Taking notes isn't the only way to increase learning in the classroom. You'll need to do things in addition to taking notes in order to increase your learning potential. Get the most out of class by focusing on:

• information presented in lectures
• key terms or ideas the instructor writes on the board
• concepts the instructor emphasizes during the lecture
• any questions raised by classmates and your instructor's responses to those questions
  
• your own opinions and thoughts about material presented by your instructor
  
• material that isn't covered in the textbook
• your instructor's teaching style
• your instructor's introductory and summary statements (given at the beginning and end of each lecture).
  

Knowing your personal learning style can give you an advantage in the classroom. Being aware of how you learn can help you increase the amount of information you understand and remember. By using a variety of learning techniques, you can accommodate your learning style. As a result, not only will you begin to perform better academically, you'll have better communication with your instructors.

Source: Student Success for Health Professionals, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007.

When you see a flu virus name like A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1), do you know what it means? It really isn't difficult to decode what the flu virus's name means once you understand that it's simply a way to catalog the virus.

Flu viruses are named by describing the flu type, place of isolation, isolation number, and year isolated. For example, A/Brisbane/59/2007 would be interpreted as an influenza type A virus that was isolated in Brisbane and was given the isolation number of 59 in the year 2007. Type A flu viruses are further classified by a subtype based on surface proteins called glycoproteins: hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). The above example, A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1), can be further decoded to tell you that the influenza is type A (remember, only type A viruses are subtyped by HA and NA proteins) and has an HA1 protein and an NA1 protein.

Once you understand the system used to name a flu virus, decoding the name is a snap!

By Michelle Snow, RN, BSN, MSHR, MSPH, PhD, Adjunct Professor, University of Utah Department of Health Promotion and Education.

Worried about passing the NCLEX? The more practice questions you do, the more confident you'll feel. Try these, then review the answers and rationales that follow. Experts recommend taking many practice questions before the NCLEX, so take advantage of review courses, books, and other products to help you succeed and pass the NCLEX. ANSWERS BELOW.

1.	A client with a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa is working on relationship issues. Which nursing intervention is most important?
	1.	Have the client work on developing social skills.
	2.	Focus on how relationships cause bulimic behavior.
	3.	Help the client identify feelings about relationships.
	4.	Discuss how to prevent getting over involved in relationships.
2.	Expectant management of the client with a placenta implanted in the lower uterine segment includes which procedure or treatment?
	1.	Stat culture and sensitivity
	2.	Antenatal steroids after 34 weeks' gestation
	3.	Ultrasound examination every 2 to 3 weeks
	4.	Scheduled delivery of the fetus before fetal maturity in a hemodynamically stable mother.
3.	A client at term arrives in the labor unit experiencing contractions every 4 minutes. After a brief assessment, she's admitted and an electronic fetal monitor is applied. Which observation should alert the nurse to an increased potential for fetal distress?
	1.	Total weight gain of 30 lb (13.6 kg)
	2.	Maternal age of 32 years
	3.	Blood pressure of 146/90 mm Hg
	4.	Treatment for syphilis at 15 weeks' gestation
4.	Which reason explains why Kegel exercises are advantageous to women after they deliver a child?
	1.	They assist with lochia removal.
	2.	They promote the return of normal bowel function.
	3.	They promote blood flow, allowing for healing and strengthening the musculature.
	4.	They assist the women in burning calories for rapid postpartum weight loss.
5.	A nurse is caring for a client with gestational diabetes. Which complication is the neonate most at risk of developing?
	1.	Anemia
	2.	Hypoglylcemia
	3.	Nitrogen loss
	4.	Thrombosis

• Emergency Nurses Association 2009 Annual Conference
  October 8-10, 2009, at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Md.
  
• National Student Nurses' Association Mid-Year Conference
  October 29 to November 1, 2009, at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Don't miss these substantive, peer-reviewed features from the August issue of Nursing2009. They'll help you learn about evidence-based practice.

• Putting a face on systemic lupus erythematosus
  By Richard L. Pullen, Jr., RN, EdD; Sharon Brewer, RN, MSN; and Adonna Ballard, RN, BSN
  By recognizing the signs and symptoms of this unpredictable autoimmune disorder, you can steer your patient to treatment to improve her quality of life.
  
• How to care for a patient with a tracheostomy
  By Elizabeth Neville Regan, RN, MSN, and Lisa Dallachiesa, RN, BS
  Learn all about managing a "trach" to protect your patient from complications.

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1. 3 The client needs to address personal feelings, especially uncomfortable ones because they may trigger bingeing behavior. Social skills are important to a client's well-being, but they aren't typically a major problem for the client with bulimia nervosa. Relationships don't cause bulimic behaviors. It's the inability to handle stress or conflict that arises from interactions that causes the client to be distressed. The client isn't necessarily overinvolved in relationships; the issue may be the lack of satisfying relationships in the person's life.
2. 3 Placenta previa occurs when the placenta is implanted in the lower uterine segment. Fetal surveillance through ultrasound examination every 2 to 3 weeks is indicated to evaluate fetal growth, amniotic fluid, and placental location in clients with placenta previa being expectantly managed. A stat culture and sensitivity would be done for severe bleeding or maternal or fetal distress and isn't part of expectant management. Antenatal steroids may be given to clients between 26 and 32 weeks' gestation to enhance fetal lung maturity. In a hemodynamically stable mother, delivery of the fetus should be delayed until fetal lung maturity is attained.
3. 3 A blood pressure of 146/90 mm Hg may indicate gestational hypertension. Over time, gestational hypertension reduces blood flow to the placenta and can cause intrauterine growth restriction and other problems that make the fetus less able to tolerate the stress of labor. A weight gain of 30 lb is within expected parameters for a healthy pregnancy. A woman over age 30 doesn't have a greater risk of complications if her general condition is healthy before pregnancy. Syphilis that has been treated doesn't pose an additional risk.
4. 3 Exercising the pubococcygeal muscle increases blood flow to the area. The increased blood flow brings oxygen and other nutrients for the perineal area to aid in healing. Additionally, these exercises help to strengthen the musculature, thereby decreasing the risk of future complications, such as incontinence and uterine prolapse. Performing Kegel exercises may assist with lochia removal but that isn't their main purpose. Bowel function isn't influenced by Kegel exercises. Kegel exercises don't expend sufficient energy to burn many calories.
5. 2 Neonates of mothers with diabetes are at risk for hypoglycemia due to increased insulin levels. During gestation, an increased amount of glucose is transferred to the fetus through the placenta. The neonate's liver can't initially adjust to the changing glucose levels after birth. This may result in an overabundance of insulin in the neonate, resulting in hypoglycemia. Neonates of mothers with diabetes aren't at increased risk for anemia, nitrogen loss, or thrombosis.

Source: NCLEX-RN Questions & Answers Made Incredibly Easy!, 4th edition, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008.

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