Study Practices in Nursing School

[Cronin]

Greetings everyone,

I am a future nursing student and was a very worried by how difficult everyone says nursing programs are. I recently discovered a new way to study that has so far landed me an A in every class with far less effort than before. I was wondering if this technique would work in nursing school as well. What is it? I record the lecture and only learn what the teacher talks about. I noticed that every class wanted me to read several chapters every week and I often found that by far most of the book wasn't on the test. I now use the book and internet as a source for understanding what was said in lecture but I never read the whole book.

My question is will this learning method work in Nursing School? Why or Why not?

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

If the practice of nursing only involved what is 'on the test' - this would be a great method. But it involves actual human beings who are notoriously unpredictable.

So you want to take a deep dive into the textbook, multiple times and really master the content- not just remember it long enough to pass a test- because someone's life may depend upon it.

[cleback]

No, you would fail certain classes in my nursing program. Most exam questions were from lecture but usually at least a few were from the book. Some courses even had pre-class quizzes only on the book to make sure you did the reading before class.

The amount of material is just too large to cover in lecture for some classes. You will need to read. Good luck!

[Simplistic]

I would really recommend reading in nursing school. I only say this, because the books go into detail and make all the concepts easier to understand. They fill in the missing pieces that may not be mentioned in lecture.

[Purple_roses]

As a student, I can tell you that not only should this method work for you, but this method is what my instructors have advised. In their words, "nursing is a profession of lifelong learning, and you can't learn it all in 2-4 years." It's absolutely impossible for you to graduate knowing everything that a nurse should know. Because of this, instructors will test you on 1) what will most likely show up on NCLEX and 2) what you need to know to be a safe nurse on the floor. If it was talked about in class (even a very brief mention) then it's safe to say that it's important enough to study up on in the book (and yes, you should read about the topic in the book even if you feel that the instructor thoroughly covered it in class). But you probably will not need to read on topics in an assigned chapter that were not mentioned in lecture or on the course outline/learning objectives.

Another thing worth mentioning is that you'll use those nursing books throughout your entire nursing program. Maybe the instructor from first semester skipped the last section of reading in one chapter, but you're worried because it seems like an important topic that you should know. It's very likely that your instructor skipped that last half of the chapter because he or she knows it will be covered in a future semester.

When in doubt, ask your instructor about expectations for readings.

[ItsThatJenGirl, CNA]

My studying adapts to the class I'm taking and the expectations of the teacher. I use my book a bit in A&P II, and not at all in Micro. My teachers give great outlines that are exactly what's on the test, but that's not always the case. You need to be able to adapt.

My best advice is to stop listening to people that say how hard nursing school is and decide for yourself. No need to psych yourself up unnecessarily.

[jtboy29]

You might want to read the chapter along with recording the lectures. Reading the material will help you understand the material better. Nursing classes are different than any other class you've taken. You really have to understand what the material is covering because if you don't understand it you won't do so well. Read the key points at the end of each chapter because that will highlight the important points of the chapter. There are a bunch of other tips to studying on AllNurses.com specifically for Nursing classes because like one poster said and I agree with "Nursing is a profession of lifelong learning" Additionally, like my cousin who's been a nurse for almost 19 years says Nursing School only gets you to where you want to be and that during your career you will continue to learn more.

[Cronin]

It sounds like based upon what people have said my approach is good. I do read the textbook but only read the stuff that is mentioned in class or on the power point slides. I use the book as a reference. I also use Mayo Clinic and the CDC website anytime I come across a new disease in per-requisites (which is many times a every day). I was worried mostly because people had said there are hundreds of pages of textbook reading each week in nursing. I'm good at thoroughly defining specific concepts and terms not just reading a book from front to back. I tend to daydream when im reading a book from front to back.