One of the things that I always discuss and talk about when it comes to understanding nursing content is how important it is for you to really know and understand pathophysiology.
First understanding anatomy and physiology which is the normal makeup of the human body, then understanding pathophysiology which is how the human body is altered as a result of the changes to the body because of that disease process.
There are several reasons why it’s important to prioritize learning pathophysiology FIRST.
For one, it help you to make the connections to the disease processes faster.
Two it helps you to better understand the whole picture of the human body.
Three it helps you to become more detail oriented which is so necessary when it comes to being an excellent nurse.
Here are three different ways you can learn pathophysiology including the best way which is ultimately all three.
Disclosure: There are some affiliate links below, but these are all products I highly recommend. I won’t put anything on this page that I haven’t verified and/or personally used.
#1 -Incorporate visual aides
Visual aides far outweighs reading text alone. It’s makes such a HUGE difference when it comes down to content comprehension.
You can watch this video below where I go into depth about using visual ways and the best way to learn pathophysiology.
One of the resources I mentioned in this video is Picmonic. You can get their latest NCLEX workbook on Amazon by visiting this link here.
#2-Review the body systems
There’s no way you are going to learn and understand pathophysiology if you do not first spend adequate learning the body systems.
Now if you are preparing to take your NCLEX exam, I do not expect you to take a whole another semester learning the body systems (although that would be EXTREMELY helpful).
But something you can do is just focus on the FUNDAMENTALS.
Prioritize learning these top three things.
- What are the major organs in that system.
- What are the physiological processes of that system.
- What are the associated lab values of that system.
#3-Integrate kinesthetic learning
If you can integrate more hands on learning in what you are studying, your chances of success DOUBLES. This can be through writing out flash cards, using physical supplies, or grabbing a copy of the very hands on Picmonic book, I just mentioned and more.
These are my top three methods for really learning and understanding pathophysiology QUICKLY.
If you apply all three of these methods, I am sure you will learn and know patho in no time!
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