Taking notes and reading?

[Middleburg08]

there is so much information in those pesky nursing textbooks.

How do you guys prefer to tackle the sheer amount of reading AND notes? Some of my classmates come to class with over 16 pages of information, basically the whole book

I've tried to read the book and take notes, but then I find that I'm sitting there for HOURS on end and at the end of it, I don't feel like I learned very much because I'm so tired of looking at pages of 10 pt font. I have classmates who are reading for 5+ hours every night, myself included sometimes.

How do you guys organize your reading time, and if you don't take notes while you read, how do you retain the info to study in continuously?!

[lehaley1989, ADN, RN]

I'm a 1st semester student, and I discovered pretty quickly that it wasn't going to be feasible for me to read all of the assigned chapters word-for-word. 3-5 chapters per class per week x 3 classes + additional assignments? Yeah, there was no way that was happening.

Check out Nurse Nacole on YouTube. She has an awesome video that talks about her strategy for skimming nursing textbooks and still retaining all the important information.

[Lulu Belle, RN, EMT-B]

1. I use the textbook as a resource for when I'm confused. Not as my bible.

2. When you study, it is just as important to practice pulling info out of your head as it is to put the info in your head. To me, reading every word of the textbook does not make for a good ratio between those two things.

Nursing school is all about playing the game. Adjust your study habits to the professor. Does the prof test exclusively off the slides? Then study off the slides. Are the slides really sporifice? Then use them to guide your reading.

Just my $0.02

[wannabeny]

Videos. Lots of videos. Better to spent 20 minutes then 3 hours learning the same concept.

[umbdude, MSN, APRN]

I read close to everything in nursing & science courses, but I never took notes and I rarely read the powerpoint slides except during lectures. I did a ton of practice questions (over 2000 just for med-surg) and to me that's the most helpful.

[HarleyGrandma, RN, EMT-B]

I scan over the chapters (introduction, any boxes, vocab and conclusion) and then print the key power point slides (not all if there are a lot) before lecture. Then review verified youtube resources for the big concepts, and use Khan Academy Medicine for the deeper explanations. I like to use a mix of resources and mediums, I can;t just sit and read or I don't retain information well.

Experiment and find what helps you the most. Also I have a small group, 3 other people, that I study with in person and online. We help keep each other on task and teach each other stuff they struggle with (teaching others a concept is really helpful for you both).

Whatever you do, do something!

[mcluvin]

"Nursing school is all about playing the game. Adjust your study habits to the professor. Does the prof test exclusively off the slides? Then study off the slides. Are the slides really sporifice? Then use them to guide your reading."

^^^^This. Best advice for studying any course with dense material, not just nursing.

[midwifemae]

I actually learn a lot from reading both from the slides and the text. I usually skip anything that was not mentioned in class and skim. I learn from taking notes, writing and reading. It all works out and I adjust this based on how the professor tests.