How long does it take u to read

taalyn_1, CNA · Jan 23, 2011

well so far we've had 8 chapters the first week, and 3 chapters in Pharm. Second week it was 6 chapters and 2 in Pharm, 2 quizzes and 2 tests.I read almost all of the chapters, LOL. I work full-time too and there is just no way I can keep up with the reading. Ive noticed the instructor's lectures are str8 from the book though so if I havent read the chapter, I just follow along and highlight to go back over later. As far as how long it would take to read it all? I read the first 5 chapters all in one day, but It was LONG. The reading is just way too much so far. BUt thats what we signed up for i guess. I will get my life back in May 2012!

Darkpk55 · Jan 23, 2011

I knew I was studying wrong lol, it becomes impossible to read everything.

athrun340 · Jan 23, 2011

it takes me 2 hours to read a chapter from my book. Do you guys make notes while youre reading? How do I know which info is important and whats not? sometimes i make notes for every heading.

anneuhbanana · Jan 23, 2011

It takes me about an hour to read one chapter, good to know I'm not the only one! I usually take notes as I read, but it does take alot longer. These notes are what I would use to study for tests, it would be like I made my own study guide. And as far as how do you know what you will need to know? ANYTHING is game as far as tests are concerned, if it looks slightly important, you better believe that you'll be expected to know it.

oh, and we are assigned at least 10 chapters a week. I am already behind...ughhh

BB8789 · Jan 23, 2011

I am in my last 9 weeks of school, right now we are only doing Med Surge. We have 6 chapters this week and I 'try' to read them all, take notes while I'm reading and also use other study tools that my instructor gives us. See the word "try" lol We also have chapters in Fundamentals and Pharmacology that she doesn't do in class but I don't read those, she usually goes over what we need to know. Good luck in school! : )

brittanywatson · Jan 23, 2011

athrun: I have a very methodical approach to studying. I read everything on a particular subject once and highlight as I go. I review the powerpoint slides and make notes by each slide as I read the chapter again (only highlighted areas), then I make flash cards for important rote memory info like lab values and drug classes. Then I go over everything once or twice and make handwritten notes to help my brain soak in the info. I'm not a huge note-taker when I'm reading for the first time because stopping to write takes my focus away from the information, and I usually end up having to read it 3 times before I regain my focus.

I do read everything. Every word, every table, graph, chart, summary, online study guides and cases references, etc. Pharm is normally 5-7 chapters a week. Fundamentals is normally 3 chapters a week. Health Assessment is 4 chapters a week. I could estimate that the average number of pages to cover per week would be about 300, and that's being lenient. It's probably a little more than that.

It takes me a while to read until I comprehend EVERYTHING. Sure, it's easy to read about nephrons, drugs binding to plasma proteins, GFRs, etc., but it's another story when you need to understand and apply that information for upcoming exams. I'd say that it takes me a good hour per chapter for the inital reading. Many, many hours after that to get a good grasp on the information and be able to apply it in a given circumstance.

Despareux · Jan 24, 2011

I am such a slow reader. It takes me about 4 hours to read just one chapter. I read it word for word and re-read two more times. It sucks.

decembergrad2011, BSN, RN · Jan 25, 2011

Wow. I definitely DON'T do all of the reading they assign us in school. If I don't understand something from lecture, I may utilize my textbook as supplementary to my lecture notes.

If I miss a class, I WILL read the chapter/s I missed because it's making up for what I would have heard in class with additional information. The only other time is when my instructor refers us to tables or passages in the text.

I honestly don't see a big difference between the people that regularly attend class while using their text as a supplement and those who attend class and read the book. It may give you an edge until lecture, but that's about it for my program. Everything you need to know for exams is explained in class, with anything not directly and blatantly spelled out for you in lecture that's still game for test material being actually referenced with page numbers, etc.

Kudos to anyone who can keep up with all the reading, but I found it more than impossible. There is no way that I can read 500 pages a week of medical text, boring or not, and absorb it. I find that to be a flaw on the parts of instructors thinking that their students can physically manage to read that much in the time frame. I also find it appalling that some programs use the excuse of anything in the text being testable to cover their butt and justify exam questions that weren't covered in lecture.

blackberrie_281 · Jan 25, 2011

it takes me a little over 2 hours to read a 40 pg chapter the first time through.

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jan 25, 2011

I never read.......I skim.

AddisonLawrence03 · Jan 25, 2011

I never read.......I skim.

So how do you pass your tests if you are only skimming? is your professor testing you on powerpoints?