am i wrong

ssullyorthoRN · Sep 15, 2009

Here is what I do to fit in a little me time...I study pretty much all night long, but every hour I take a 15 min break. I check email, facebook and allnurses within those 15 min. So really if I study for 4 hours a night, I would take four 15 min breaks which equals out to be a whole hour. I don't feel so guilty when it is just 15 min. Sometimes there is a thing as reading TOO much, I know with my self I start to not know what I am doing after 4 hours of reading Nursing Fundamentals.

Fundamentals(1986) · Sep 15, 2009

I am 4 weeks in my Nursing Program also.. and our lecture requires us to do a LOT of reading. But our lecture teacher's bases everything off powerpoints, so its all we have to remember. But we refer to the book if we need more depth and understand of certain things that we do not get. I would confront the teacher to ask for good studies advices cause she IS the one that made the test. So she would know the best techniques. I would also ask the other students how they study also.

llg, PhD, RN · Sep 15, 2009

You're just beginning. As you get more experienced with nursing school and the type of reading required for classes, you'll get more efficient at it ... get a feel for how deeply you have to read, etc.

It just takes a little time to adjust. It sounds like you have gotten off to a good start. That's great.

belliot2 · Sep 15, 2009

I am speed reader, but still struggle with the amount of reading. In my 2nd year of a CNL program (graduate, entry level RN) I am a older student, and I get up early - try to study 3 hours in am, and 2-3 hrs in pm. I usually have to take notes when I read, so its at a deep level to get this down.

There will be differences in how you have to read between classes that you will realize once you take yor first exams. With a minimum 80% though, I figure I'd rather be safe than sorry.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Sep 15, 2009

I have just started nursing school(4 weeks in) and all I seem to have time to do is read. I heard that I should spend alot of time studying....so does reading count.....cuz that seems to be the only studying I do(I do the write out the objectives each week also) I feel like I am doing something wrong. I can't study every second of my life as some say they must do. I got an 87 on my first test so I can't be doing things to wrong.. does anyone have any advice to help me keep my sanity and not feel guilty for not spending every waking moment studying or reading(I need me time or i will go insane)

I spend about 25% of my non class time studying, and that is meeting up with some friends to review and some alone time. We have had 3 exams so far (have 3 more this week) and I am doing well and the few I have missed weren't because I didn't know the answer it was because I didn't read the question properly, with the exception of one fundamentals question, that will threw me for a loop and a really smart friend of mine so I don't beat myself up over it HAHA.

Anyway, I still watch my shows, I spend time with my family, (next semester is brutal so I am told) so I am enjoying time now. If I understand things I don't study them, it's a waist of time, if I need to focus on a few key points that is what I do. Tomorrow is the Pharm exam on the PNS system. I need to make sure I understand where the adrenergic and cholinergic (sp) receptors are and what they do and the rest should be easy to figure out as long as you know the difference between the agonist and antagonist. So I won't be spending countless hours on it for the week before, I got together a couple times this weekend with some friends and I will quiz myself tonight.

Anyway I got way off track, if you are doing well without having to invest your life into studying then your not doing anything wrong, I haven't hardly even openend my books, I am starting to feel like it was a waist of money to even buy them since they remain sitting on the book shelf unused.

melmarie23, MSN, RN · Sep 16, 2009

Like others have said, selective studying is key. Don't focus too much time and energy on what you do know and have a good handle on and instead focus on areas in which you are weak.

I suggest a good NCLEX review book. Saunders is great. They really helped me focus in on key aspects and the rationales are a great resource and offer a full explanation as to why a certain answer is the most correct.

