Is 50+ pages of reading a week "normal?"

[Spikey9001]

My nursing program is just starting to pick up and this week, I have to literally read almost a 100 pages between my textbooks.

How do people do this AND work? Are your nursing programs heavily based on reading too? I haven't had my first test yet, so until then I basically have to read all the material until I can see how the tests are and adjust my study strategy according to that.

[mandyc]

I remember nursing school....ugghh all of the reading...I worked FULL time plus, have a family, kids....etc...everyone makes sacrifices..It IS suppose to be hard....or everyone would be a nurse...lol...I am doing my ADN to BSN now, and I have TONS of information to go over every night. I guess it is what it is....LOTS OF HARD WORK! Find ways to make your life easier by building on the information you have to read about. Group diseases and their processes together, along with their treatments and medications. Believe me this will be SOOO much easier for you in the long run. It is almost impossible to remember EVERYTHING you read, but you will eventually need to know how things work the farther along in school that you go!

[shellk72]

I have been trying to read some of these posts for study techniques and I didn't think about grouping diseases with their processes along with their treatment and medication...this is a great idea! Thanks

[KristeyK]

Basics are basics...I get bored too, but my classmates and I find ways to make it interesting. We utilize the critical thinking questions at the end of our chapters and have group discussions on them. Granted, we're only a month into the program, but after three weekly quizzes, we're doing quite well. (Mainly due to the group discussions! We teach eachother a LOT.)

[mspontiac]

It gets harder later on, and yes we have much more reading than 50 pages per week (I'm in my third semester.) But, I've found that as you start to learn, you start applying the information you've picked up and build on it. Eventually the tests get harder but you're able to break down the questions and ask yourself what symptoms you might see, what your actions might be, etc. based on info you've learned in the past. Plus I have started to be able to pick out what is likely to be on tests as I'm reading. It's a skill that you'll learn as you go.

[AZO49008]

Sounds about right to me. I graduated in May and we had at LEAST 50 pages a week, more often more, not usually more than 75 to 80. Second year in our advanced theory class our instructor was very specific about what she wanted us to read. She actually listed the specific pages, specific boxes and illustrations. It was still a lot of reading, but she said she was having us read what we NEED to know, not all the stuff that is nice to know.

[blueiwahine]

Read/Scan as much of the assignment you can before class, Listen and take really good notes in class, then go back and reread the areas that you may not have understood well after class.

[Punch]

I once expressed this overwhelming fact to my nursing dean: how in the world do I get all of the reading done?!! She told me to read the first and last paragraph of every chapter - these are the bones of the chapter and will give you a lot of information. Secondly, read and study all of the charts and inserts in each chapter - there will be so much valuable information to be gained here. She was right and it took a lot of pressure of me trying to stay awake while reading pages and pages and pages and......Good luck, you will do fine! I also agree to always do NCLEX questions with each chapter. These tips saved me and I graduated with honors! If you try to read EVERYTHING, you will gain nothing because you will just be reading to read it and nothing will stick!

I :redbeathe:redbeathe being a !

[gozojoan]

Rule of thumb for school - for every credit hour, plan on tripling that. That is how much time a week you should schedule. so, if you're taking a 4 credit class, schedule 12 hours a week for that course. So if you're a full time student, that pretty much equals a full time job as one of the previous posts mentions. If you have no choice but to work, you will have to be sure that you spend your time to study efficiently. Remember, school is temporary (if you want it to be) you will get your life back after graduation and it will be worth it.

[anesTanya2]

To echo everyone else, yes tons of reading is normal. It's crazy! If your school has a program, such as ATI, to help you prepare for Nclex these books can help fill in the gaps when you just can't read anymore. They are condensed versions of the chapters and it helps me to read them when studying (after lecture).

Also, I work full-time and am in the eve/weekend program. No doubt it is rediculously hard at times but t is possible to go to work and school at the same time. I wish I didn't have to do it this way, but it is what it is.

[Melissa1976]

I'm in nursing school and we have easily 16 chapters to a "Module" and 3-4 modules that are included in one test. It is hard, and overwhelming to somehow "GET" all that material. Each person is different in their study habits and how they retain their information. I know for me, my strategy is to do the study guides that are accompanied with the chapters, and in the process I am skimming the chapter. Also, I relisten to the lectures on Tegrity, and then I make flash card. I figure whatever your learning style is, by the time you review something three times it should stick long enough to pass the test. I also review a little of the things that we already tested on before, because nursing is a progressive learning process. What you learned before is applied on top of the new material that you are learning. So, I always review my ABG's, lab values, acid-base balances and the S/S that go along with the various disease processes....Cause in my nursing school, they like to throw things from two semesters ago on your new test. Not like cramming and brain-dumping...

[asapnurse]

We were assigned reading, WHICH WE DID, but in class I listened CLOSELY for cues from the instructor who more or less told us every qx we'd be asked..LIKE "what you need to know is", "remember this"..etc

[LeavingTeaching4RN]

I wish I only had to read 50 pages a week in nursing school. That's less than 10 pages a day. My first exam in nursing school covered over 900 pages of text!! Seriously, I counted them!