What Do You Study in Nursing School: How Can I Remember Everything I Need to Know?
Are you thinking about going to nursing school but worrying about how you're going to remember the sheer mass of new information you will be taking in? You will take courses in anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, and principles of nursing in medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, acute care, psychiatry, geriatrics, and pediatrics, just to name a few.
Here are some life hacks for improving your memory function in general, a brief introduction to an ancient culture, a popular technique for remembering new information, and an exercise that puts it all together.
How to live a memorable life
Many people fall into the trap of is to becoming so focused on a primary objective, like getting a degree or climbing up the career ladder, that they shut everything out. You're too busy to eat/sleep/exercise/meditate, etc., right? Ironically, you'd make better progress and feel less stressed if you took time out to deal with real life.
Here are a few lifestyle guidelines that will help you acquire and retain information. This short list is important to remember for your own success, and because you will inevitably finding yourself explaining them to your own patients in the very near future.
- Get enough sleep. Your subconscious brain processes what you have learned during the day and stores it for future reference. How many times have you struggled to read a book chapter only to find the material easier to pick up weeks later? That is why you sleep! Aim for seven to nine hours daily.
- You really are what you eat. What's good for the diabetic, heart patient, expectant parent, and the senior is good for the nursing student. Pack your diet with fresh fruits and vegetables and lean sources of protein such as chicken, fish, and beans. Know also that chocolate contains antioxidants that promote brain function and retard aging, inflammation, and some cancers.
- Make time for exercise. Take five minutes occasionally, ask Alexa to play some upbeat tunes, and dance like nobody's watching. Exercise increases blood flow to the brain and keeps your memory sharp.
- Treat your body as well as you treat your car. The better you look after yourself, the better your brain will reward you with sound memories. Follow your doctor's advice if you have high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, hearing loss, or an autoimmune condition like Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sjogren's Syndrome or Lupus. You really can do this!
- Stop smoking. Nurses can be among the heaviest smokers. However, like it or not, smoking reduces the amount of oxygen going to your brain, and you're going to need all you can get.
The Memory Palace--it started in Ancient Greece
There must be hundreds of thousands of grateful students who owe their degrees to the Greek poet Simonedes of Ceos for having the good fortune to step out of a building moments before it collapsed, crushing most of those who had remained inside beyond recognition.
The lucky lyricist was able to help connect names to the remains based on where they had been sitting on the hall. Realizing the utility of being able to remember things based on their locations, he invented the method of loci, which is also known as memory theatre, the memory palace, or the mind palace. The Greeks and Romans further developed the technique for writing speeches, and Sherlock Holmes adapted it in A Study in Scarlet.
An Exercise in Memory
Say you want to remember the five lifestyle hacks described above for how to improve your memory: Sleep, nutrition, exercise, health, and smoking. You are going to assign each idea to a piece of furniture in a room. Let's make it the bedroom. You have a bed, a dresser, a closet, a mirror, and a window.
Your natural inclination might be to assign sleep to the bed, and that's okay. But the key to building a decent memory palace is to make your mental pictures as vivid as possible.
By all means, picture someone sleeping in the bed, but make them famous. Albert Einstein had a good memory, right? Dress him up in something you won't forget. Hide a giant antioxidant chocolate bar (nutrition) in the closet, picture Leonardo Da Vince leaning out the window with a cigarette (stop smoking), have Dr. Zhivago sitting on your dresser, and your favorite fictional character exercising in front of the mirror.
Now, you're ready to go
Are you ready to begin your journey towards a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing – Traditional Track? Remember ECPI University for our accelerated schedule and hands-on education. For more information about this exciting opportunity, connect with a friendly admissions counselor today.
It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!
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