[MySimplePlan]

Why do we have to take ERI testing, other than its required for our program?

We just had to take one on Fundamentals, which included psych, peds and OB - when we haven't even taken those classes yet!! Of COURSE I got them wrong.

Can the ERI's flunk you our of NS??? Blahhh!

[smattles1of2]

I think they are practice for the NCLEX. Anything that helps me out is fine with me. We have to take 8 practice tests before the end of March. And then a big one at the end of Fundamentals as the final. They aren't so bad. I like the nursing calculations one the best.

If we fail the ERI for the class, we fail the class and have to retake it. But they said that hasn't happened yet.

[midcom]

We take them at our school too, during our break between terms, & it's a real pain. Most of the students in my class had to retake at least one of them them until they scored high enough to pass. The were also required to watch videos remediating them. Fortunately, I wasn't one of the unlucky ones. I passed on the first try.
It was strange though as, like one of you stated, we hadn't covered most of what was included in the Fundamentals one yet so it was mostly a test on how to take a test & critical thinking.
I know that they use ERI to help prepare us for NCLEX but these tests are really almost useless because there is no way to see what questions we missed or find out why we missed them.
Dixie

[Megsd]

We take ERIs during finals week (as if we didn't have enough to worry about that week) and are told that if we fail one (and fail a make up exam) we fail out of the program. They say that we take them so they have an idea of what we are retaining in the program and what they need to focus more on. I feel that the tests barely correspond with what I learn in class, so it's really more strategic test-taking (i.e. guessing!) to me than "remembering what I've learned."

They encourage us to do practice ERIs on the website but they don't have practice tests for most of the ones we're taking, so we really have no way to prepare for them. They are amazingly stressful to take. I hate them.

[nurse4theplanet]

We had to take the ERI at the end of each semester for the subject of concentration (fundamentals, peds/ob, med surg, advanced med surg, psych). Then, at the end of the entire program we took a comprehensive ERI that covered all subjects. We were not required to pass the ERI...just to take it. I think the school used it as an analysis to how well their program was geared towards producing students who could pass the NCLEX.

Anyway, our fundamentals ERI test did include psych questions, OB questions, etc. but the CONTENT was fundamental...meaning that you should know the answer even if you had never taken that subject because it was a fundamental question. For example...safety. That's fundamental. The question can give you all the complicated info about an OB pt but if the content of the question is asking about providing safety...then it is a fundamental question that you should be able to answer without any extensive OB knowledge. Does that make sense?

[midcom]

Asoldierswife05,
I agree that the Fundamentals test was pretty general but I recall lots of pharm questions & we didn't have pharm until this term. I could only guess on which drug to give, how much, & different classes. They were all foreign to me. Now how is that a way to gauge how the school is doing when they are testing knowledge that we didn't have? It just seems kind of dumb to me. We took fundamentals, critical thinking, & communication. I have no idea what we take this term but suspect OB & pharm and possibly psyc. Yikes, I think I'll be studying alot before I take the tests this time.
Dixie

[sddlnscp]

Our school requires ERI testing and yes, we do have to pass the tests in order to move on to the next semester. However, since they have implemented the ERI testing regulations (our school requires us to score 4 points above the national average to move on), there have been 100% NCLEX pass rates. It is hard, but if it helps me to pass boards, then I am all for it. I know a lot of students complain about the testing in our school, but I also know that I will take all the help I can get!

[nurse4theplanet]

Originally Posted by midcom

Asoldierswife05,
I agree that the Fundamentals test was pretty general but I recall lots of pharm questions & we didn't have pharm until this term. I could only guess on which drug to give, how much, & different classes. They were all foreign to me. Now how is that a way to gauge how the school is doing when they are testing knowledge that we didn't have? It just seems kind of dumb to me. We took fundamentals, critical thinking, & communication. I have no idea what we take this term but suspect OB & pharm and possibly psyc. Yikes, I think I'll be studying alot before I take the tests this time.
Dixie

LOL! The NCLEX is exactly like that....so get ready! We had pharm during our first semester of nursing school, yet, I never recognized many of the meds on the ERI...same goes for the NCLEX. There's just too many to learn, and they don't like to ask about easy ones like lasix, dig, and beta blockers. If you do reasonably well on the ERI, then it's a good predictor that you will do reasonably well on the NCLEX. It's better than going into the NCLEX blind without ever having to take a comprehensive nursing test that includes familiar as well as unfamiliar content. Most of the NCLEX questions seemed very UNFAMILIAR.