During my entire high school and college careers, I almost never missed a class. Unless you are moaning and vomiting, you probably have enough energy to sit and take notes, even if you feel a bit under the weather. (Though coming to clinical ill is not recommended.) Never miss a class to catch up on your reading. Reading the book is no substitute for finding out what your teacher thinks are the chapter’s most important points, which is most likely what will be on your test.
If you cannot read the chapters before class, at least try to skim through the pages to see what is being covered. Looking at the section headings, pictures, and diagrams will give you an idea of what you are about to learn, and how best to structure your notes. A good set of notes is the most important thing you can gain from class time.
In note-taking, your goal is not to write down every word the teacher says. Some nursing school students bring cassette recorders to try to catch every word the teacher says during a one or two hour lecture. Then they take the tape home and may not even get around to listening to the whole thing again before test time. While tape recorders have a time and place, they cannot learn the material for you. Other students try to write the teacher’s exact words, but find they cannot keep up and end up missing important information. You must learn to take the important parts of what the teacher is saying and put them on paper. In order to keep up, you may have to use abbreviations and subtract adjectives, small words, and unimportant statements. Use your psychology skills to get into the lecturer’s head and judge what points she deems most important. Concentrate on writing notes about those points.
You should always try to write down everything written on the board, overhead projector, or PowerPoint presentation. This material comes from your teacher’s own notes and is therefore golden.
Ask questions as needed to understand the material further, but be aware that in most cases, when the professor is answering another student’s “sidebar” questions (other than clarifying presented material), you can put down your pen. Listen to the question and answer, or continue to catch up on writing down what is on the board. Especially if the teacher and a student begin arguing, the student has probably taken the subject in a direction the teacher finds irrelevant.
Even if you find classroom lectures useless because the professor teaches or tests straight from the book, you should still attend class, in case she mentions an important study tip or decides to somehow penalize those not in attendance. You can use class time to catch up on your reading or studying, unless of course you are likely to get called on for not paying attention! In addition, try to go to every evening study session your professor may schedule. If she is discussing something you already understand, tune her out and study your own materials. You will be there in case she mentions something you didn’t know, or gives hints about the test.