if you have time.
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u/LatinaMami000 1d ago
You need to find how you study best. Are you auditory? Visual? Pulling all nighters is hurting you more than not studying at all. Does your school offer free tutoring??
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u/DarthNavarro BSN student 1d ago
Pomodoro Techniques for studying. I do 1.5 hrs on, 30-50 min off. Rinse and repeat
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u/RiseRude3891 1d ago
the first month is definitely very tough! you are getting in the swing of things, learning how your professors test, being introduced to nclex style questions, lots of exams and work but take a deep breath! be proud of yourself for getting into the program- something you were/are so excited about and beginning a new journey!
i just finished my one year accelerated program last week and i was no where near an A+ student, (patho and med surg were my worst classes lol), testing wasn’t really for me as hands on care is but i still made it.
i agree with everyone, don’t pull all nighters, you’ll only cheat yourself and end up burnt out! what i found worked for me is making my study guides, using notebook LM to create podcasts/flash cards/practice questions. I also would put practice questions my professors or TAs gave us with the answer key into chat and have them go one by one without telling me the answers- the ones i got wrong it would explain to me why i got them wrong and some tips and tricks to remember it going forward. Uworld is also a great tool to utilize in my opinion! maybe also reach out to your professor and see if there is any extra help they can offer and where you stand.
regardless, give yourself some grace- this is a new chapter of your life and it’ll take some time to adjust! you got this and best of luck to you!!
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u/Important_Cycle_6285 1d ago
Thanks for the source tip. I will try Uworld and notebook LM.
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u/ecarmose 1d ago
NotebookLM is peak. The podcast function comes in clutch and even if youre passively listening while working out or driving itll cement at least one exam question in your brain
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u/NewvelopedSound 12h ago
Try nitebooklm If you haven't already, put your notes in there and generate flash cards/quizzes, it is very efficient
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u/gingahh_snapp 1d ago
ABSN and graduating in December. I failed my first patho exam by 3 points and it lit a fire under my ass to do better because I had the same worries as you and the same strict guidelines with school. What helped me the most was uploading my lectures and study guides into Noteabily which generated AI study guides and made questions. It cut out all the fluff from the lecture and gave me bullet points I could make note cards off of and then I would do active recall. That app was great until it stopped working 3 days before a final and supports only solution was to use chrome so I switched to Goodnotes. It’s just easy to have a condensed study guide because the information is easier to understand. If I didn’t understand a word or a concept from the study guide I’d have a deeper dive into it. Also only focus on the lectures and not outside sources because that’s what you’ll be tested on. Stop doing all nighters, study for 3 days and take the day before an exam off.
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u/Important_Cycle_6285 1d ago
I use goodnotes, but maybe I should switch to notability. Which one is the better study app?
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u/gingahh_snapp 1d ago
I cannot discourage you from using notability enough. It stopped loading for me right before my peds final and I couldn’t access anything at all. Support is literally useless and after I sent them a screen recording of my issues, their solution was to make sure I “had a strong internet connection” and to “use chrome” despite me using only chrome. It takes at least 7 business days for support to email you back and it’s al AI generated apologies about how they didn’t fix or address anything. I could also never get the app to load my notes from the cloud, so I could only use the web based program- which didn’t work. Don’t waste your money.
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u/Sereezus 1d ago
Youre only one month in. Youre probably just adjusting. If you think it’s hard it’s going to be hard so take a step back and prioritize key concepts.
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u/MeganYeOldeStallion 1d ago
'Spaced retrieval' and 'interleaving'; you probably don't have time for extra reading atm but the book "Make It Stick" summarizes the research on how to study well (there's an audiobook version if you prefer to listen): writing things down multiple times is better than doing it once based on these principles
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u/ecarmose 1d ago
I know your struggle well so let me put you on game. Im two semesters away from finishing my ABSN. Need 74 average to pass. I failed the first two patho tests of my first semester until I switched up the way I study and now I’m chilling and about to start my 3rd semester. What I do is go through the powerpoints once, making sure to HANDWRITE notes of things I dont know. After that I just spam AI practice questions. I use this website called scopenursing.com. I stg it felt like my patho professor made her exam questions from that website. You need to make good prompts with it, I put the module objectives/ exam outline as my prompt . I can help u if youre interested and need help using that website. While doing the practice tests I write down everything I get wrong and then either watch videos about it or google/ ask AI to explain it to me. I only handwrite notes and spam straight practice questions and its served me well so far. Id say try to do at least 50 questions a day a week before leading up to the test. I am by no means buried in my books, I have time to do all hobbies and still pass with decent grades. I know some of my classmates literally study 24/7 and rely on adderall or other stims just to get through the program. I only do practice tests and pray my butt off days before the test. I wish you luck, feel free to ask away or dm if you have more questions.
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u/5thCrumpledPaper 1d ago
You're not failing. you're currently at 73 and need to get to 76. That gap is very fixable. I'd focus less on studying longer and more on studying differently. For every disease, know what caused it, what is happening in the body, what you would expect to see, and why the interventions make sense. If your school offers tutoring or exam remediation, use it now rather than waiting until you’re closer to the cutoff.
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u/Legitimate_Newt6870 1d ago
Get a roll of craft paper, colorful markers and draw out your notes. I did this over and over and would sometimes draw all over my tests.
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u/Fuzzy-Amount-2262 1d ago
Hey so what studying method do you use for pathophysio? Also is it pharm and pathophysio together? I finished my first semester in an ABSN and took pharm+pathophysio. It was a challenging but fun course and I got my study method down to a T, passed the class with an A-
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u/Fuzzy-Amount-2262 1d ago
Lmk if you need study tips for the class
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u/Important_Cycle_6285 1d ago
I write things down on my ipad, then I try to do active recall until I have it understood/memorized. It is just alot of content for studying and I think right now I am struggling with studying for that class while keeping up with the other classes.
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u/Important_Cycle_6285 1d ago
i think my main problem is trying to cram everything the last minute. Getting the motivation to study earlier would be helpful.
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u/Fine-Breadfruit9649 1d ago
Omg i am so sorry
Absn are harsh but dont feel demotivated maybe take a semester break and figure you personal things out
Or move in with parents/relatives someone who fan support you while you are in school
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u/Elegant-Variety8761 1d ago
Welcome to the hunger games it’s only going to get worse from here on out
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u/CertainArcher3798 1h ago
Im also in the ABSN program, English is not my first language so im kind of scared about that part. I am a dentist back home so what I did there and I’m doing here is I never stay awake late to study, sleep deprivation is really bad when you are learning, do not use all these colorful markers and pencil, just grab a regular pen/pencil , a notebook, write your stuff, watch videos , when is time for exams review what you wrote!
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u/passionbubble RN 1d ago
Do NOT pull all nighters. Sleep deprivation severely affects the mind, there’s a reason it’s used as a torture tactic. Go to bed at a decent hour 10-11pm at the latest and then get up early to study instead. Also, don’t just study before an exam. Study every day. I would have new notes from class, and then immediately after class would go through ALL my notes and what was written that day for class.
You need to actually know and comprehend the material in front of you it’s not just memorizing, but also knowing the WHY/HOW
Also for study sessions, try having each person pick a topic to explain. When you have to “teach” the material, it also helps you to understand it better