How I read from my textbooks and retain information

One of the hardest things about nursing school is that the professors are not lenient at all. You will come across very few who will care about you but some professors will not care at all. But you can’t take it to the heart because you are going to have to toughen up. Nothing in life comes easy.

You know how when people say you take things for granted till it’s gone. Well, one thing I took for granted was the PowerPoint presentations and study guides from previous semesters. As soon as I started my junior year of nursing school, I had to adjust to the different teaching methods. Some professors do not give out any PowerPoint slides or notes whatsoever. They expect us to read the entire chapters from the 2000-page textbook. It is ridiculous but you gotta’ do what you gotta’ do to pass.

At the end of the day, your grades lie in your professor’s hands and in your efforts. You can’t argue or change their teaching style. It does throw you off because now you have to build a newer strategy for studying. It was challenging for me to read the chapters from the textbook during the first week because I couldn’t retain any information. I was lost since I didn’t know what to really focus on. Everything seemed important but I wanted to know what was going to be in the exam!

So, three weeks into the semester, I developed a strategy/technique that has been working miracles for me while reading the textbook. I don’t know if it will work for everyone else but if you’re struggling, take notes.

This is how I have been doing my daily readings:

1. Count the number of pages required for reading (this will tell you how much time you’ll need to spend).
2. As you flip through the pages read the titles of the subtopics (this will help you to skim through the text).
3. Read the summary/key points at the end of the chapter (this will let you know what to expect during your reading).
4. Read the questions at the end of the chapter (just read them, you don’t have to find an answer, it will give you a glimpse of what to look out for).
5. Read the first and last sentence of every paragraph and look out for any bold prints (this will give you an idea of what each paragraph is about and the bold prints will tell you what to keep in mind).
6. Start reading the chapter ( this is where you begin).
   
   

I know this looks like a time-consuming technique but trust me it’s better than reading the entire chapter multiple times. After following steps 1-5, you can start connecting all the dots and everything will start making sense. You will even find answers to the questions that were asked towards the end of the chapter and have a better understanding of what the chapter is about.
If you do end up following my way of reading from the textbook and it works for you then don’t forget to share my page so others could benefit.
But if you’re using a completely different method that is working for you, don’t be shy to put it on the comment down below. I will definitely be more than happy to give it a try.

HAPPY STUDYING!!!