Nursing Course (theory) - 4 Hours a week!?

[Haybah]

Hi Everyone!

I don't know how to feel about this but according to our schedule for next semester (my first semester of nursing!), we will have 4 hours/week of theory class, 8 hours/week of lab, and 9 hours/week of clinical. I will be taking both the theory and lab classes twice a week.

So I was just wondering why the class hours are so short. I have heard from several people from different schools that they usually have very long hours of lecture (around 6 hours) twice a week; they would also have long lab hours. Is it actually good for me that our school is like this? I cannot understand how the instructors will be able to teach us much in class given the amount of information we have to learn in our textbooks and the duration of our program which is only three semesters.

*Textbook: Nursing: A concept based approach to learning 2nd Edition, Volume 1, 2, 3

This textbook is used throughout the three semesters of the program.

Thank you

[smf0903]

Our theory sections were short too, most no longer than 4 hours a week. Our critical care theory section was a whopping 2 hours a week...for critical care...all that material! There is a pluthera of self-study. This is why it's important to read AHEAD. If you read ahead, then listen in lecture and you STILL don't understand, you have a chance to ask.

Good luck!

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Theory classes don't have to be long unless you want to sit for hours while the instructor reads the book/materials to you. It's much more worthwhile if everyone reads the material ahead of time & class is reserved for discussion.. to clarify and make sure you have an accurate understanding of the info.

[MurseJJ]

Theory classes don't have to be long unless you want to sit for hours while the instructor reads the book/materials to you. It's much more worthwhile if everyone reads the material ahead of time & class is reserved for discussion.. to clarify and make sure you have an accurate understanding of the info.

This. My theory class for foundations of nursing practice (fundamentals) was three hours a week. It was an absolute must that you had to do the reading in the textbook. The professor would also point out which charts we should know in the textbook. In the lecture she highlighted major points using powerpoint, and told stories from her own nursing practice to illustrate points.

I couldn't imagine sitting in one class for 6+ hours a week.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I attended a trade school nursing program that entailed 8 hours of theory per week, divided into two classroom sessions from 1:00pm to 5:00pm every Tuesday and Thursday, and one 8-hour clinical practicum shift every week.

[Sizzline]

I am starting a 5-semester ADN program next month. For my first semester, I have lecture 4 hours per week, lab for 2 hours per week, and clinicals are 8 hours per week.

[quixotic.dy]

Our clinicals are 12 hours and theory classes are 3 hours all once per weeks for each class in my first semester.

[Everline]

Where I went to school we had 4 hours of lecture per week, generally. The instructors never covered all of the material. We were expected to read and self study. In my first semester, we had one day of clinical per week and several simulation labs. I think our clinical day was something like 9 hours or so. All of that kept us plenty busy.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

For fundamentals it was a short class. It was a 3 credit hour class in 4 weeks. So we had a very long lecture day on that. I think it was 7 hours in one day. It was awful. I hated it. When we got to our med/surg lecture which was 12 weeks and also a 3 credit hour class we did 4 hours of lecture. Our lab was 12 hours a week in fundamentals but 4 of that was lecture in lab. They still lecture in lab. You get through it. I think this semester it's more broken up but it's more days a week. So you gotta pick your poison I guess.

[SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP]

We had 8 hours of lecture (4 hours per day/2 days week), 8 hours of PA, 6 hours of Skills lab and 16 hours of clinicals per week (PA & Skills were over once clinicals started) in Fundamentals. It was a LOT of work! Plus, we had to wrangle in study time in between it all. We were expected to have already read our text for lecture, PA & Skills prior to class.