at no additional cost to you, and we may earn a small commission.
Make studying for the NCLEX fun . . . . . with flashcards? Seriously? Yes – just hear us out. We’ve even got scientific evidence backing us up.
Some people feel comfortable taking the NCLEX with only reviewing a week or two before the exam. Others need to put in long hours poring over textbooks, review guides, practice questions, and online courses.
The study method we’re going to talk about today is using flashcards to study for the NCLEX. Then we’re going to add in a dash of fun with some games you can play with a partner or study group.
Psychologists, educators, and other science-types have tested the effectiveness of many different modes of learning. Using flashcards is one that keeps coming up as an effective way to learn new information and retain it.
Flashcards use the testing effect, where you use your long-term memory to retrieve data. In other words – when you practice remembering something, like with a flashcard, it helps you learn more quickly and remember it better.
Are you convinced? Well, you can either make your own flashcards, or you can check out these best NCLEX flashcards. Once you have your flashcards, there’s one more thing you’ll need to add that pinch of fun.
5 Flashcard Games To Make NCLEX Studying Fun
Maybe you’re wondering – how do you make learning about the major effects of beta-blockers during initial therapy fun?
You make a game out of it.
1. Trivia Night
Humans are funny in that we can get really competitive over insignificant things. What a better way to motivate you to learn than the sweet taste of victory after you win a trivia game?
Ever played bar trivia? Or trivial pursuit? Why not use your NCLEX cards to have a trivia night?
Create teams with one person to call out the questions during the first round of trivia. Give each team a piece of paper to write their answer then take it up at the end of 10 questions.
Step up the game and have a prize for the winning team and watch the competition begin.
2. 4 Head
This is a version of the game Heads Up. It’s a good game to play with one other person or a small group.
It goes like this:
- Everyone gets 5 – 10 cards and puts them face down in front of them.
- One person starts by drawing one of their cards and without looking at it, holds it outward on their forehead where everyone but them can see it.
- The rest of the group tries to describe what it is without using the word itself or any other identifying words.
- The person with the card has one minute to guess (make it harder by shortening the timer). Use your phone as a timer.
- If they get it right they get a point and draw again. The timer is reset and they keep going until they get the question right or the timer runs out.
3. Charades
Want a real challenge? Try to act out acute appendicitis (maybe that one’s too easy). Nothing gets more laughs than someone flapping around trying to act out a chicken dinner.
You may want to go through the deck and choose flashcards that can clearly be acted out – and then throw in a couple that will be hilariously impossible.
- Choose which team starts. One member from that team draws a card, looks at it, and puts it in the discard pile.
- They have 60 seconds to act out what’s on the flashcard.
- Everyone gets to guess.
- The first team to get it right gets a point.
- If the acting team gets it right, they get to choose another card.
- They get to keep going until another team gets the answer or they get 3 correct answers.
4. NCLEX Pictionary
Using your flashcards to create a Pictionary deck can be more fun than charades. You’ll probably want to do the same thing you did for charades and go through your deck and choose appropriate cards.
Buy yourself an easel pad of paper, a set of sharpies, and get ready to draw. The rules are pretty much the same as Charades, but instead of acting out your flashcard, you’re going to draw it. The first team to guess it correctly in one minute gets the point.
5. RNternainment: The NCLEX Exam Review Game
This NCLEX-themed board game has 800 new questions covering all the testing areas, rationales, and test-taking tips. It’s a great way to whip up that competitive spirit, but it can also be used just to review by yourself.
Have A Study Group
Studying with a partner or a group can really be a great help in preparing for the NCLEX. Not only can you share resources, notes, and books – but they also give you the motivation and support you’ll need to keep going.
Plus – you can’t play these flashcard games without a study partner-in-crime.
So get yourself a group of friends and start a study group, because now we’re going to show you those five flashcard games.
Even with all that studying, want to know if can you take the NCLEX more than once? Find out here.
Sure those games may sound like fun – but are you convinced? Find out why NCLEX flashcards work and how to get the most out of your study time.
If you’ve got a group of friends or even just one solo study partner, you can use any of these games to speed up your learning and while committing it to memory.
All you need is a deck of NCLEX flashcards, some friends and you’re ready to go. You can dare we say it . . . make studying for the NCLEX fun?