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Discussion

Advice on Managing BSN Program Workload

Greetings,

I start a BSN program in 2 weeks. I've done well in my prerequisite classes, but have avoided taking more than 12 credit hours per semester. The program I am entering is a track program, and I am signed up for 15 credit hours. In orientation, we were told we had to study & read 2 to 2 1/2 hours for every hour of class time, which amounts to 30+ hours per week of studying aside from class time, clinicals, my long commute, etc.

The orientation presenter stated it was absolutely imperative that we read all assigned reading and that the lectures WILL NOT cover everything tested on -- some test material will be pulled from assigned reading and never be touched on in class. Later, students in higher tracks I met up with stated it was not possible to read the assigned reading and also study for all the tests and write all the papers, etc.

I mentioned this to my counselor, and she agreed that it is not really possible to read everything assigned. Wow, I thought...the counselor agreed with this. I appreciated her realism and honesty. She could have given me a canned answer such as "try your best."

So, my long-winded question is: where do I cut back in terms of reading? Or how do I cut back? Do I tried to read everything fast, or just read what I can get to or what I am least familiar with carefully and skip the stuff I know more about already? The counselor suggested I ask each professor what I should focus on, but I can only imagine that a professor might be offended by such a question since they deemed the reading worthwhile and pertinent enough to be assigned, and if it were not important, they would not have assigned it in the first place.

ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I believe strategy is key, and whether that involves focused study groups who divide the reading material up and outline it to share with the group, or other tactics, I need to figure out a way to cover the assigned reading as efficiently as possible.

Also, a few students I spoke with ahead of me SWORE they hardly ever cracked a book and did fine in their first year; the orientation presenter (one of our professors) warned us against listening to them. I just want some idea how to approach this, because the fast-moving train is about to leave the station, and I'm fearing getting behind in the beginning and having that water swarming around my neck feeling all semester. It's a catch-22, because the more stressed out I get, the more difficult it is to concentrate when I read.

Thanks for any replies, and I apologize for being long-winded. I know I will be okay (I am fine with Bs) but also that no matter what, it's going to be very grueling. I just want to avoid any needless suffering if at all possible by approaching the reading in a strategic way to maximum effectiveness.

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    This is hard to say. If you haven't started classes yet I wouldn't worry about it until then. Wait until you see your assignments and start reading. You'll be able to judge better then. Trust me I hate extensive reading. Skimming is a waste of time because you're stressing about reading the entire assignment... so you're not even retaining anything. Utilize diagrams and figures in the book. Read chapter summaries first then jump into reading the assignment. As time goes on you'll be able to decide what is "skimmable" and what isn't. Hope this helps.

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    • Author

    Thanks for the reply! Yes, I found that in Anatomy I often read the chapter summaries and looked at all the diagrams, etc. if I did not have time to read the entire chapter or just wanted a quick memory boost before an exam. I'm hoping some second year students can give me some specific advice, because they will have had the class with the same teachers/ texts. Thanks for your answer, though...it was definitely helpful!!

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    I'm in an accelerated BSN program and I didn't always have the time for every single reading. My classmates and I would divvy up the chapters on the syllabus, write detailed outlines and share them with one another. It helped me a lot since we could share details on what was important and focus on those topics.

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    Thanks for the reply! Yes I found that in Anatomy I often read the chapter summaries and looked at all the diagrams, etc. if I did not have time to read the entire chapter or just wanted a quick memory boost before an exam. I'm hoping some second year students can give me some specific advice, because they will have had the class with the same teachers/ texts. Thanks for your answer, though...it was definitely helpful!![/quote']

    No problem :)

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    Purchase an nclex review book such as Pearson Reviews and Rationales: Comprehensive Review for Nclex-RN (utilize this one for when you start med-surg and going forward) as well as nursing fundamentals for your first semester! These reviews will narrow down your reading to what you need to know and cut out all the fluff. They also contain nclex-style questions for your practice. If you forsee not being able to finish your reading assignment before class lecture, read the review for that topic. All the best and keep a positive attitude no matter what

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    Know chapter objectives, and answer questions at the end of the chapter. That should help narrow things down to what is important. Many books also now have Pod casts, where is the important parts of the chapter summed up in less than 10 minutes. Check and see if yours does!

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    The night before a lecture I go over the power point and read all the information boxes and bold/highlighted material in the required reading. It's easier to follow the lecture and I retain more of it if I already have some idea of what it's about. By the end of the day of the lecture I read all the required material- this is done a lot easier and a lot faster after hearing the lecture and skimming the material. I highlight everything important as I read, and although sometimes the entire chapter is covered in yellow most of the time I can easily pick out what's most important based on the lecture a few hours before.

    I always read all the required material at least once. You never know where they'll pull questions from. It's possible if you plan ahead. I schedule at least two hours per lecture per day to go over the reading for that lecture. I treat it like its class time and that makes me never fall behind on the reading.

    When I study for exams I do skim the whole chapter(s) again but concentrate on what I highlighted, chapter review questions and the power points.

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