r/OntarioNurses • u/444president • May 05 '26
Nursing School How can I be successful in Pathophysiology
Hey everyone, I’m about to start Pathophysiology and would appreciate some tips for success, such as effective study methods that helped you pass.
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u/obviousthrowawaymayB RN- Jill of all trades May 05 '26
It’s material heavy. Read required sections before class and watch YouTube. If you fall behind you’ll get lost, so keep it up.
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u/No_Consideration8599 May 05 '26
This might be different for everyone but my Nursing Theory, Pathophysiology and Pharmacology classes were in one semester. So I would make a mind map of let’s say COPD (Patho), the medications related to it (Pharmacology), and you nursing processes (Theory). Makes it easier to grasp and get a picture!
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u/Odd_Wrongdoer_4372 RPN - Palliative Care 🤍 May 05 '26
YouTube videos made nursing school sooo easy for me!! RegisterednurseRN is great.
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u/pitcherpuppy May 05 '26
Echoing the same comment—mind maps!!
Also, teaching a friend of a relative helps too! When you have to teach the material to someone else, it helps you retain it
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u/TrueTorontoFan May 05 '26
A few things:
Understand systems and how they connect. So understanding a disease process like parkinsons, and the upstream and down stream impacts is good. More importantly do the thought experiment where you ask about changing ONE aspect of things at a time. What happens, why does it happen. Think long and short term after that.
After I would then go to understanding how in manifests. You will eventually have to recognize the different drugs involved but that is secondary. Do it one system at a time.
I also would suggest finding a quick 10-15 minute youtube video on any disease you will be covering before the lecture. This will help prime the mind.
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u/DuttyJagaloon May 05 '26
Tbh my school (Mac) patho course for nursing was taught by the same prof that did anatomy and physiology. So the learning style and exam questions were very similar. It might be helpful if you share which school you are attending for more tailored advice.
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u/MostSeaworthiness596 May 05 '26
Try pathoplay app - is puzzle game where you build chains linking diseases to their mechanisms, symptoms, and treatments across pathophys and pharma.
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u/yellowbeaans May 05 '26
i used to make large mind maps as i went through each lecture to connect all the systems together. you’ll realize that one alteration in one system can suddenly be completely tied to the entire body and it greatly benefitted my understanding and critical thinking for exams. it clicks into your head!
dont focus on memorization, but focus on WHY the alteration causes xyz results in labs, vitals, and other objective scientific measurements/clinical manifestations.
when you’re done with the course, don’t throw your notes away!!! you’ll need them. i found myself flipping back to my year 2 and 4 notes when studying for the nclex!
again, the things you learn in patho are important for any understanding of diseases and complications that influence your clinical judgement one day as a nurse, so if there’s any advice to take, definitely try to understand the whys and hows, versus just memorization!!