Help! I just started nursing school!

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I just started nursing school and I feel swamped. I feel like Im drowning I dont know where to start. There are so many chapters to read. Those of you who are in nursing school are are finished with nursing school, Do I read the chapters word for word or do I just skim and do the workbook pages? Did you read the chapters word for word? I have two small children I dont have time to study word for word. There are so many chapter Should I just read everything? Will I have enough time?

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Specializes in Med/Surg ICU, NICU.

Read the material..unless you have a very lax program skimming will get you in trouble. You need to schedule time to read. Do not get behind in your reading or you will again find yourself even more overwhelmed. I am one semester away from graduation and so far this semester we have had an average of 4-6 chapters per week to read and the only way to cope with that is to make a schedule and stick to it. I have missed out on quite a bit of fun in the last 18 months but it will be worth it in the end

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i just started nursing school and i feel swamped. i feel like im drowning i dont know where to start. there are so many chapters to read. those of you who are in nursing school are are finished with nursing school, do i read the chapters word for word or do i just skim and do the workbook pages? did you read the chapters word for word? i have two small children i dont have time to study word for word. there are so many chapter should i just read everything? will i have enough time?

hi there lizzberry! this is what i do. when there are hundreds (literally) of pages to read-- i'll skim through it before i go to lecture. in the evening after lecture, i go into it more in depth. when there is a concept i'm having an especially hard time with, i take notes right out of the book and go to other books for resources.

i have a set study time; everynight; 8-10 pm. and on sundays, i run a study group from 5-8 pm.

as always, things happen. kids get sick, the dog runs away, etc, etc. in those times, i go to my saunders nclex book and overview what i should be reading (it has a condensed version of what we're learning, most of the time).

when you're feeling stressed, take one chapter at a time. cross it off on your syllabus as you go-- that way you'll feel as if you're accomplishing something.

and remember... you can do this!

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I just started nursing school and I feel swamped. I feel like Im drowning I dont know where to start. There are so many chapters to read. Those of you who are in nursing school are are finished with nursing school, Do I read the chapters word for word or do I just skim and do the workbook pages? Did you read the chapters word for word? I have two small children I dont have time to study word for word. There are so many chapter Should I just read everything? Will I have enough time?

i didnt read everything word for word and when it came to the final i had to go back and reread the whole damn book practically....read it while u can...i have 4 small children so i know how hard it is....read when the kids are taking a bath, read when they are sleeping, my friend used to tape her notes and put her headphones on at night when she was sleeping and it would play til the tape was done...she said it helped but i never tried that....find ur way of studying and go from there....trust me it SUCKS when u realize at the end of the semester that u have to go back and read everything...im starting my senior year next week so i know how it feels...good luck

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Specializes in Psych..

Danibanani, how awesome are you?!! I didn't know that the Saunders NCLEX book would offer information like a textbook; I thought it was just practice questions -- did admitting that make me look like an idiot? I'll use the "hey I'm new" excuse here... May I ask exactly which book you're using? I've looked up Saunders books on Amazon but there are so many, I don't know which one to get. I haven't been able to find them at the bookstore near me; it seemed like they had every study aid imaginable except ones for NCLEX-RN.

I plan on reading all my chapters, but to get more info from another source in a condensed form would be a great study tool. If I don't understand something in my textbook, maybe another book would better explain it in a way I would understand.

Anyway, my first semester of nursing school starts tomorrow and I've finished my 7 chapters of reading given at orientation...

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Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.

I have to honestly say that I did a little of both...some reading, some skimming....sometimes, if I didn't have time to do the reading, I would go back over the subjects covered in class specifically to make sure I had some sort of grasp on the material that was obviously most important.

I really empathize with you; there is a ton of reading and not all of it fun and light, lol....do the best you can; take NS one day/week at a time or you will spend a lot of time feeling overwhelmed and stressed and believe me, it's not worth it, particularly when you have young ones and a hubby...no one will be loving this choice you've made!! You can do this!!

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danibanani, how awesome are you?!! i didn't know that the saunders nclex book would offer information like a textbook; i thought it was just practice questions -- did admitting that make me look like an idiot? i'll use the "hey i'm new" excuse here... may i ask exactly which book you're using? i've looked up saunders books on amazon but there are so many, i don't know which one to get. i haven't been able to find them at the bookstore near me; it seemed like they had every study aid imaginable except ones for nclex-rn.

i plan on reading all my chapters, but to get more info from another source in a condensed form would be a great study tool. if i don't understand something in my textbook, maybe another book would better explain it in a way i would understand.

anyway, my first semester of nursing school starts tomorrow and i've finished my 7 chapters of reading given at orientation...

you are too darn cute! click here for the saunders book that i have.

i also use mosby's, but i prefer the saunders.

just do your best! heck, i didn't know what it entailed until i bought it-- so you are totally fine.

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Specializes in Psych..

Thanks for the links!

And I forgot to say this in my last post...

I tried skimming chapters when I was running behind in studying, but I'd invariably miss something important that tied it all together and end up all confused in lecture. I still skim sometimes, but then go back and read the entire thing when I have more time.

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Well it all depends. I am going into my last semester and the truth is my reading "time" gets less and less.

Back in the beginning I read every last thing becasue I needed to- this was all fresh to me.

Now, there is no need to do it all. They always tell us to read the parts that I aced back in A+P nd can recall...and even if I didn't "ace" it - a short skim and it's back.

Some classes have required more reading than others. My advice to you is to feel out each class. Read it all leading into test 1 and then see how test 1 is. In my experience I have been able to slice reading WAYYYYY down after seeing what they are really asking. A lot of the assigned reading starts to repeat itself. Use the text to supplement lecture and NOT vice versa ....unless after test 1 you can see you needed to read every last detail.

In my exp.......the later has been the exception.

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If I don't understand something in my textbook, maybe another book would better explain it in a way I would understand.

The "Made Incredibly Easy" Series helps with this also. They have books for Fundamentals, Pharm, Assessments and many others. I love them, I have one(s) for Medical Spanish and Microbiology.;)

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Another good NCLEX book that has info in it is Zerwekh and Claborn's Illustrated Study Guide for the NCLEX-RN Exam. It has some questions for each area, along with a good review. I have the Saunders as well, and both are helpful. Also, I agree with the "feel out each class" comment. Do what your instructor recommends. I had one last semester who kept saying, "READ, READ, READ!!" Well, I read every page for his class. Other instructors will tell you to focus on the lectures/powerpoints, and while you should still read the material, they probably won't pull test questions from the fine print that they didn't cover in class. Read what you can, and good luck!

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Specializes in ED.

I read everything. I take notes as I read. I then study my notes, class notes/powerpoints, and take online quizzes, the book quizzes, and the NCLEX quizzes in the few days before the test. It really helps to have all the reading done at least a few days before the test, then just study. Many times I will re-write a note sheet with important information and study that as well as the test gets closer. Like a condensed set of important notes. I find that people that don't read, miss many of the questions that were right from the book. I know people that passed not reading but they got C's. Some didn't pass but some did.

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