Tomorrow starts my second week in the nursing program. The reading assignments havent been too much since the first week basically went over the syllabi and everything. So far I have read all the assigned readings, which hasnt been much like I said. Just one chapter in Foundations, three chapters in Assessment, and my other nursing class had no readings for the first week.
My foundations teacher stressed that the faculty doesnt expect us to read our nursing books like theyre magazines and encouraged us to skim and just read all of the info in the little side boxes, etc. My problem is that I feel like if I dont read the entire chapter I'll miss out on important info. I know some people are really good skimmers, but Ive never done it before so I feel uncomfortable with even trying it. But I also feel like if I keep reading the entire chapters, I'll fall behind because I wont be able to keep up (extremely time consuming as you all know). Im also summarizing the chapters as I read which is quadrupling the time it takes for me to read the chapters.
So my question is how many of you skim and how many of you actually read? And for those of you who skim, do you feel like you miss out on important points in the text or no?
I think it really depends on the class. I usually try to read as much as possible and write out note cards. It is very time consuming! I am afraid in a lot of my classes that if I skim I will miss out on something I need on a test, I guess I am a little paranoid, lol.
I think it really depends on the class. I usually try to read as much as possible and write out note cards. It is very time consuming! I am afraid in a lot of my classes that if I skim I will miss out on something I need on a test, I guess I am a little paranoid, lol.
More than the test, I'm concerned that I'll miss something that I need to know in order to take care of someone!
For many textbooks, the first sentence or two of a paragraph and the last one or two sentences will summarize the info in the paragraph. One strategy I used back when I was a biochem major was to read those sentences and then skim the stuff in between, because the in-between sentences usually elaborate on the topic of the paragraph. It helps the reading to go by faster while still reading most of the material, if that's a strategy that works for you...
I would personally read the entire thing because at the end of nursing school you will need to be able to pass the NCLEX and take care of the patients you are assigned. I, personally, do not look at school like it's just "another" test to get you closer to your goal because you should be studying this info. and applying it, otherwise, you may be taking the NCLEX 6+ times. Good luck but skimming has never worked for me.
I'm surprised, too. I'm not in NS yet, but I have taken Pharmacology and Holistics/Nutrition, and both were taught by nursing instructors. We were told to read each chapter THREE times to gain the best understanding. I couldn't imagine just skimming over information, knowing how much my education is going to cost me; it's just too much to risk--I would definitely take the time to read the material.
This is good advice. I try to read each chapter at least twice, especially if it is information with which I am not familiar. If I read a chapter twice, the first time I read fairly carefully and highlight important information. The second reading, I pay more attention to the highlighted points.
If I read a chapter three times, the first time I skim. The second time I read details and highlight. The third time I read only the key concepts and go over the vocabulary and repeat as necessary until I understand terms and concepts.
I would never advise a nursing student to merely skim the chapters, particularly if you're being tested on the material. If you aren't being tested and have to write a paper or do a presentation instead, then you might be able to get by with skimming to ferret out the key concepts.
Wow, I'll join the ranks of those who are surprised she said that. It might work in Fundamentals, but I seriously doubt it'll last past that. You need to know a LOT about different diseases, their signs and symptoms, pathophysiology, nursing assessments and interventions, medications, other treatments, etc.
Remember that if you do "over-prepare", which I doubt many nursing students would say is even possible, it's only going to make you a better nurse in the future. When a patient's life is in your hands, you can never be over-prepared.
I read/highlight once, then I write out notes for tests based on my highlighting: patho of disease, signs/symptoms, diagnostics, med mgmt, nursing interventions. As you get further into nursing school, a lot of this builds on previous learning, so it becomes easier. There are limited nursing interventions used over and over for different disease processes, so you just need to know why a certain nursing intervention is used for a certain disease.
I handle theory courses a bit differently. I try to read stuff, but if I have to make a time management choice, I focus on readings for the clinical courses. I use slides, skimming the book, and listening in class for the theory courses.
I "skim" the chapter the first time to get a feel for topics and themes. Then I read completely before the lecture on that chapter (it helps me understand what is being lectured on and retain it) and then go back and use lecture notes to skim the chapter (paying special attention to any boxes in the chapter) before the test. Yep basically three times through.
Just passing the tests won't help you get ready for NCLEX. You have to really understand the material since the tests are a different format than other regular classes. Lots of "thinking" things through.
I read the chapters with a highlighter to mark anything that seems important.
Then every once in a while - I skim the chapters, focusing mostly on the highlighted texts. You would not believe how much crap there is in a text book when compared to actual useful stuff - but those publishers got to put something new in the book with each edition so that they could make money. =/
We have to read 8 or 9 chapters per week, and are tested on them weekly. It takes me about 90 minutes to read a chapter the first time. since I pause to write down and look up words I dont know. I have no idea how I will keep up at this rate. Looking foward to the first test to see how to study specifically.
I'm a skimmer. There is a lot of filler in textbooks - definitions for words I already know the definitions to, examples that I already intuited or don't need to have spelled out for me, excessive verbiage, and organizational additives. I read for the concepts, not the filler. The only time I read the filler is when I'm having trouble understanding a particular concept - then I'll go ahead and read the whole section about it and access other resources if available or necessary until I get it.
For identifying vital information, I use lecture notes as my guide.
healthstar, BSN, RN
1 Article; 944 Posts
I read all chapters skiming doesn't help much.