I feel awful! I don't know what happened. I'm starting a study group though in hopes that it will help. I've always done really well on nursing exams.

I reviewed the exam a little yesterday so I did see what I did wrong. 20 out of 64 students failed the exam.

Thanks for those that wished me good luck!

So sorry to hear that! Good luck... :)

You have to keep moving. Look forward. You're allowed one mistake, but that's it. Get that study group going. You know you can do it.

Med Surg is tough, a lot of critical thinking involved. Get hold of some NCLEX review books, they should help you a lot.

Jen,

Sorry to hear about your Med/Surg exam. What was the material? Fluids and electrolytes? That was our first test and I bombed it. I came back with avengence, thanks to my trusty NCLEX book, the fact that I had all week during spring break to study, and my heartless teacher saying "Gee, did you even study ???" :angryfire You'll get it. It just takes time. Try to take a step back from memorizing all the little nitty-gritty stuff and say to yourself "A person has ____, _____, and _____. Because of that, I know that they will _____, their blood pressure will ______, their urine output will _____," etc. I tried to take a step-back while studying and it totally helped. There's *ALOT* of stuff that can be easily confused if it's not well understood, so if all else fails, make study sheets and look at them over and over and over and over again.

Let us know how the next test goes, and if you have questions, ASK US!! :)

Good luck!

I relate to what you are saying! My first test in Med Surg went not as well as I thought I did. I was *extremely* stressed out, mainly because I realized that it was a new way of thinking. Up to now, the tests mainly were about memorization and regurgitation, but this stuff you have to know such that you can apply it in a variety of situations. After I got over my initial fit (my friends thought I was totally neurotic for the next couple weeks :chuckle ), I began studying comprehensively. I answered the end of chapter questions, did the case studies in the book and purchased the study guide and did all the questions for each corresponding chapter.

All I can say is BIG DIFFERENCE on the next test. It's a new way of thinking and test taking but you'll do fine! Don't give up!

Hey! You did better than I did on my first Med-Surg exam. I made a 66% on mine! I will tell you what a nurse told me. Ok, whenever you are reading your notes, after each sentence or whatever, ask, "why". Why, why, why. It would also be good to look in a pathophysiology book or an anatomy and physiology book to understand what is going on. Also, for the people that are passing the class, ask them if you could have a copy of their notes and compare them to yours. Hope this helps some!

rngin1982 has good advice!

When I was studying this, I also referred lots to:

Mosby's Medical Dictionary

Assessment Book

A&P Book

Drug Book

I hated studying anywhere but home because my backpack would weigh 50 lbs for this one class!

Bombed my first med/surge test too. It was on fluids/lytes. I got a 62%! I passed the class with a 'C' and cried cuz I was used to 'A's. By the end of nursing school I was happy to pass. Passed the boards with 75 questions in 60 minutes. A tip I discovered was: take notes, read the chapters, use a NCLEX book to study from, do NCLEX questions on each subject studied. It saved my life and helped simplify some of the difficult topics. It also clarified what I should be understanding from each topic. Can't say it wasn't time consuming. Don't get to bummed out. There is life after an 'F'. You can do it.

I know how you feel. Feels like you have an ungrateful child huh? I mean the odasity of failing a nursing exam after you have put in so much time and effort. That was how I felt. The important thing to remember is to let it go and look to the next exam. Try and change your way of studying. I noticed that the further I get into my program the more I have to change my way of studying. I quit memorizng and reading the entire chapter. Now when I read in the text I just read the nursing considerations part. Ask yourself What is it? What does it do to my patient? How can I help my patieint? and What do I need to do if something goes wrong? I write these questions at the end of each section of notes/disease process I learn about, and then answer them. I have also taken the questions I wrote into my instructors to have them look at them and provide feedback. I don't put in no where near the amount of time in studying as before and my grades have improved. Good luck. Shake it off. Try some of these tips and let us know how your next exam goes.

I know how you feel. It's like you put your whole body and soul into studying for this test and then you feel like such an idiot! It took my brain two semesters to get rewired to absorb all this stuff. I did all B's my first semester then got a C in med surg 1 in the second semester. This past semester I got a B in Med Surg 2. Here's some helpful advice: If your textbooks come with a CD ROM and/or study guides USE THEM! Some of my teachers take questions word for word from the study guides. Also buy the CD ROM and/or book Medical Surgical Nursing Made Incredibly Easy. The other Made Incredibly Easy books and CDs are great as well. They have these on almost every nursing subject. Another CD-ROM that helped was Springhouse's NCLEX Review 3000. The study group is another great idea. Also get with the teacher, to see if she can help you see where you need to focus your studying for the next test.

REMEMBER: C=RN :wink2:

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Walk in love, walk in service and you walk in honor.