Reading ahead

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Hey future nurses, so I just seen the reading list for the fall semester med surg 2 I was just wondering if I should read ahead or wait before the semester starts to read. What do you guys think. I'm thinking if I read too far ahead I won't remember when it comes time to know.

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In my opinion, you should read ahead. You won't have time to read the text when the semester starts because you will be bombarded with assignments and assigned readings from other courses; in addition, the med-surg reading assignments are staggering, at least in my school, I recall once having to read six chapters in one week for this course, only.

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Specializes in PACU/ICU.

I agree! at the beginning I had time to read before lectures but that only lasted a couple weeks! read ahead! :)

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I always read ahead when I can. I was going to read the first few chapters for my fundamentals course, but then found out that the instructor was going to go over a couple chapters first day, like, chapter 1, 10, 31 and 33. So instead of reading 1-5, I'll read what she suggested. Point being, if you can get a hold of the instructor or the sylabus (sp?) It might be helpful, in all my nursing courses so far we havn't gone thru the book from beginning to end. But really, any reading you do before hand won't hurt!

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I am a firm believer in reading ahead. A psychology professor once told a class that reading ahead lets your brain set up a filing cabinet of sorts. If you read something before a lecture, your brain will remember (even if your don't) and will organize the information in your brain easier.

Not sure if he is correct, but it sounded good in theory, so I have always done this since and I have had great success.

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Specializes in Neuroscience.

Reading ahead never helped me in any class. Never again!

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aachavez made a great point. Reach out to the professor to see if you can get the syllabus or initial reading assignments at the minimum. I don't think it ever hurts to start earlier, and you may not remember everything but I'm sure you'll be able to recall most of the readings once class rolls around. Read ahead! :redpinkhe
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I like to look at my books over the summer to try and get familiar with some of the topics and what to expect for the semester :) It can't hurt you. If you end up reading it more than once, you will remember more the second time.

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