Managing Test Anxiety

Do you experience nervousness and anxiety before taking an exam? Do you worry that you might not be able to recall the correct answer in a test environment? If so, you are not alone. Feelings of nervousness and self-doubt are extremely common.

Here are a few tips that can help to alleviate some of the "butterflies" experienced in the run-up to an exam.

Prior to the Exam
1) Visualize yourself taking the exam. Picture the physical space of the exam room in your head. Create an image of yourself at a desk, methodically going through the exam. If possible, determine the test format and the total number of questions prior to the exam day.

2) Give yourself extra travel time on the day of exam. Anticipate traffic or delays in the subway.

3) Arrive to the exam 15 minutes early. Before you enter the classroom, organize yourself by turning off your cell phone, putting away test prep. materials, and readying anything you need for the exam (e.g. #2 pencil).

4) Utilize positive self-talk. In the moments before an exam, it is important to reassure yourself and to focus on positive thoughts. Here are some examples to help you get started: "I prepared to the best of my ability," "I am ready for this exam," "I believe in myself," "I am capable of doing well," and "I am proud of myself for taking on this challenge."

5) Relax your body and clear your mind by breathing in deeply over several seconds and then slowly releasing your breath. Repeat this technique at least three times.

During the Exam
6) As soon as you receive your exam, scan it to get a sense for the types of questions and the total number of questions. Read all instructions.

7) Methodically go through the exam. If your mind goes blank on a question and you feel a sense of panic coming over you, take a deep breath, employ positive self-talk for a moment and then refocus your attention back to the exam.

8) If you cannot recall or identify the answer to a question, make a notation by the question and move on to the next question. In instances were your time may be limited, answer what you are confident in first, and then spend any remaining time on re-examining the more challenging questions.

The best way to build confidence in test taking is to be fully prepared for the exam, which requires significant and effective studying throughout the semester. That said, severe anxiety can still impact a fully-prepared student's performance.

If you feel like anxiety is affecting your academic performance, contact your academic advisor and the Office of Academic Advising & Learning Development immediately. We are here to help and support you!

Lastly, whatever your level of anxiety, take advantage of the counseling services and stress-relief workshops offered by NYU's Student Health & Wellness Center.

Time Management Tips!

Time Flies By....

When you're a nursing student! 

Does the day seem to fly by and you still have plenty to do? Can't find enough time to study, spend time with friends, read for class, prepare for the next exam, or even cook dinner? Try some of these time management tips and be sure to attend one of our workshops for more information:

1) Write down where you are spending your time. For example, on average how many hours per week do you sleep (including naps)? Commute? Spend with friends, going out, watching tv? Getting ready? Add up the total hours. There are 168 hours in a week, subtract your total from 168. How many hours are remaining? This is how much time you have left to study. Do you need to make any adjustments to your schedule? 

2) Use a time management tool such as your NYU google calendar. You week should look something like this: 

Notice all the different color blocks? Each color represents an activity. For example: Yellow - Breaks/out with friends, Green - Extra curricular activities, Red - class. This way you have a visual of how much time you are spending. The calendar is an excellent tool to organize your time and it sends you reminders!

3) Use SMART goal setting to manage your time too. For example: S for SPECIFIC: "Read for Actute Psychology for two hours" This is NOT a specific goal because it does not tell you what you are going to read and how much. A more SPECIFIC goal would be: "Read and take notes on chapter's 7&8 in 60 minutes. Complete 5 NCLEX questions in 10 minutes." Refer to our previous post about SMART goal setting for more information. 

These are just a few suggestions. Contact our office at nursingadvising@nyu.edu if you would like to set up an appointment with a professional academic advisor to chat one on one about time management. 

Time Flies By....

Time Flies By....

When you're a nursing student! 

Can you believe we're already more than half way through summer? Can't find enough time to study, spend time with friends, read for class, prepare for the next exam, or even cook dinner? Try some of these time management tips and stay tuned for workshops this fall.

1) Write down where you are spending your time. For example, on average how many hours per week do you sleep (including naps)? Commute? Spend with friends, going out, watching tv? Getting ready? Add up the total hours. There are 168 hours in a week, subtract your total from 168. How many hours are remaining? This is how much time you have left to study. Do you need to make any adjustments to your schedule? 

2) Use a time management tool such as your NYU google calendar. You week should look something like this: 

Notice all the different color blocks? Each color represents an activity. For example: Yellow - Breaks/out with friends, Green - Extra curricular activities, Red - class. This way you have a visual of how much time you are spending. The calendar is an excellent tool to organize your time and it sends you reminders!

3) Use SMART goal setting to manage your time too. For example: S for SPECIFIC: "Read for Actute Psychology for two hours" This is NOT a specific goal because it does not tell you what you are going to read and how much. A more SPECIFIC goal would be: "Read and take notes on chapter's 7&8 in 60 minutes. Complete 5 NCLEX questions in 10 minutes." Refer to our previous post about SMART goal setting for more information. 

These are just a few suggestions. Contact our office at nursingadvising@nyu.edu if you would like to set up an appointment with a professional academic advisor to chat one on one about time management. 

Where Does The Time Go?