Don't stress too much. You will figure out what you need to do to keep yourself on top. I am a firm beliver that no, you don't need to spend every waking moment studying. Having a life outside of school is healthy.

belliot2 I too am in an CNL/2nd degree program. :up:

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2009

sounds like exactly what i was doing in when i was in nursing school back in 1973-1975. guess things never change. after some time you do have to read less because some of the stuff starts to be repetitive. however, i hope that you do recognize that almost everything you are reading is new material you've never been exposed to before. i also kept my copy of taber's cyclopedic medical dictionary at my side while i was reading and often stopped to look stuff up in it which also slowed me down considerably. it was a good thing i did look things up in it though in order to have a better understanding of what i was reading. hope you're doing the same. at various points you will also have to refer to specialized supplemental books on certain subjects to help understand things like electrolytes, for instance.

morte, LPN, LVN · Sep 16, 2009

I spend about 25% of my non class time studying, and that is meeting up with some friends to review and some alone time. We have had 3 exams so far (have 3 more this week) and I am doing well and the few I have missed weren't because I didn't know the answer it was because I didn't read the question properly, with the exception of one fundamentals question, that will threw me for a loop and a really smart friend of mine so I don't beat myself up over it HAHA.
Anyway, I still watch my shows, I spend time with my family, (next semester is brutal so I am told) so I am enjoying time now. If I understand things I don't study them, it's a waist of time, if I need to focus on a few key points that is what I do. Tomorrow is the Pharm exam on the PNS system. I need to make sure I understand where the adrenergic and cholinergic (sp) receptors are and what they do and the rest should be easy to figure out as long as you know the difference between the agonist and antagonist. So I won't be spending countless hours on it for the week before, I got together a couple times this weekend with some friends and I will quiz myself tonight.
Anyway I got way off track, if you are doing well without having to invest your life into studying then your not doing anything wrong, I haven't hardly even openend my books, I am starting to feel like it was a waist of money to even buy them since they remain sitting on the book shelf unused.

well, you could use them as door stops, that is what i told a nursing school class mate .....

to the OP, YES! reading is studying.....

BabyLady, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2009

I have never studied so hard for anything as I did in nursing school.

When you are new...it will seem overwhelming...but as you gain skills in your work, you'll be able to prioritize your study time better and get more bang for your buck.

However...don't settle. Don't say, "I got an 87, I'm doing fine"...an 87 is good, but it isn't an A...SHOOT for that A.

What happens in nursing school is that the exams progressively get more difficult as you go along. I have seen students have an A at midterm that end up with a C as a final grade...that would have failed had they not been "up" as far as they were.

Get grades as high as you can...that way if you bomb an exam or have a personal tragedy and cannot study as much, or you bomb the final...you'll still be ok.

CeilingCat, ASN, RN · Sep 16, 2009

I am glad someone else is asking this question. :wink2:

I am 1st semester student in a RN program. They kept telling us to prepare for exams by "reading book & powerpoint for concepts, not rote memorizations." However, I'm good with understanding concepts, so it doesn't take me long. But I keep hearing people say nursing school means studying every night. What do I study if I am not memorizing the book?? I met with their Study Skills adviser and she said their guideline is to do 4-5 hours of homework a NIGHT not including non-nursing classes. In other classes I'd do a fraction of that, eg. for a 4-credit hour science I'd do 4-6 hours of homework a week and get an easy A.

Our first exam is in a week. I have no idea what I should be doing (and I'm normally a straight-A student) other than "read". I met with my Nursing advisor, and she gave some suggestions, but I still feel lost. What is wrong with me? I feel like I have too much free time...?! I don't want to walk out of the first exam feeling like a fool and only getting a C (or preferably not a B). Why do I feel so lost? What do you all do when you say you're spending all night, every night, studying?

BTW, I have heard the advice about study groups. But I've had no luck so far. Either cliques already formed, since most students did A&P together. I was admitted earlier than my A&P classmates, so I don't know a single person in my 72 student class. Or the others seems not so interested in getting high grades and "don't have the time" for a study group. I've also had two different people flake out on me as lab partners, not showing up, never returning phone calls, showing up an hour late, etc. Seems like the better students already are in solid teams with their friends and the others don't have school as a high priority.

Thanks in advance for any replies!