hours of study time

Just curious how amny hours of study time do most of you spend per week? I seem to have to study 3 hours for every hour in class. Is that alot?

[wannabemw]

Just curious how amny hours of study time do most of you spend per week? I seem to have to study 3 hours for every hour in class. Is that alot?

Nope this is the average! I find I will not do well if I don't!

Your gonna make a great nurse!

Good Job!

~MJ

[dansamy]

They told us to plan for at least the same amount of home study time per class as the number of hours we were in lecture for the class. We were told that would be the bare minimum amount of study that would get us through with barely passing grades. So far, our advisors/admins have been correct. You need that amount of time at a minimum, more if you want to keep a decent GPA.

[crb613, BSN, RN]

Just curious how amny hours of study time do most of you spend per week? I seem to have to study 3 hours for every hour in class. Is that alot?

I tape my lectures & listen to them again its a 3 hour class. I read all the material before class & reread after class. I take notes & read them after class. I use NCLEX books & do the questions over the subject(s) we are on at the time. It seems like this stuff is on my mind all the time!! I try to go over it in my head & test myself if I don't know the answer I look it up. I make charts on meds s/e, uses, what to do if....

So you are not alone I spend a tremendous amount of time studying. Others may not have to do this but this is what it takes for me. Also when I take a test I cover up the answers. I read the question & think what do I know about this & what are they asking? I then look for the answer that fits what I know. So far this has worked great.Good Luck

[kirbi]

I typically study 4 hours a night Mon-Sat and at least 8 hours on Sunday. However, every other week, I designate one night as a NO STUDY night - although I never make THAT a Sunday. If I am having difficulty with any particular areas, I will add extra 2-3 hours in the early morning hours going over and over the material, looking it up on the net, making questions to ask instructors, etc. so that I will get it.

kirbi

[mariedoreen]

It depends on the kind of student you are. If you have no retention problems you need less time. If you have to repeatedly beat the material into your head to get anything to stick, you need more. I devote roughly 10,357.72 hours each week to studying for exams and skills checkoffs as well as doing homework, writing papers and developing care plans. Occasionally I'll take 3.7 seconds off to throw my scrubs in the washer, vent on all-nurses about my sad, miserable life, or eat a Whopper.

I love nursing school, it's really fun.

[grentea]

mariedoreen, i swear i haven't had such a good laugh in long time. you bust me up! i feel like i'm on the exact same page. i have a clinical on saturday mornings and one on Fridays nights. my weekends are shot and i can't really devote too much study time to either one of those days. i feel awfully tired right now. i bet i'll fall asleep with my dinner in the microwave. it's funny when that happens. oh nursing school IS fun! :balloons:

[MarcyRN3385]

I study 2-4 hours a day. Not as much as some of you do but that's all I really need. If I studied more than that my brain with be overflowing with so much info it would explode and I wouldn't be able to remember anything. These past several days I haven't done much at all. Our first test covered 14 chapters, our second 10 but our third which is over 3 weeks away only covers 2??? They are longer but still that is a HUGE break compared to what we have been doing! In case your wondering I'm in the fundamentals. So I've just been relaxing these past several days or so and it's been SO nice. I've done some reading and I'm actually ahead. Right now we are on infection control and our next chapter is medication administration. They aren't hard chapters. The fundamentals so far hasn't been bad at all. Our last test was harder but I think I did ok. I know after the fundamentals things get much harder though. Ugh...I'm not looking forward to that at all!! Happy studying everyone!

[klone, MSN, RN]

I spend about 2-4 hours outside of class reading/studying per week.

I will also spend 2-4 hours on additional reading/studying the day before an exam.

[Kyriaka]

I put in 2 hours a day per class. My teachers think that I over do it and that I fret with my GPA a bit much. They encourage me to give myself a break. And I must admit, my grades are a bit of an obsession.

Recently, a student who made a 40 in my class was complaining about her grade. She said, "I studied 8 hours for that test". I was thinking...gee honey, I studied for 30+!

But I dont think that the hours are what counts. Quality matters also. If you study for 3 hours with the radio on, it is worth nill.

[LilRedRN1973]

I have always been one of those students who retains things really well and tests really well. I average 80-90's on my exams, and my lowest grade on a care plan was an 84. I don't really study outside of class, but if I miss a class, it's VERY obvious on my next exam exactly which portion I missed. I guess I'm an auditory learner and learn best by sitting in lecture and participating in discussion and asking questions. Plus, I work in a Trauma/Medical/Surgical ICU and learn SO much while at work. When not doing assessement, giving meds, or charting, I'm picking the brains of the best RN's there. I go around the unit to find out if there are "interesting" patients (i.e. Swans, ICP monitoring, CVVH, etc.) and have that RN go over things with me, quiz me, etc. I work at night, so there is opportunity to do this.

I do study for exams a few hours a day for several days before the exam and do practice NCLEX exams over that subject matter. I do well on my exams (for what I put into them) and am satisfied with my grades. Could I do better? Yes. Is it worth it to me? No. I have two young children and a husband who I rarely see. A soccer game is MUCH more important to me than reading over my chapters IF I feel I understand the material. I have compromised and brought my books to the soccer field, etc. My family comes first as long as I'm bringing in grades >80. If my grade were to fall, then obviously, I would hit the books. 10 years from now, what's more important? Whether I got an A in one of my classes as opposed to a B, or whether I attended special events, games, etc. for my kids?

Sorry to get off on a tangent...I have been criticized in my program because I don't devote 110% of my time to school. Some of my classmates study upwards of 40+ hours a week. For me, that's not feasible. I work two 12 hour shifts per week, take care of a 5 year old and 8 year old, and try to juggle clinicals, classtime, and everything else around my husband's 12 hour night shifts. I will be extremely GLAD when school is over and I can concentate on JUST nursing. I'm looking forward to beginning my internship in the ICU where my book studies will focus on critical care and thing that pertain to the patients in unit, without having care plans, presentations, etc. due every week.

Melanie

[akcarmean, LPN]

i spend at least 4-6 hrs a day on school work and studying. right now mine are mostly papers and research. pretty much 5-6 days a week.

angie