We invite all of our College of Nursing Graduate students to join us in Where Does the Time Go?: Developing Your Plan for Effective Time Management - a webinar presented by the Office of Academic Advising in partnership with the Graduate Student Nursing Academy. The webinar takes place on 6/11/13 from 2:00pm-3:00pm.


This webinar will help you assess how you use your time throughout the week. Effective time management strategies related to academic study will be presented including organizational tools and goal setting. You will also be provided with some easy to use, tangible study tips to put into practice.

Participation is easy and free - register for the webinar today.

And for our undergraduate students, don't worry - we will be offering time management workshops during the upcoming fall semester. Contact nursingadvising@nyu.edu for more information.

We hope you will join us for this unique learning opportunity!

-The NYUCN Advising Team

Approaching Final Exam Time!

As you are approaching final exam time, the Office of Academic Advising wants to remind you of a few helpful tips for studying and taking exams during this stressful period. 

In case you weren't able to attend the time management and study skills academic workshop this semester, here are some tips that may be helpful in navigating the time spent preparing for finals: Helpful Tips for Conquering Exam Day!

You can also reference the helpful tips offered by Dr. Ann Marie Mauro posted to our blog here.

Remember to relax when possible and seek help when needed. You are almost done so hang in there!

Good luck!
The NYUCN Advising Team

Time Flies By....

When you're a nursing student! 

Does the day seem to fly by and you still have plenty to do? Can't find enough time to study, spend time with friends, read for class, prepare for the next exam, or even cook dinner? Try some of these time management tips and be sure to attend one of our workshops for more information:

1) Write down where you are spending your time. For example, on average how many hours per week do you sleep (including naps)? Commute? Spend with friends, going out, watching tv? Getting ready? Add up the total hours. There are 168 hours in a week, subtract your total from 168. How many hours are remaining? This is how much time you have left to study. Do you need to make any adjustments to your schedule? 

2) Use a time management tool such as your NYU google calendar. You week should look something like this: 

Notice all the different color blocks? Each color represents an activity. For example: Yellow - Breaks/out with friends, Green - Extra curricular activities, Red - class. This way you have a visual of how much time you are spending. The calendar is an excellent tool to organize your time and it sends you reminders!

3) Use SMART goal setting to manage your time too. For example: S for SPECIFIC: "Read for Actute Psychology for two hours" This is NOT a specific goal because it does not tell you what you are going to read and how much. A more SPECIFIC goal would be: "Read and take notes on chapter's 7&8 in 60 minutes. Complete 5 NCLEX questions in 10 minutes." Refer to our previous post about SMART goal setting for more information. 

These are just a few suggestions. Contact our office at nursingadvising@nyu.edu if you would like to set up an appointment with a professional academic advisor to chat one on one about time management. 

Get the Most from Bobst!

Bobst Library may seem like a large, crowded, busy building to navigate but the staff and resources will prove very useful to you in your studies!

As a nursing student, I'm sure you understand by now that you need to devote a lot of time to studying. Explore the library to find a spot that you feel comfortable studying in on a regular basis and try to build a routine study schedule.

The hours of Bobst this Spring 2013 semester can be found here: http://library.nyu.edu/about/hours/spring.html

Some convenient features brought to you by Bobst:
1) IM With a Librarian! Go to http://library.nyu.edu/ask/ and IM a Bobst libarian for help with finding a source, APA formatting, etc.
2) Group Study Rooms - Do you prefer to study with a group of classmates? Reserve a group study room here: http://library.nyu.edu/services/group_study.html
3) Take advantage of the Health Sciences Libraries too! Find more information here:  http://hsl.med.nyu.edu/
4) Use NYU RefWorks! This is a web-based tool, free of charge, that helps you manage and organize your research. Import references directly into a bibliography and save some time! Click here for more info.

There is a wealth of information on the library website.

And don't forget - if you need help with time management or study skills - you can attend one of our workshops. For more information click here.


Best of luck this semester!
The Office of Academic Advising and Learning Development

S-M-A-R-T Goals for the New Year

Winter break is a great time to think about setting goals for the new year and semester. As the semester approaches, the Office of Academic Advising would like to remind you of a strategy that we strongly support. Often, we encourage students to make use of S.M.A.R.T. goal setting! Not sure where to begin? Think of the acronym:

S-Specific
Being specific is helpful because it forces you to clearly define what is you want to do, why you want to do it, and how you are going to get it done. Specificity focuses your efforts, which is essential in the NYUCN program because there is a lot to do and not much time to get it all done. 


M-Measurable
Setting measurable goals is tied closely to your goal being specific. You want to ensure that you can have a means to measure progress and watch the change happen. Then, you can determine if the goal you set needs to be adjusted or if you were able to successfully complete it. For instance, when studying, you could include the chapter numbers as well as the number of pages you want to complete within a given time (ex. I will read pages 127-145 of chapter 7 in one hour).


A-Attainable
When setting goals you want to make sure that you are able to keep yourself motivated to continuously achieve. Setting goals that stretch you slightly is the best way to do it. If you set a goal that you know is unattainable you won't be motivated to achieve it--your commitment to the goal will be hard to maintain. In contrast, setting attainable goals helps you develop a skill set to make the impossible possible by way of small, measurable steps!

