Do you read the entire book?

[Tonks57]

Hi there! I am going to be starting nursing school on the 27th and I just got my fundamentals book today. So I started reading our assigned chapters and WOW. So much information! Very interesting though, not dry like the sciences were. I am planning on seriously reading the entire book/what's assigned by the professor and then extra by using outside sources. But my question is, is it possible to read it all? How many hours a day/per chapter do you spend reading? Do you power through the whole chapter or take breaks? Take notes as you go? Read it more than once? I just want to prepare myself because I can tell this will not be like the prereqs at all! I have been reading all the other posts about how to study better/take notes and I will definitely use that as well. I just want to see how everyone handles the massive amounts of reading. Thank you!

[metal_m0nk, BSN, RN]

For me, reading chapter upon chapter of detailed information every unit would have been a complete waste of time. I used my textbooks for reference only - looking up specific details if I needed clarification or basic procedural information.

[afterseason, ASN, RN]

I've been reading every chapter in its entirety and then doing additional supplemental reading. Not sure if this will really be a realistic approach later on though -- just doing my fundies class right now.

[kgl_2014]

Our Fundamentals book is huge with tiny print but, I'm going to read it all for right now. One of our instructors tests straight from the book so until I take her test and see for myself I'm reading every word lol. I try to read one chapter and take a 5 minute break then read another. I usually can't absorb info after reading for more than 2-3 hours at a time.

[BloopBloop]

If they gave you a syllabus with the reading pages assigned, I would say to breeze through it once for a quick overview of whats to come. Then look at the syllabus and direct your studying to those concepts. I dont know why nursing schools give you a ton of pages to read in the syllabus, but dont expect you to read ALL the pages. My professors have told me "Don't read all those pages, because youre going to drive yourself nuts." I guess this is their way of telling us to use our critical thinking and study SMART, not hard.

As far as reading for me, it takes me about 2-3hours to read and comprehend 3-5 pages. I'll study about 5-6 hours per day. It is tedious and slow. I also have at least one of my review books (Saunders or Davis) to reference the material i'm reading.

[Racer15, BSN, RN]

I've never read complete chapters and I graduate in December. I highlight important areas during lecture and that's all I read when studying. It's mostly the charts and boxes. Quite frankly, reading every chapter in its entirety is going to be information overload. You'll be so busy trying to process so much information that you won't have time to really get a firm grasp on the information you NEED to know. Just my two cents.

[Nolli]

No, if I did that I would flunk the exams. I read what is relevant to what we are covering in class if it matches up. Sometimes the book contradicts and other times the professor doesn't use the book at all. The more material covered in a period of time the less time I have to read anyway. Pharm or more in depth subjects that require a lot of understanding of mechanics are the ones I focus on the most as reading helps me to better understand.

[~passionateSN~]

It's going to depend on what kind of learner you are first of all. I am a reader. I read all the chapters and boxes then I re-read them again and again the main areas. I have had tests that have covered something so small in a paragraph that you wouldn't have even known was there unless you read the chapter. I'm not a writer either. I learn only by listening and reading.

[Katie71275]

Uh no! I read the important stuff. Focus on the disease process, meds for the disease(side effects) and treatments for the most part.

[guest64485]

Agree with passionateSN. It depends on what school you are at, what your teacher suggests, and how you learn. Personally I read all assigned reading and took notes summarizing what I read, while doing so. I'm not going to lie, it was a LOT. Like passionateSN, I had many test questions which came only from obscure areas in the book so it really was a necessity for me to do that. Less than 1/3 of my starting class graduated, so I'm glad I spent the many hours studying. Talk to your teacher and do what she suggests. Don't take it for granted that book reading can be skipped or quickly skimmed; do what you need to to pass..

[QuarterLife88, MSN, RN, NP]

If I were to read everything I would fail because I'd be wasting my time instead of learning what my instructor wants me to focus on. I go by my notes, and depending on the instructor I may skim the text that goes along with the notes, but no more than that. There's not enough time, and you don't need to know all of that. Nice to know, and then there's NEED to know. I love when I get an instructor that tests 100% from her lecture. Makes my life a whole lot easier. Inhaling a book does not make one a better student. Usually it just makes you a nervous wreck. "OMG, how am I going to read all of this (500 pgs) before next week?!" *nervousbreakdown*

[shanda0305]

Well, my fundamentals professor gave us all nclex questions for our test....in other words, you need to comprehend the assigned chapters...with her test questions it might have been two to three concepts in one question so you must understand and apply all concepts so just focusing on main concepts would help but to be successful you have to read it all...link them all....and repeat it all... My first class was challenging but it depends on your school...good luck!!!