Realizing how difficult nursing school is

[Beldar_the_Cenobite]

I'm not even in nursing school and I already feel tired from reading my Patho book.

We have to read ch. 2,4, 6, 10, and 11, and know 9 disease sections from the book. I don't know if I'm freaking out or what, but ch. 10 and 11 have to do with Cancer and Oncology and both are within 32-34 pages each. My brain is fried from reading ch. 10 (32 pg). I've got my first exam on Tuesday. Their grading criteria is "If you can't pass the tests with at least a 75% twice, you cannot apply to our program". This class is a pre-req. With the content like it is, I don't think my brain wants to read anymore. I'm probably behind in readings and I didn't realize how fast it caught up, but wow I'm so exhausted from reading. Being in a study group I think is also exhausting.

We use power points in class, but I think the teacher wants us to read the book too, but 32 pages is brutal and I don't know what is necessary and what's not. I don't have a clue if I want to be a nurse anymore. It's a profession that people can't get into even if they wanted it.

[middleagednurse]

Reading the chapter out loud to yourself is also a good strategy for cementing learning.

That is an excellent learning tool. I have done that. You learn with your eyes and your ears, and helps you to retain the material.

[MiladyMalarkey, ASN, BSN]

A&P & patho are probably the two most challenging pre-reqs. It is a matter of how you learn best. That is what you need to figure out. I learn best reading but others do better with outlines, flash cards or videos (YouTube etc.). Once you learn your best learning style half the battle is won. Parts of nursing school are easier than patho, parts just as hard while some parts are harder. Nursing school ebbs and flows, hang in there.

[ikuchiha]

My Pathophysiology class was so easy and I learned so much. Your school is quite different it seems. I have never read the book for any of my classes and got into two different nursing schools.

[thatgirl2478]

I enjoy this when I am preparing for exams! Sometimes I will annoy people nearby regarding topics I'm learning in attempt to explain it.

Teaching others is an EXCELLENT way to help you cement your learning!

For A&P 1&2 I paired up with a student who was struggling. I 'got it' and our study sessions were basically me teaching it to him. I had to come up with different ways to explain somethings which helped me to understand it even further.

[Rainbow_RN, BSN, RN]

what i did was skim and only concentrate on the most important parts/summaries/boxes... stuff that coincided with the information from class. otherwise, it IS very overwhelming.