How do I read a nursing textbook?

mmaxim · Dec 13, 2009

You don’t always have time to read every chapter. I use my books as more of a reference. The power point slides that your teacher gives you, usually provides the main concepts, and I use the books to follow up on those main concepts, and read concepts that I have a hard time understanding.

morningland · Dec 13, 2009

Well, I generally focus my eyes on those clusters of letters on the pages also known as words. Working from left to right I processes those words one by one in my mind to formulate a sentence in my head and so on and so on.

haha. :coollook: Just kidding. I'm being a smart ass, don't mind me.

No really. At the start of the semester I was a "good student" and read ALL the required reading before class but found that the information did not stick. Now what I do is record the lectures, bring my laptop into class and type notes along side the powerpoint. Then I go home and re-listen the lectures later on in the week and "re-fine" my notes with any information I missed in class. After all that I go back to the book and read the areas that I still not understand.

It is still good to graze over your book before class so you are not completely lost though. Read the basic concepts and terms so you will have some idea what is going on. Good luck

sdmommie · Dec 13, 2009

I skim the key headings of the chapters before the class. Paying special attention to the bold, because they are most likely going to be part of a pop quiz.

During class, I make notes on the Powerpoint printout.

Then, I read the chapter, making notes in outline form, including material that was covered in class in the Powerpoints.

Before the exams, I usually read the text again and make notes on the things I don't know or have to memorize. Some people make flashcards, but I find them time consuming.

Oh, if there is a chance of a study guide being available on Amazon or something, I would get it. It helped me quiz myself for the exams.

tfleuter, BSN, RN · Dec 13, 2009

The only class that I have actually read every chapter for was Pharmacology and it was beneficial to actually read the whole chapter. LOVED my pharm book, it was concise and only gave the necessary info, unlike my other textbooks that seemed to go on and on and on with fluff. I would read the chapter, highlight the info that I though would be important to remember and then make flashcards of the prototype drugs. Before the quiz or test, I would usually only reread what I had highlighted before and spent a lot of time memorizing the info on my flash cards. Can't tell you what I did for the other textbooks b/c after the first month I found out that it was not the best use of my time to go through all the assigned chapters. Instead used them as references to find specific info.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Dec 13, 2009

Hello, fellow non book reader! My books from first semester are currently sitting on my desk with dust on them lol! One thing I did that helped was I recorded my lectures and would listen back to them, that and very small study groups. I am a kinetic learner and auditory learner, I would read like 10 words int he book and get bored. I also always did the CD's the quizzes and stuff on them. I made sure I had plenty of sleep and I absorbed things really well in lectures so I didn't have to study for 10 hours a night. That is what worked for me.

melmarie23, MSN, RN · Dec 13, 2009

yeah textbooks are...........dense. I use them as reference only.

honestly the key to my success is a good NCLEX review book. Saunders. The best.

SockMonkey.ecb · Dec 13, 2009

thanks everyone. unfortunately it was made very clear to us at orientation that the books would be our best friend, that lecture is supposed to supplement the readings and not vice-versa. the goal this semester is to adapt nurs 101 into an online lecture. part-timers are stuck with it this semester and by the end of the program, we'll have all lectures online. great.....

its just overwhelming to consider $1300 in books that we're expected to know every word from and be tested!

llg, PhD, RN · Dec 13, 2009

I was a book-reader as a student ... and as a teacher, I expect my students to read their required textbooks. In my classes, anything in the textbook is "fair game" for the test. Lectures and other activities are meant to supplement the textbook, not the other way around. It sounds as if my philosophy of teaching is similar to that of the OP's school. II realize that not all classes are taught that way.)

As a student, I was never a big note-taker in class. Having already read the required reading, I was able to identify what lecture content was in the book and therefore didn't need to be written down. I could then focus my attention on the meaning/implications of what the lecturer was saying and how it fit in to the "big picture" rather than scrambling to write down the particular words she was saying. I would write a few notes to emphasize key points or to remind myself to focus on key material in the book later.

As for how to read and review the textbook. I always use highlighter, highlighting the topic sentences of important paragraphs and any particularly important information. I try to resist the temptation to highlight EVERY point and fact. Highlighting everything is the same as highlighting nothing. The trick of highlighting successfully is to highlight just those sentences/phrases that allow your eyes to quickly see the most important points when you come back later to review the material after class and/or shortly before the exam.

So ... as I read before class, I highlight only a few things per page -- most likely it's going to be the topic sentences of each paragraph. That allows me to skim my eyes over it later and quickly see what the topic is of each paragraph.

After class, I skimmed through very quickly and highlighted the key material that was discussed in class and/or the instructor told us to pay special attention to.

Then later ... as I was studying for the exam ... my "study guide" was all ready for me. I could skim the reading again and all the key points would be highlighted for me and "jump out at me" as I reviewed it.

Good luck.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Dec 13, 2009

I was a book-reader as a student ... and as a teacher, I expect my students to read their required textbooks. In my classes, anything in the textbook is "fair game" for the test. Lectures and other activities are meant to supplement the textbook, not the other way around. It sounds as if my philosophy of teaching is similar to that of the OP's school. II realize that not all classes are taught that way.)

Yeah that can make the difference, our teachers told us off the bat that 99% of the test material will come from the lectures and power points and that reading the text could supplement the lecture or help with students that needed further explaining.

My method obviously won't work if it's the other way around

itsmejuli · Dec 13, 2009

I review my textbook before class, then take it to class and highlight key points mentioned in lecture. I also write notes on the power point slides, and write notes on paper when there is no power point hand out.

Then I review my textbook and notes and make flashcards of points that I have trouble remembering, such as lab values and drugs.

Once that is done I spend plenty of time doing NCLEX style questions from Saunders or Prentice Hall to get ready for the exam. During my LPN program I probably averaged 200 NCLEX questions a week. I plan on doing the same for the RN program which I start in May.

thatsthekeyRNC · Dec 13, 2009

My trick has always been to read one section and highlight important terms and concepts that I could imagine as test questions. Then, I would write notes on what I highlighted before moving onto the next section of reading/highlighting. By focusing on one section at a time rather than whole chapters, it's a little easier to absorb the information.