Amount of time needed for studies...

[Hoping4RNin2010]

I begin the nursing program in August. I have completed all of my "general study" prereqs already and so the only classes available to me this coming semester are Foundations (6 credit lecture and lab) and Intro to Pharm/calculations (one credit/5 week class).

I was just wondering if, when people talk about how stressful ns is and how much work it is, if there are prereqs involved in that or if it is that the core classes themselves are just killers. It just seems like 7 credits shouldn't be all that bad, when I'm used to at least double that, but somehow I'm thinking that is not going to be the case!!

Kim

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

kim, it's hard to say how you will acclimate to nursing school. in general, the information you are exposed to in nursing classes is almost all new information that you have never been exposed to before. older people may have some life experiences that may help them out a little, but by and large it is all new concepts. if you think back to most all the classes you've had up to now, they built upon other coursework you had previously. that's not necessarily true of fundamentals of nursing or pharmacology. med calculations will be similar to simple math word problems, but they will have medications and measurements in the problems that you've never heard of before.

that rattles some people. repetition is usually why people do well. being exposed to this information for the first time is overwhelming to some. it's hard to say how you will be able to cope with it. having good study habits and knowing how you learn best certainly helps.

you might want to look at the weblinks posted on these sticky threads:

• https://allnurses.com/forums/f205/study-strategies-254733.html - study strategies (on the nursing student assistance forum) - see post #15 for list of general how to study websites
  
• https://allnurses.com/forums/f50/looking-test-taking-stratagies-224581.html - looking for test taking strategies (on the nursing student discussion forum)
  
• https://allnurses.com/forums/f50/nursing-math-thread-264395.html - the nursing math thread (in the general nursing student discussion forum)
  

[Gradin2010]

I also start in August. We had a meeting in May to register for our classes and the nursing instructors there said we should plan for 3 hours of outside study time for every credit hour. (7*3=21)

On a side note congrats on making it in!! I also have finished all my prereqs and only have 7 credits for the fall. It's nice to see someone else in my shoes.

Good Luck!