Are they lying?

[HeartsOpenWide]

There are so many people in my class that say they hardly ever or never study and still get As. Two people even claim to have never even opened one of their nursing textbooks (we are starting our Sr. year). Granted I know these two people are very smart...but how can they do so well? I mean our lectures are so mediocre, they are the skin and bones of the chapters assigned in reading; and nursing knowledge is not something you "just know" right? I don't get it, it makes me feel like a dummy...classes they laugh at I studied my tail off for (like pharm hello!!! I earned that A) and I read almost all the assigned chapters (I skipped a few this last semester but that is because the teacher really only tested you on what she lectured on because she was the "all and powerful know it all and the book was wrong" even though she assigned chapters)...are you one of these people that never study or hardly study and have never read your nursing text and still get As? Do you have mystical powers?:chuckle

[Mexarican]

I love it: "the C student defense", lol. Interesting because I when I have written that I was able to work, attend nursing school, take a easy gen ed class each semester and graduate with a 3.5 gpa, it has been implied that my nursing program was easy. When I said I was very confident that I had passed both my LPN and RN boards because the computer shut off at the minimum it has been implied that I was foolish to feel confident. Now I'm a lousy nurse also?

Fwiw my evaluations at work so far have been excellent, go figure.

You Rock Jules!!

Yea i know...sometimes that "A on exams" student is also better than you in clinicals and then is also a better nurse...so what are you going to find fault in??!?! you shouldn't even try to find fault in them?!? ...why?? to make you feel better about your "C"s...hence the "C" student defense...lol. I never go a week without hearing it referred to someone who gets easy A's in class...so it just makes me laugh when i think about it. Some people are just awesome in their particular area of talent...and??

Mex

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

I think you learn early on in nursing school two things (1) what method of studying works best for you and (2) what the teacher/school puts emphasis on. When I was in nursing school, almost nobody read the textbook, because we all knew that despite what the instructors said, it wasn't on the test. Instead, all of my instructors had well-written, easier to study from Powerpoints that I would use to prepare for exams. Perhaps this is how your friends are doing it.

[MrsIndependent]

I have mystical powers!!

I have to study my butt off to be successful. Like CT pixie mentioned, some people learn better by listening. I tend to day dream while someone lectures. Not on purpose.

I tend to daydream while reading. It bores me to tears; just looking at those little black letters on that boring white paper, ugh. :zzzzz I absolultely love thoses instructors that spend the whole time lecturing. I tend to retain it better. Hopefully, I can find some discs that I can listen to while driving.

I also have to study my butt off, which, of course, requires reading....

[coolpeach]

I don't start NS until Aug, but I have learned a lot about studying doing my pre reqs. Like some of the posters above I learn best by listening. There are a few classes I have been able to take without reading the book, and just by going to the lectures. In these situations the instructors really didn't follow the book so reading it would just be confusing. I made A, but I still studied my lecture notes. Some classes were chapter by chapter, and I had to use the book because the professor just skimmed the subject matter so without the book I would be lost.

I think it depends on the person (how they learn best), and the instructor (how they teach) as to how much, and how a person studies.

[Melinurse]

I did well in NS school, but I studied hard. Not just the books stuff, but on the job too. I watched, listened, etc to what my co-workers said and did. i took every available opportunity to do any kind of hospital education event(s). I probably would not have done as well as I did if I had not had such great co-workers. But instead of worrying about what kind of grades you are getting, worry about "are you going to retain the info and be able to use it". :heartbeat After all patients never ask what grades you got in school.

[MrsIndependent]

:heartbeat After all patients never ask what grades you got in school.

Great point!!

[Sterren, BSN, RN]

They might be. They might not be. One of my very best friends in my nursing program never cracked a book and did fantastic. Personally, I had to read.

It doesn't really matter whether they are lying or not, though. If they are lying, it doesn't suddenly make the work load easier for you or harder for them. If they are telling the truth, it doesn't mean you can slack off too - they might learn by doing or listening, and you learn by reading, so adopting their practices is not the answer.

Don't worry about them, you are doing nursing school the right way for you and who cares what other people's study habits look like?

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

I After all patients never ask what grades you got in school.

Oh never say never I had several patients asking me about my grades while I was in clinicals. Now you may say, yes but you were a student taking care of them so they wanted to know that you were competent to do so. Same patients also asked their nurse (the staff nurse assigned to them) by the way how were your grades in school. :chuckle

[ThatPoshGirl]

I'll just say basically what others have said. I learn more from lectures than I do from reading a book. In fact, usually when I read a book it falls right out of my head immediately. In lectures, when I take good notes, it sticks in my head. So, I don't "study" much at all, but I still learn, and that is what I am in school to do.

[ADPIE10]

I think it depends on the person (how they learn best), and the instructor (how they teach) as to how much, and how a person studies.

I agree.

I've also noticed that some students receive notes or old exams from previous students. This will sometimes reduce the scope of study and allow the study of the items that will be tested.

Good listeners also tend to be able to "read" their instructors. This helps minimize study time for topics that may not be tested and increase study time for topics that will be tested. Remember that worrying reduces our ability to listen.

The original question was: "are they lying?" I would say that when I was younger, I didn't think that I was lying. I would routinely gamble with studying less because I subconsciously did not want to study really hard and not get a perfect score. As I've gotten older, I came to recognize my personal insecurities and study harder than I have in the past. I attend all my classes. I recognize the intelligence of others and the fact that no matter how much smarter one person believes that they are as compared to their classmates... there's a very low margin of difference of intelligence within a class if acceptance is based upon competitive selection.

Keep studying and caring because this is what a prudent and reasonable nurse would do.

[greygooseuria]

I read chapters once and take notes in lecture and never review before a test and for my first two nursing classes I got B+s while some people studied their ass off and did worse than me. I just retain info easily.

It depends on the person, plain and simple. Some people are like me and don't have to study or review.

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

Lots of times, I could think back to things we did on the floor(I know, not the best method) and usually try to figure those things out in the answers....Also, I tried to read along with the textbook as we went over the powerpoints. I didn't get A's on every test, but I did good enough to pass! That's the only thing that matters. After all, nobody looks at your GPA by itself....