Study by subject
Nursing
In nursing you learn vital signs, dose calculations, procedures and drugs by heart. Lumi asks them back until you can produce them without hesitating, at the bedside and in the exam.
How to turn this subject into cards
Make one card per vital sign with its normal range, one card per calculation formula with a worked example, and one card per procedure with its steps in order. For pharmacology, make one card per drug or class, with the indication, the expected effect and what to monitor. The trap is rereading the course and feeling that you know it, when a dose or a value is only checked by producing it from memory. With Lumi you write the answer first and then compare, which fixes it far better than rereading (Roediger and Karpicke, 2006). Come back to dose calculations often, in short spaced sessions (Cepeda et al., 2006).
What you need to know by heart
- Vital signs and their normal ranges in adults.
- Dose and flow rate formulas, with unit conversions.
- The steps of common procedures and care, in order.
- Drug classes, their effects, risks and monitoring, with Pharmacology.
- The anatomy and physiology behind clinical signs, with Anatomy and Physiology.
It depends on the country
The route into the profession changes by country. In France you become a nurse with the state diploma after training at a nursing institute. In the United States you must pass the NCLEX to be licensed to practise. In the United Kingdom nurses are on the NMC register. The format and pass marks of each exam are published by the body that runs it, so check the official content for your country before you fix your cards.
How Lumi helps you remember it
You teach your cards to Lumi, vital signs, doses, procedures, drugs. It forgets over time, like you do, then quizzes you right before you would forget. As the exam approaches, the Mist settles over what you know less well, calculations or a drug class for example, and Lumi asks those first. You arrive able to produce the answer.
Example cards
Three cards the way you would write them, with the answer Lumi expects.
How do you work out an infusion rate in millilitres per hour?
Divide the volume to give in millilitres by the time in hours.
What is a normal resting heart rate for an adult?
Between 60 and 100 beats per minute.
What do you check before giving a medicine?
The right patient, drug, dose, route and time.
Example card
Try it, Lumi turns it into fill in the blank questions in your browser.
Nursing · teach this card to Lumi
A normal resting heart rate for an adult is 60 to 100 beats per minute. Normal body temperature is about 37 degrees Celsius. An infusion rate in millilitres per hour is the volume divided by the time in hours. Before giving a medicine you check the right patient, drug, dose, route and time.
Lumi’s question
A normal resting heart rate for an adult is _____ to 100 beats per minute.
Pick the missing word
Answer right to light Lumi up
Its lamp fades when a fact slips away.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I revise dose calculations?
- Put the formula on a card with a worked example, then redo the calculation from memory without looking. Lumi asks it again at the right spacing, which fixes the method (Cepeda et al., 2006).
- Are flashcards enough for learning procedures?
- Cards fix the order of the steps and the reason for each one. You combine them with practice on placement, and Lumi keeps the steps fresh between sessions.
- Can I prepare for the NCLEX or the state diploma with Lumi?
- Yes. You write cards from your country’s official syllabus and Lumi asks them back right up to exam day.
Read next
Sources
- Roediger, Karpicke (2006). Test-enhanced learning. Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3). doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
- Cepeda, Pashler, Vul, Wixted, Rohrer (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks. A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3). doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354
Teach this to Lumi
Give Lumi your nursing notes, it gives them back as questions at the right moment.