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 have been fully reading my text and it is very time consuming! I want to pass but I also want to have a life outside of school. I read on my lunch break, when I come home, before I go to bed, it's as though I don't have time to do anything but read. I also takes notes as I read and make flashcards on the weekends which takes up even more of my time. I am going to try this method and see if it works for me. I don't think I'll ever give up my flashcards though....they're a part of me. lol
I try my best to read but sometimes it is just not possible. For example, last semester I didn't read much in Fundamentals and found it hard to get test questions correct and have an idea of the most basic things for clinicals. I'm changing that this semester. I read for all my others courses except Fundamentals and Health Assessment. Needless to say, I got a B in those courses instead of an A. IDK why I wasn't motivated to read, but I just wasn't. If I would've read then I could have very much had reached an A. :sigh: It's in the past now. So this time around in Med-Surg I, I'm trying to keep up with my reading. And you know the funny thing? The instructor is using some material out of the chapters from the Fundamentals book! If I had read them the first time around I wouldn't have to worry too much now. I learned my lesson. READ!!! It helps so much; its the difference between an A and B for me.
I primarily used them for reference. If I had to look up something/research more in depth, I pulled out my texts. Other than that, I didnt read from them.
It really depends on the class and the material. I had a pharmacology class this Summer where all of the tests were based entirely on the lecture- so after the first exam I didn't even open the textbook and still managed to get an A in the class. (I did study outside of class- I recorded the lectures and reviewed the recordings before exams)
In other classes, I read as much as I feel I need to. I start by skimming over the assigned reading, but if it's covering complex material that I don't already have a good grasp on, I'll spend time reading it in detail. I let the material dictate how much time I spend reading. If I know that exams are going to cover material from the readings that wasn't necessarily covered in class, I might even take notes from the reading.
and to be honest, my Saunders NCLEX comprehensive Review was my bible during school. It was better than any "required texts" that my professors assigned. All the extraneous fluff was removed and what was left was the important need to know. I primarily used that to study for my courses and then the NCLEX.
You need to read, skimming may get you through school but when you are on the unit working do you want a skimmer or someone who really read and knows the material
You don't need to have read the book to understand the material and have the knowledge that makes you a good nurse. I would much rather have a nurse who spent their time in school learning and understanding the material in a way that worked for them as opposed to someone who read the book and thought that meant that they really knew the material.
You need to look at the tests for this course and other nursing courses. Do the questions come from material covered in class, or are they from the book or workbook if your class has a required workbook. That should determine what you should read or skim.
You don't need to have read the book to understand the material and have the knowledge that makes you a good nurse. I would much rather have a nurse who spent their time in school learning and understanding the material in a way that worked for them as opposed to someone who read the book and thought that meant that they really knew the material.
Exactly. Everybody learns differently- some people don't absorb material from books all that well, and spending a ton of time plowing through their assigned reading in depth just to get it done is a huge waste of time.
Oh and thanks Anatomatrix for the long post it had some really good info in it. And no, I didn't skim it, LOL. Actually I was required to take the VARK assessment for my academic skills class two weeks ago and I scored the highest in "reading/writing". So maybe reading the entire chapter and taking notes is the way to go for me. That's what I've been doing so far. I read the chapter and make an outline of all the important info as I go.
My first Foundations exam is tomorrow morning and we find out our scores directly after, so I'll come back to let everyone know how I did. The score I get on this exam is going to let me know whether my method is working or if I should try something else...
If your school requires that you take an exit exam before graduating, I advise that you should read all assigned chapters. Yes pertinent info is in those side boxes but that will not get you a passing grade on a exit exams like the Hesi, it's time consuming but will pay off in the end.
i used to like "googleing" stuff, so Id see the subject and off to google health! then once i knew what was going on I only read the portions of "Nursing Interventions" and any "procedure IE: tube feeding technique, iv bla bla bla" It cut down alot!
of course that was before lecture, I also read this bullet points I have from mosby which are to the point basic KEY info you need to know about everything!
you can PM me and I can send them to you... they were amazing !
this is what I did.
But it really depended on who was teaching. I had powerpoint instructors and book instructors. But I've learned if nothing else read the care plans and know what the nurse is supposed to do for your disease process.
I was horrible about reading before class... I would just glance at what we were discussing for the day. But before the test, I read a good part of the chapters that were on the test if not all of it. I was too afraid I would miss out on info too, and they were good about putting something on the test that wasn't in bold and was in a weird spot in a paragraph. They wanted to make sure we WERE reading.
NJCheyla
191 Posts
Thanks! I also found this link on SQR3 which is great...Increasing Textbook Reading Comprehension by Using SQ3R
I have been fully reading my text and it is very time consuming! I want to pass but I also want to have a life outside of school. I read on my lunch break, when I come home, before I go to bed, it's as though I don't have time to do anything but read. I also takes notes as I read and make flashcards on the weekends which takes up even more of my time. I am going to try this method and see if it works for me. I don't think I'll ever give up my flashcards though....they're a part of me. lol
-NJ