I feel like a dunce! I can't answer Nclex questions the way I use to!

[Kyff]

So I graduated nursing school over a year ago and passed my boards a few months ago. I'm still training with my current job as an orientee. Long story short today the CNAs and I were having a small discussion it was the end of the shift and they were going over some Nclex questions. I was sort of skimming along with them while doing my remaining work and a few of the questions I could answer but a few I couldn't and I feel so dumb. Is it normal to not be able to answer all of the questions?! I feel so lost ATM. One of the CNAs even quipped "Most of the questions are like common sense based." After I had asked if they were in nursing school. I'm still studying my drug classes and whatnot but I'm trying to learn everything I can but I feel like I still feel like a dunce when I'm asked questions at times and I often feel overwhelmed. Is this a normal occurrence?

[dishes, BSN, RN]

Maybe the problem was you were skimming along the questions, if you had focused on reading them you may have seen the stem of the question and may have been better able to select the correct answer. The reason some people find multiple choice exams 'common sense' is because they are able to clearly see what is being asked in the question, then select the best answer based on what is being asked.

You are licensed and currently transitioning from from a novice to an advanced beginner, there is no need to spend time going over NCLEX style prep guides, instead focus on understanding how to gain clinical competence. If you haven't already done so suggest you read Patricia Benner's book Novice to Expert.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I somehow believe the majority of practicing nurses would be unable to answer NCLEX-style questions as proficiently as they did when they were students.

There is a method to the madness of answering NCLEX-style questions, so those of us who have not reviewed them in a while might select incorrect answers.

After all, two out of the four multiple choice options are usually correct. However, one answer is going to be the most correct.