Argh exams!

[sewwies]

I've got exams starting on Monday and I'm soooo behind on my revision and I can't concentrate on anything without copious amounts of caffine lol...

Has anyone got any ideas on how I can get my brain to focus?! I've tried bribery (I wont drink for the rest of the year! I'll eat more oily fish!) but it's not having any of it...

[karen]

Take a shower, take a walk, watch some TV- don't focus for the moment. Let your brain wander- it's trying to integrate what you're learning, and work through something. Brains can't think all of the time- they need down time to sift through new stuff. Try to get some sleep...that part is hard, but it's really better for learning. Drink lots of water, take lecithin, ginko, fish oil. Chew mint gum- it helps keep your brain focused. Use yellow legal pads- the color is easier on the eyes. Don't highlight, paraphrase and make notes instead. Under no circumstances should you attend your best friend's 21st birthday party the night before your 8:00 am botany final- especially if you have to get someone to drive you to the test because you're still rock star drunk . You'll probably still blow the curve, but boy that's just not fun, and somewhat embarassing.

Your peak retention time is 10 minutes before the test- I used to condense-down my notes from the semester, and then arrive to the test about 20 minutes early and review them in the hallway (after I learned the error of my ways).

Good luck! You'll do great.

[sewwies]

Ooo thank you! I love the taste of fish oil tablets so I've got that part sorted, but I'm gonna give the rest a go! I always annoy everyone in the hallways with my last second cramming I reeeeally want the 21st to come so they'll all be over, but at the same time I have no idea how I'm gonna fit in all the work in like two weeks!

Never mind, we can only do what we can do! And have a big party afterwards

[eve]

Your peak retention time is 10 minutes before the test- I used to condense-down my notes from the semester, and then arrive to the test about 20 minutes early and review them in the hallway (after I learned the error of my ways).

This is a great tid bit to know! So that's why all those people hang around outside with their notes.

[Rhys]

Put your most important stuff in the ten minute before-exam notes to avoid freaking out. You already know bunches of it, but there are always those fiddly bits that make you throw your hands up in despair - that's what you want to revise just before.

I absolutely second sleep being a necessity. I'm pretty useless at dense material when I'm trying to keep my eyes open with toothpicks - and observation tells me I'm not the only one.

If all else fails, pop in an episode of Buffy, go for a walk, get your mind off it for 45 minutes, then come back to it.

And do remember to eat a couple times a day. Properly. Amazingly helpful during exam times.

And make sure your Russian orals and French orals aren't scheduled one after the other in different buildings with ten minutes in between. Oh, that was PAINFUL.

[pinkpomelo]

Drink lots of water. Apparently ,a nutritionist was telling me that people think they're tired or hungry, when they're just thirsty. And water helps make ur brain get energized!

[zeebs]

Good old fashioned procrastination.
Sorry... not helpful. But the eleventh hour does have an amazing power to focus the mind. Necessity is the mother of invention, you know.

[sewwies]

Hehe thanks everyone! Well its less than 24 hours till my first exam, and I'm wating for that panic to take me through the rest of it (its all cancer, chemo drugs and heart diseases and all kinds of other stuff I'd rather poke myself in the eye than study...) aaaah well here I go!

[JenW]

sewwies,
Best of luck on your exams. The material might not be your favorite, but it will certainly help a family in a rough spot later on. I was so very thankful for the great nurses my Mother had when she was ill. It is not so much that you know the material like the back of your hand...that is the job of the doctor. It is important that you know enough to make the patient and the family as comfortable as possible. You will do great! And I commend you on your choice of nursing as a career. It takes a very special type of person to be a nurse.

[sewwies]

I'm studying Radiography, so we don't spend that much time with individual patients, but I know getting x-rays and scans can be pretty stressful and if we can make patients comfortable and reassured, then if they do have to come back it wont be so daunting! And you're right, it's always better for the patient and the family if you can answer their questions, sometimes its not so easy to get to chat to a doctor.