I feel like I am learning to be a nurse on my own.

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I would love some feedback on nursing school today. I am a ADN student and I feel feel like this journey has been autonomous when it comes to the learning aspect. I often wonder what I am paying for in nursing school when there is very little lecture or other forms of teaching. Each module is given with lots of reading and then we test. Is this the way most nursing schools work?

Lecture was a major part of my program, but the instructors never really went beyond the what was in the Powerpoints. They just kind of connected the dots and made sure we understood what was up. The book had all the info of course, but what was on the tests was covered in the powerpoint. They taught to the test, I guess, but the tests were all NCLEX questions, so I can't complain.

My school has lectures. Some are helpful and some aren't, it just depends on the teacher. At times they make us feel like they care and want us all to succeed and sometimes they "they throw us under the bus" and we have to read and comprehend on our own. With or without lectures there will always be a good amount of self-teaching. Good luck to you!

Specializes in ICU.

I went to school many years ago, too, and we had lectures all day long, from 8am to 4pm, with clinicals on Tuesday and Thursday. Sometimes we even had class/lectures after our clinical day ended. Our instructors were divided up into different "areas of expertise." Meaning, one instructor taught all cardiac classes, one taught all peds classes, etc., so we had about 5 instructors that did lectures. Although we could certainly "read on our own," we enjoyed being able to ask questions, get feedback, and learn the "real life way" compared to the "book way" by people that were actually hospital nurses prior to getting their doctorate and teaching.

Specializes in Oncology/hematology.
Well I'm not saying whether it is right or wrong but it does foster independence.

But, you kind of DID say whether it's right or wrong by saying in an earlier post that schools that have lecture are hand holding and spoon feeding. So, you did, in fact, make a judgment.

Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.
But, you kind of DID say whether it's right or wrong by saying in an earlier post that schools that have lecture are hand holding and spoon feeding. So, you did, in fact, make a judgment.

Well I guess in that sense you are right. I really just meant that that's what some people need in order to learn and some don't.

welcome to nursing school :) There is NO way a nursing school can teach you everything you're going to need to know, which is why much of our learning is independent. not only that, but we're only taught a fraction of what we'll need out in the 'real' world. Learn how to learn the info in a way that you can apply it across many different spectrums... that's what nursing is, application of knowledge using critical thinking skills

My school had NO lectures at all... and for that I was very grateful.

I generally find lectures to be pointless except when examples or case studies are done. I can assume responsibility for everything in the book.

In my experience - through 4 courses of study at 5 universities - most college lectures simply reiterate what's already in the book and that is, in my experience, a complete waste of time.

Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

Adults learn by self-teaching. The instructor offers guidance so you will know what to study, and can answer questions when needed, but you will learn on your own. Take advantage of labs, study groups, You-Tube videos, anything that presents the material in more than one manner. You are less inclined to forget if you learn on your own.

Specializes in Forensic Psych.
My school had NO lectures at all... and for that I was very grateful. I generally find lectures to be pointless except when examples or case studies are done. I can assume responsibility for everything in the book. In my experience - through 4 courses of study at 5 universities - most college lectures simply reiterate what's already in the book and that is in my experience, a complete waste of time.[/quote']

The amount of helpfulness depends on how each student learns best, I think. I'm very auditory - if I hear it, I'll remember it. Going to lecture cuts my study time back drastically, even if they're reading straight from the powerpoints.

I learned that the hard way during my first year when I stopped going to lecture. The professor would read from the powrpoints, which were taken directly from the book, and I felt like I was wasting my time. Well, it made my study sessions much more difficult.

I could survive just fine without lectures, though. I'd just rely more on YouTube and things like that.

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