Nursing school: How did you make it? How many hours should you put in per week?

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Hello! This is my first semester of A&P I. Last semester I was taking Micro and some of my classmates gave me some advice on A&P I. They said you should put in at least 10-20 hours of studying to get at least an A or a B. With that being said, how did you guys make it through nursing school? What tips could you provide that you used to help you succeed? Chocolate covered espresso beans for that caffeine kick? Working out at the gym? Recording lectures? Flash cards? Reading? If so on reading, how many hours would you say helps? 40+ hours a week? I'd like to know because this year is my last school year of prereqs and off to the HESI A2 exam I go. After that, I'd like to attend another school in my area that allows pre-nursing students the chance to take Pathophysiology prior to getting into their program. Just to kinda get a feel for what I'll have to learn while in the program. I would like to know what the most reliable way to deflect the instructors' harassment of threatening to fail you is?

Silverdragon102, BSN

1 Article; 39,477 Posts

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Moved to the General Student Discussions forum

verene, MSN

1,790 Posts

Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

I'd focus less on the actual hours of work, and more on finding a study rhythm that works for you, no use doing 40 hours of reading if you can absorb the material in 10! Where you spend your time will probably vary based on the exact courses you are taking. I've found the combination of reading/skimming materials before lecture, attending lecture, and then studying (either rereading and taking notes, or discussing with classmates) to be beneficial in passing my nursing school classes. Depending on the particular quarter (and what projects I have due) I've spent anywhere from 10-30 hours outside of lecture/clinical time on school. This is cumulative, not per course.

I do NOT spend all of my time studying. Self-care is important and you retain more information if you less stressed out. I make time to go to the gym, cook healthy meals, and interact with friends and family members during the week. It's about finding a balance between doing things that are good for your physical and emotional health and spending time on school.

I've never had an instructor threaten to fail me or harass me in nursing school, nor did I go in expecting this would be an issue. Maybe drop the defensiveness and paranoia going in? I generally try to assume the best in my instructors and classmates, and can't say I've been disappointed. Are there instructors I've bonded with more? Yes, but I don't think I've had a single "bad" instructor or preceptor, just those who don't mesh quite as well with my personality and learning style, and even those I've still been able to learn from. However, when I've asked for assistance or admitted that I felt lost, I've had several faculty go out of their way to support me and get me back on track. Maybe my program has unusually supportive faculty, but I sincerely believe that most are here because they want to teach and genuinely want their students to succeed.

I'd focus less on the actual hours of work, and more on finding a study rhythm that works for you, no use doing 40 hours of reading if you can absorb the material in 10! Where you spend your time will probably vary based on the exact courses you are taking. I've found the combination of reading/skimming materials before lecture, attending lecture, and then studying (either rereading and taking notes, or discussing with classmates) to be beneficial in passing my nursing school classes. Depending on the particular quarter (and what projects I have due) I've spent anywhere from 10-30 hours outside of lecture/clinical time on school. This is cumulative, not per course.

I do NOT spend all of my time studying. Self-care is important and you retain more information if you less stressed out. I make time to go to the gym, cook healthy meals, and interact with friends and family members during the week. It's about finding a balance between doing things that are good for your physical and emotional health and spending time on school.

I've never had an instructor threaten to fail me or harass me in nursing school, nor did I go in expecting this would be an issue. Maybe drop the defensiveness and paranoia going in? I generally try to assume the best in my instructors and classmates, and can't say I've been disappointed. Are there instructors I've bonded with more? Yes, but I don't think I've had a single "bad" instructor or preceptor, just those who don't mesh quite as well with my personality and learning style, and even those I've still been able to learn from. However, when I've asked for assistance or admitted that I felt lost, I've had several faculty go out of their way to support me and get me back on track. Maybe my program has unusually supportive faculty, but I sincerely believe that most are here because they want to teach and genuinely want their students to succeed.

"Unusually supportive" is the keyword I look for and wonder if UNLV has that in their program. I don't think my program will have supportive staff. It's not like California where people are supportive. I have a friend who has a friend in the program I want to get into, but, I think reasonably, they hardly talk to him because THEY'RE so busy with their school work and trying to graduate. I asked him if there were some teachers that are cool and he said they said some are and some aren't. I find that to be a problem because what's the point of being a teacher if you don't want to do your job. You can teach the material in so many ways and you're still not giving away any answer or helping students with passing the test. Why have this "Oh, I do it for the paycheck" mentality? That's not having pride. I hope it's all just a fear factor and the real reality of it is "If you want to know how to succeed, let any one of us know and we'll help you figure out how to organize what you need to do". If I get accepted, I will be notorious for going to the teacher and saying,"This is my first time in nursing school and I don't know what to expect or what to do. Will you please answer my questions if I have any pertaining to the material?" And that's all I care about.

PrereqTaker89

281 Posts

My Chem teacher says we're responsible for the material and his job is not to teach us but to evaluate our learning. When someone asks him a question he responds with a question to access where the disconnect is occurring in the student. He gives out zero freebies. I'm sure in nursing school teachers will be less likely to spoon feed you information.

My Chem teacher says we're responsible for the material and his job is not to teach us but to evaluate our learning. When someone asks him a question he responds with a question to access where the disconnect is occurring in the student. He gives out zero freebies. I'm sure in nursing school teachers will be less likely to spoon feed you information.

Not teach but to evaluate your learning? That sounds very sleazy and very lazy. So what is he? A teacher? Or a psychologist who evaluates you? I'm not asking for test questions or answers, but if I'm stuck on something in pharmacology, maybe they don't teach you how to do the math or they do and there's a few questions that are REALLY tough and I ask for help, I'd like the help.

I am a very new nursing student (we just wrapped up week 4 of semester 1) so I don't quite feel qualified for advice giving per se, but I will say that our professors told us to budget 2-3 hours of studying outside of class per credit. This amounts to 32-48 hours per week of studying for this semester and while I don't track the exact hours I spend (I count reading, doing assignments, preparing for lecture, review, study groups, and making study guides, etc. all as "studying"-- I know some people don't), I feel that this is true to my experience thus far. This week so far (Sunday-Saturday), I think I've put in about 36 hours of studying outside of class or lab time. And I still have much studying to do tomorrow.

We just had our first two exams this week (we have two more next week) and for our fundamentals exam, approx 30% of our class didn't even meet the passing threshold (77% or a C+). Only 10% of students made it to an A and the rest were in the B range. Depending on what type of learner you are, you really need to commit and put the work in.

Specializes in NICU, RNC.

Between class, clinicals, studying, homework, projects, clinical paperwork, etc. plan to spend 40-60 hours each week total. Some will be more, some will be less, but 40-60 is a good general average. If you don't have kids or a job, it's not hard to participate in social and self-care activities. If you do have kids and/or a job, it's more of a challenge.

Specializes in NICU, RNC.

Oh, and as far as "what helps" Be prepared, stay organized, don't procrastinate, get plenty of sleep, eat healthy, stay hydrated, be physically active, and have a positive attitude. Your success depends on you.

Also, I never experienced an instructor who threatened to fail anyone. They went out of their way to help the students who were struggling. Most instructors want you to succeed and are happy to help.

I am a very new nursing student (we just wrapped up week 4 of semester 1) so I don't quite feel qualified for advice giving per se, but I will say that our professors told us to budget 2-3 hours of studying outside of class per credit. This amounts to 32-48 hours per week of studying for this semester and while I don't track the exact hours I spend (I count reading, doing assignments, preparing for lecture, review, study groups, and making study guides, etc. all as "studying"-- I know some people don't), I feel that this is true to my experience thus far. This week so far (Sunday-Saturday), I think I've put in about 36 hours of studying outside of class or lab time. And I still have much studying to do tomorrow.

We just had our first two exams this week (we have two more next week) and for our fundamentals exam, approx 30% of our class didn't even meet the passing threshold (77% or a C+). Only 10% of students made it to an A and the rest were in the B range. Depending on what type of learner you are, you really need to commit and put the work in.

How much sleep do you get?

Between class, clinicals, studying, homework, projects, clinical paperwork, etc. plan to spend 40-60 hours each week total. Some will be more, some will be less, but 40-60 is a good general average. If you don't have kids or a job, it's not hard to participate in social and self-care activities. If you do have kids and/or a job, it's more of a challenge.

I don't have a job or kids and I don't live with my family.

Specializes in PACU, Stepdown, Trauma.

It all depends on easily you retain information and how efficiently you can study. I'm in my last semester of an ADN program. The program says to budget 3 hours outside of class per credit hour in study time. I'm taking 10 credit hours this semester, so that would be 30 hours. In reality, it's more like 3-5 per week... probably 10-15 if an essay is due or I have a test in the next few days. Clinicals were 16 hours/week second semester, 27 hours/week third semester and in the fourth semester, 40 hours for the first seven weeks and 24 hours/week for the last seven weeks. I also work full time (36 hours/week) and find the time to have a social life, spend time with my significant other, maintain a house and exercise (sometimes).

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