Retention for the Nurse Practitioner Student

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Retention and student success

Retaining information when studying is downright tough. It doesn’t matter your age, your gender, or your study habits. It doesn’t matter your experience level, how many hours you’ve studied, or how many goals you have set.

Unless you have a photographic memory, you worry about studying for long-term retention, especially in higher education where the information can be more complex.

Don’t despair. There are ways for students to be successful!

Long-term success starts here

First. Forget all theories about learning styles and right brain/left brain. We’re nurse practitioner students . . . let’s follow the science.

Student, know thyself

You know you better than anyone does. Although it’s different for everyone, our minds focus differently during certain parts of the day. There are night owls and early risers. Knowing when you’re most alert and receptive to new information can help you determine the optimal time for you to study.

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Teach back

As nurses, we use this method with our patients all the time. We teach them something and we have them teach it back to us. Explaining a concept to someone else is a sure fire way to help you understand it better.

According to the National Training Laboratories, teaching others has a 90% retention rate.

the learning pyramid

The National Training Laboratories in Maine created the Learning Pyramid in order to discuss various levels of retention based on learning methods.

The top four levels are passive methods of learning: lecture, reading, audio/visual, and demonstration.

The bottom levels show active learning methods: group discussion, practice by doing, and teaching others.

Participatory learning methods clearly rule when it comes to retaining information while studying.

Audio Visual Learning

Drawing pictures is a great way to include your whole brain in the process of learning. It’s one thing to read and hear the information, but for most of us, our minds think in pictures.

Visual imagery works for learning because the pictures act as cues to the target information.

I am not an artist. The best drawing I did while studying was a mind map. Although I found the process of writing out a mind map useful, it didn’t help for retention.

I needed more — especially for the endocrine system and pharmacology. I used Picmonic, an online audio-visual mnemonic tool for nurses and medical students. I highly recommend it.

Click the link below to get 20% off your membership.

Get 20% off Your Picmonic membership.

One thing at a time

Pick one topic and stick with it during each study session. In higher education, extreme focus may be needed for certain topics and leap frogging from topic to topic will decrease your ability to improve retention.

For more information on focus, read Creating More Focus for Your Study Time.

Slow down

You have a lot of material to get through. You want to get it done and move on. I get it. But rushing through your study time will drastically decrease your retention. It’s best to divide your study time in small chunks of time.

The Pomodora Technique is the best way to do that. Set a timer for 25 minutes. Work, without distractions, until it goes off. Set it for 5 minutes and do anything BUT study. Repeat.

It’s an easy but proven method to slow you down and improve retention because it gives you brain time to relax and process the information.

Click here to learn about the Pomodora Technique.

For optimal retention, read a section of text and stop. Reflect on the concepts and key words. Review the new idea and take some hand-written notes before moving on.

Write to retain

Reading and writing use different parts of the brain. So when you take time to write something down– to outline a new concept or create a mind map—you’re absorbing the information in a new way.

If you’re a visual learner this will be extremely helpful. Those who prefer auditory methods of learning may want to read the material aloud and then write it down.

I love love love the Staedtler Triplus Mobile Office! It has a pen, pencil, highlighter, and black fine point felt tip pen! I went through two sets during NP school 😮

If you love color, another great option is the Pilot Juice Gel pack. I used this pack for my bullet journals and note taking.

Discussion Groups

Talking it out with others will help you retain about 50% of what you’re talking and sharing about. That’s not too bad actually. So it may be worth the time and effort of joining a study group. There are pros and cons to study groups, so be sure to check out my Effective Study Group Strategies post.

retention for the nurse practitioner student

Create a memory palace

This is the best! Once you master this, retention will skyrocket!

A memory palace is a way of using images to store information in your mind. The most popular method requires the learner to make journey in their mind through a well-known place like their home or their hometown.

Here are the basics:

  1. The palace should be a familiar place to you.
  2. Plan the route: front door, foyer table, handrail, bottom of stairs, top of stairs.
  3. Find the list you need to remember.
  4. Take one or two items at a time and place the mental image at each location in your memory palace.
  5. Make the images exaggerated and bigger than life. Use your senses to make the mnemonic images really stand out in your mind.

Here’s an example.

memory palace

Types of insulin: Rapid-acting (Humalog and Novolog), Short-acting (regular), Intermediate-acting (NPH), and Long-acting (Lantus and Levemir)

Here’s how I would use this memory palace to learn the types of insulin.

  1. I picture a bottle of Humalog laughing (because he thinks he’s HUMorous) and rushing (rapid acting) through the FRONT DOOR (1). He’s going so fast he knocks over the log (NovoLOG) that was sitting on the FOYER TABLE (2). It crashes to the floor creating a blinding supernova (Nova sounds like Novo) and I have to shield my eyes for a moment.
  2. In the commotion, I jump onto the BOTTOM STEP OF THE STAIR CASE (3). This place feels familiar and REGULAR to me compared to all that just happened and I take a deep breath. But as I look up the stair case, I realize this REGULAR feeling will be short-lived (reminds me of short-acting).
  3. I place my hand on the RAILING (4) and realize I’m in the middle between the bottom and top of the stair case (Intermediate). Suddenly a giant NPH grows out of the railing under my hand. The letters smell like Nutmeg, Peppermint, and Hazelnut (NPH). I breathe in deeply enjoying the mixed aromas but feel like I’m stuck in the middle (Intermediate) of the twilight zone.
  4. I ascend the staircase and land on the TOP LANDING (5) (LANtus) were it’s shaking like an earthquake. I’m struggling to level (LEVEmir) myself out and get my balance but it takes me a very long time (long acting). Moving very slowly (because they’re long acting), Lantus and Levemir come up, one on either side of me, and help me balance.

And that’s it! It takes a little practice, but it’s worth the effort. The best memory palaces are crazy, exaggerated, and use all five senses.

Thanks for reading!

Remember: insight without action is worthless!

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Cheers!

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retention for the nurse practitioner student

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