Few questions for current students, along with a general one. (please read)

VenaKavaRN · Apr 10, 2008

first, how long do you all study every day? how many hours?
you study until you get it. everyone is different. you've heard it recommended that for every hour you spend in class, you spend two hours studying. if you're pretty quick to get stuff, consider that the minimum.
and by the way, to me: excellent grades = huge amount of time studying. true for nursing school? i bet it is.
sorry, not usually. huge amount of time studying = barely passing grade. nursing school is not a walk in the park. you say you're lazy, but you also say you really want to be a nurse. you'll have to work for that rn behind your name, but if you want it bad enough, you can do it.

next i'm wondering about your study methods. i'm sure it's much harder to study since this isn't high school anymore, so how do you do it?
the thing about nursing school is that most of the questions are built to mimic the nclex (boards to get your rn license to practice) exam. in the nclex, it's the norm to have more than one right answer and you have to pick the most right one. just memorizing the material is not enough, you have to really understand it and know any nuances or special circumstances.

most people in my program study in groups, and it seems to help them. i go to a few of them, but i find i learn more if i can tailor it more to my needs than to everyone else's. again, it's personal preference and how you learn best.

last and very important to me, after you graduate with an adn, are you able to choose where you want to work at in the hospital?

bsn or adn doesn't really matter unless you want to go into management or become an instructor. if you're an rn, you can work wherever you want. however, most icus and critical care areas will require a year of experience on a less intense unit first. but, your mileage may vary, the hospital i work at will hire new grads to icu, so you never know.

i'm sorry if i sounded harsh, but i just want to let you know up front that it will not be easy to become a nurse. i think you're taking the right steps coming to this wonderful forum to see what other students and nurses are saying and think. you may want to shadow a nurse at a hospital or even get a cna license also to get a real feel for what a nurse does and see the pros and cons.

if you really want this, go for it! just like you, i knew fairly early on what i wanted to be when i grew up! now i'm chasing that dream and while it's kicking my butt, it will be worth it to be pepperannern!!!

lainith · Apr 10, 2008

Honestly, I have a hard time getting myself to study sometimes. I find that what works best for me is staying AT school to study when I can. I use all sorts of different resources for study... notes, text books, online resources, CDROMs that came with texts, study groups, etc. I don't spend a ton of time studying as much as I do reading and reviewing. I read over my notes for the day and then I read my text and just kind of quiz myself. I also do a couple of NCLEX-RN flash cards (review) every night and then really study the answers. I probably study less than most people do and that's why my grades are "average". But I also work a full-time and a part-time job and that sucks a ton of time out of my schedule.

missninaRN · Apr 10, 2008

I probably study less than most of my peers, but I'm blessed with a really good memory. I study a couple of hours a day, on the days that I do study, but most of my classmates spend a lot more time on it than I do.

Besides study time, you also need to consider the fact that you will spend a lot of time writing. During my first semester, I put in about 12 hours every week on clinicals paperwork and care plans.

As far as how, I read the instructor's lecture notes before class (most schools give you a copy of their outline or power point in a huge binder we call "The Work Guide"). After the class, I read the related info in the textbook. Some people prefer to read or at least skim the textbook before class, but so far, my method has worked for me.

Then the studying really begins. I re-write the lecture notes, adding in any new info from the textbook, in my own words. I keep it brief and concise because these re-written notes become my study guide. I read my ever growing study guide every night at bedtime.

I also write out info in tables, concept maps, or flow charts, depending on the type of information. I find this the most helpful way to compare similar disease processes and to memorize pathology.

Finally, I write flash cards for drugs, lab values, and terms that I don't know.

The charts and flashcards are read every night too.

Some classes also required that we prepare presentations, case studies, and research papers.

Some of my classmates meet to study every week, but I usually only meet with a study group two or three days before the test-there are three of us who have done this since first semester and we all come prepared and ready to take turns leading the discussion. It makes for a good review time before the test.

After all of the reading, writing, and studying, you still will have to spend time in clinicals every week. First semester we only had one clinical a week and it was only for a few hours. Now, in our last semester, we are doing two clinical days a week that are each 9 hours long.

At our nursing school orientation, we were told up front that this was a very rigorous, demanding program. If you decide to do this, you must be willing to make the commitment to keep up. If you aren't willing, then please don't take a seat in the program that someone else would love to fill.

Rainbows · Apr 10, 2008

i'm sorry if i sounded harsh, but i just want to let you know up front that it will not be easy to become a nurse. i think you're taking the right steps coming to this wonderful forum to see what other students and nurses are saying and think. you may want to shadow a nurse at a hospital or even get a cna license also to get a real feel for what a nurse does and see the pros and cons.
if you really want this, go for it! just like you, i knew fairly early on what i wanted to be when i grew up! now i'm chasing that dream and while it's kicking my butt, it will be worth it to be pepperannern!!!

no need to apologize at all. i didn't know any of the things you mentioned and i appreciate the harshness. it's the truth after all. :]

the thing you mentioned about the nclex got me freaked out a bit at first, but then i really felt attracted to the challenge...so i'm totally going to do it. don't know why, but i feel really confident for some reason...

heh, i still have my nclex study book that i bought a few years ago when i got a bit too obsessed with becoming a nurse in the future. haven't touched it for a while, but i know it will come in handy.

thanks everyone else, i read all your posts and keep em' coming if you feel like posting.

manofcare · Apr 10, 2008

I'm about 30 days away from finishing the ADN program. First, when people tell you that NS is hard, they are not joking. I was a 4.0 student in my prereqs including A&P I, II, and Microbiology. I was the first student in the previous three years to our program to make an A in first semester. I struggle to get high B's now. I mean struggle. I am blessed with a very supportive wife and family. My wife supports us, I intern at a local hospital, when time permits. If you are lazy and you are not willing to change, don't even think of NS. If you are motivated to only change for school, but plan on being on the floor with a lazy attitude, please reconsider. Your co-workers deserve better and your pts difinitely do. Now, you sound young to me. If this is your passion, and you feel it is your calling, go for it. Lazy is something you can change.

RNAlmost10 · Apr 10, 2008

Hey! You came to the right place to get advice. I will graduate from NS in August. (YAY!) If you get your ADN, you can work just about anywhere! The only thing you might need a BSN for is if you ever wanted to go into management, some hospitals prefer charge nurses and clinical coordinators have a BSN, but they don't always get what they prefer! As far as studying, it takes up a lot of time!!! However, it does get better. The first semester of NS was the worst, it is like baptism by fire! Paperwork and care plans are another area where a lot of time will be spent. In high school, I never studied (except for AP classes) and made all A's, this however, changed when NS started. You have to figure out what studying method works best for you, are you a visual learner or more of a listener? Some people like study groups and they generally work well if you can concentrate on studying and not just talking. Some people like to hear other people talk about what they learned from a lecture because other people might pick up on things that you didn't and vice versa. But NCLEX books are a great studying tool because a lot of the professors use them for test material. Also just about every text book has a study guide and I think they are a great investment. And about the babies, once you become a RN if you don't want to work with them you will not have to, but in school you are required to do a mother/baby clinical but that is only temporary! I don't ever want to work on a postpartum floor (or labor and delivery either) so I understand that but I did have to do the clinicals. But once you try it you may love it and then again you may just hate it even more, just keep an open mind til you try it! But if you love helping people and want to be a RN I say GO FOR IT! Nursing school is like everything else in life, you must work for it! But I think the best nurses are the ones who LOVE what they do! Good luck! :heartbeat :nurse: