Does anyone actually read all the reading assignments?

[vettechtoRN]

In my prereqs I read and outlined every chapter. I just want to know if that way of studying will work or not. It is very time consuming. Does anyone have a better way? I don't mind reading but I just don't want to feel overwhelmed if the truth is no one can read that much!

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

No, not everybody reads all the assigned reading. But generally speaking, the ones who pass ... did.

[sharpeimom]

I realize that it seems like a LOT! but you really do need to read it all. Nursing school will consume practically every minute of your time. This isn't like high school was. I'm not lecturing or wagging my finger at you. I'm just being a realist.

We've all been where you are now. If you join a study group, use the learning center (or whatever your school calls it,) have your professors

explain again what you don't understand. All that will help you understand what you've read. Use those office hours to your advantage.

I strayed from the topic, I'm afraid. If you begin to fall behind, don't wait! The sooner, the better.

[RunBabyRN]

I didn't read every word, but I put my eyes on the pages and gave it all a quick read, with more focused time on stuff that was totally unfamiliar. It's pretty much impossible to really pore over every page, but you can at least expose yourself to everything and kind of decide for yourself where to spend your time.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Nope..but I skimmed most....pay attention to the highlighted areas or the Important facts.

[Darkstar1485, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

I never read textbooks. I can't. I get bored easily. I do practice question ALL THE TIME. I read the rationales, ans whatever I don't know, I look up. I has worked for me, and I have done well on my HESI specialty exams so far. Everyone learns differently.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

I read every page, every photo caption , every chart. Completed every corresponding workbook page.

But alas I am a compulsive reader. There are times I will read anything I can get my hands on and I have a tendency to remember what I read. I could tell you about where in the text a test answer was referenced because that is how my brain works.

My instructors said I was likely the first ( and probably only) student who read every single page of each of our text books....ever.

But that worked for me, it's one way I learn and recall info and has been since young childhood. I did well in school because I was aware of the learning/review method that worked for me.

My classmate that also did well skimmed the material. Answered questions. Took notes as she read. It worked for her.

Another did well by skimming before class and listening intently during lecture and reviewing the power points.

I think the key is to discover what works best for you. But you aren't likely to do exceptional or even very well if you never open a book and at least skim the material

[missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN]

Short answer, yes. Yes you will, because the NCLEX is much more extensive than your class tests. Your goal is to be a nurse. After seeing your very first patient and understanding that your knowledge can help them, you'll read.

[Balto]

It is never all read before a lecture. But it is definitely read before the test. Multiple times by then.

[CajunShrimp84]

Read! At least skim through if you don't feel like intently reading everything. Also, Google the VARK test and see what kind of learner you are. It will give you ideas of ways to study that work personally for your learning style. It has helped me a lot being able to study to my strengths.

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

I think it will be probably the odd man out in this when I say that I probably never read an entire assignment. I did however see the material multiple times prior to exams. My study strategy was basically this: look at the Student Learning Objectives, look at the PowerPoint presentations, and then look at the chapter summaries. From there I would start reading the material to focus on various points of the material that I really needed to understand. I do not recommend that people study the way that I do, simply because, I have a very broad knowledge base as it is. Effectively I am studying only to add to my knowledge as opposed to creating an entirely new knowledge base. Because of this my studying time is typically right around 2 hours per day unless I was writing care plans, in which case that would be extended by about 45 minutes per care plan.

My first 3 or 4 care plans, however, typically took about 3 – 4 hours each to complete and that time decreased rather quickly as I got used to writing them.

I cannot stress enough, unless you have an extremely broad base of knowledge regarding patient care it would probably not do you well to study the same way that I did. I generally did well during school and recently passed the NCLEX – RN at 75 questions. It was no cakewalk but I managed to do it! The other key thing about this is that I learned through this process how I study best to learn this material. Nursing School is quite unlike anything you'll ever do academically.

[Jaykalkyn, BSN, RN]

I started out that way and quickly learned that that was completely impossible for me to do and actually retain what I was reading. I found myself up at 3 a.m. eyes blurry with the words becoming dancing lines on the page. I stopped doing that and let the Powerpoints and chapter objectives guide my reading. Those things I read in depth, the rest received a review.

I find it totally unrealistic to read 5 chapters in each of 3 books for one class when you have 4 other classes with multiple books to read for in one week. Its a set up for learning maybe only a few topics at best.

You should try a few methods and do what yields the best results for you...for me, that means not reading every word, but reading up on every topic.