R-Realistic This is not to say that the goals you set should be easy . Much like setting attainable goals, your goals should also be realistic. You want to ensure that you are challenging yourself enough but that you also have the support in place, currently, to be able to meet the challenge/goal you set for yourself. Set goals for where you are and as you meet them, adjust them and set new goals.

T-Timely
Be sure that you set a clear time frame with an endpoint to work toward. Based on the goal, give yourself a period, one week, two weeks, etc. Make sure the time frame you choose is measurable, attainable, and realistic!


As you can see, many of the steps in this method are interrelated. They all work together to assist you in setting excellent goals so that you can  meet your mark and excel in school and in nursing.

If you have any questions about how to set your goals or develop study strategies to implement these steps, make an appointment with a member of the Administrative Advising Team! We are here to help.

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting!

As the semester approaches, the Office of Academic Advising would like to remind you of a strategy that we strongly support. Often, we encourage students to make use of S.M.A.R.T. goal setting! We want you to not only plan to set goals, but to apply this strategy to your study habits as well as you are managing your time this semester. Not sure where to begin? Think of the acronym.

S-Specific
Being specific is helpful because it forces you to clearly define what is you want to do, why you want to do it, and how you are going to get it done. Specificity focuses your efforts, which is essential in the NYUCN program because there is a lot to do and not much time to get it all done.


M-Measurable
Setting measurable goals is tied closely to your goal being specific. You want to ensure that you can have a means to measure progress and watch the change happen. Then, you can determine if the goal you set needs to be adjusted or if you were able to successfully complete it. For instance, when studying, you could include the chapter numbers as well as the number of pages you want to complete within a given time (ex. I will read pages 127-145 of chapter 7 in one hour).


A-Attainable
When setting goals you want to make sure that you are able to keep yourself motivated to continuously achieve. Setting goals that stretch you slightly is the best way to do it. If you set a goal that you know is unachievable you won't be motivated to achieve it--your commitment to the goal will be hard to maintain. In contrast, setting attainable goals helps you develop a skill set to make the impossible possible by way of small, measurable steps!

R-Realistic This is not to say that the goals you set should be easy . Much like setting attainable goals, your goals should also be realistic. You want to ensure that you are challenging yourself enough but that you also have the support in place, currently, to be able to meet the challenge/goal you set for yourself. Set goals for where you are and as you meet them, adjust them and set new goals.

T-Timely
 Be sure that you set a clear time frame with an endpoint to work toward. Based on the goal, give yourself a period, one week, two weeks, etc. Make sure the time frame you choose is measurable, attainable, and realistic!

 
As you can see, many of the steps in this method are interrelated. They all work together to assist you in setting excellent goals so that you can  meet your mark and excel in school and in nursing.

If you have any questions about how to re-work you goals or your study strategies to implement these steps, make an appointment with a member of the Administrative Advising Team! We are here to help.

Study Strategies: NYUCN OAALD Endorses the 5 Day Test Prep!

The Stanford University Center for Teaching and Learning offers a review of what students should be doing to prepare when they are a week away from their exams. This strategy should be used in conjunction with sustained, structured study time, and offers a set system that you can use to keep your self on the right track until exam time comes.

5 Day Test Prep

Five days before: Organize

Organize and review your class notes and text notes carefully. Prepare a list of all topics that will be on the exam. List them in order of importance so you can focus your attention accordingly.

Four days before: Review and Recall

Review your notes thoroughly, but don’t just look at them. Explain them to yourself. Don’t mistake familiarity for comprehension. Concentrate on the topics that are more difficult for you to understand. Use mnemonic devices or visualization to organize the material as a “breadcrumb trail” back to the big ideas.

Three days before: Rewrite

Briefly rewrite all important information. Review these notes repeatedly. Trying to recall your own explanations will be more effective than trying to recall what the text and your professors have said.

Two days before: Question

Make a list of questions that might be on the exam and answer them in as much detail as possible.

One day before: Prepare
Review your notes and rewritten notes a few hours before the exam. Take time to relax before the exam. If you are afraid you will forget information or "blank out" when you receive the exam, write reminders on the back that you can come back to during the exam.

A handout with this information is available for pick up in the Office of Academic Advising, it is also available here: Stanford 5 Day Test Prep

The Office of Academic Advising & Learning Development is here to support you! If you want to discuss more study strategies or have a question about the 5 Day test prep method, feel free to reach out. You can make an appointment with a member of the advising staff as well as speak to your assigned academic advisor.

Getting the Most Out of Your Time Away!

NYUCN Students!

The Office of Academic Advising wants to wish you the best for a relaxing and stress free break from classes. You have worked hard and deserve to take a moment to relax, regroup, and refresh while outside of classes. In order to assist in the effort, we want you to consider some helpful tips that we posted to the blog quite some time ago. Time away from classes should still be spent effectively!

Ways to Refresh and Regroup During Breaks

Again, we wish you the best and look forward to your safe return in summer and fall! If any questions arise during the summer, feel free to reach out to us. We will be in the office during business hours (Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm) all summer long.