How many hours should i be studying a day?

Babs0512 · Aug 9, 2008

I agree, writing care plans took me 8 - 12 hours per week. As far as study time, I tried to actually study 1-2 hours per day, I usually took most of Sunday off for family. After the kids were in bed, sometimes I would use Sunday eve's for "catch up" work that I didn't get done during the week.

I have a friend who has a photographic memory, she never cracked a book during nursing school nor studied. She made sure she attended every lecture and lab. She is the exception, not the rule - I wouldn't recommend her technique. She got all A

s. My point was that study time is a bit different for everyone.

Just know that nursing school is a hugh commitment, and with commitment comes sacrifice. Don't make the commitment, unless your are willing to face all that goes along with it.

Good Luck

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Aug 9, 2008

While there may be rules of thumb out there to multiply credits by hours, etc, it all boils down to how fast you read and comprehend, and how well the info sticks in your head. Same with skills labs: do you watch the demonstration, do the skill yourself, and you have it down pretty well after a few tries? Or do you need to go over it and over it to get your hands to function?

Some students will spend five hours a day studying to earn a C. Others will spend one and earn an A. Seriously. It depends on your academic aptitude as well as your study habits. Are you a 'buckle-down, it's time to study' sort, or a 'just ten more minutes on YouTube--and then ten minutes checking the mail--and then...' sort?

I seem to remember studying whenever I had the time. Between kids' obligations, family obligations, housework, and occasionally personal time (work that in!), I'd be studying. If I had to count the hours, I think I'd get way too depressed

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Aug 9, 2008

There is no one size fits all formula.

In the beginning, you're naturally gung ho and excited about it. You might highlight everything, read all the assigned readings, type out your notes, make flash cards, etc. You might spend every waking hour studying or thinking about studying. That's natural. By the time you graduate, you might find you just need to crack open a book on a rare occasion before an exam and still do well. By the end, for me the books were pretty much useless. My class notes (powerpoints) were all I needed.

You have to test the waters, guage your program and your ability to absorb. If you want to cut down on your study time, pay attention in class. Participate. Sit near the front. Ask the questions. Don't be shy about it.

Good luck and don't sweat the small stuff.

kenny b · Aug 9, 2008

Studying in groups has its place, but there are two things about that.

First, it has to be a no-nonsense group that doesn't fall into the trap of using study time to socialize (easy to do).

Second, studying in a group usually works best after you've covered the material on your own. One way that works well (but requires some getting used to) is creating actual honest-to-goodness tests for each other and taking them right there in the study group. You take them individually as if they were actual tests, and then you go over the results together. It seems time-consuming, but writing tests for one another is far more efficient than simply going over material over and over and...

Also, when working alone, don't expect to get all the material the first time through. I've wasted countless hours trying to master everything as I read it, when I could have done it by going over it every day for a shorter period of time.

Finally, interacting with the material (writing stories, drawing pictures, writing tests, etc.) is far more work, but will save far more time.

Regards,

Kenny B.

woknblues · Aug 9, 2008

To each his/her own, but....Holy smokes, that is a lot of studying, and way too much for me, personally.

I do about an hour a day, depending on what tests or exams are coming up.

I HIGHLY recommend picking up a memory book by Harry Lorayne to any struggling students. Although much of nursing is not sheer memorization, a lot of it, like most school, is. The techniques are something like mnemonics, but way more useful and immediately applicable. I have found it to be especially helpful in anatomy, pharmacology, and all the pathophysiological disease processes. The 10-20 hours you spend getting a handle on the memory techniques he teaches in one of his many books will pay off huge. (just Pharma alone, I would bet) I am upset that I only found this stuff out in my senior year. There are also lots of free websites out there with the same type of stuff. Enjoy.