1st semester... STRESSED ALREADY?

medpsychRN · Feb 16, 2005

I remember taking my first test and not doing as well as I thought! I think nursing school is like any other class and you have to take a test to get the feel for what the instructor is looking for. Sometimes it's helpful to talk to students a year ahead of you as they might have some useful tips. e.g., most of the test is from the reading etc. Give yourself some time, you'll do well.

begalli · Feb 16, 2005

Just remember on multiple choice tests...there are usually 4 choices - a,b,c,d.

Two are definitely and obviously wrong. And remember that anything that has an absolute in it such as "always" or "never" or "only" is 99% of the time NOT the right answer.

The two remaining choices may both very well be right, it's your job to pick the one that is the MOST right answer.

The tests that included choices like a and c; or b and d; or all of the above always threw me for a loop!!

The tests I had in nursing school were hard! They paralleled very much the way the questions were written on the NCLEX.

Don't worry, you'll get better at it!!

Tweety, BSN, RN · Feb 16, 2005

Good luck. You'll be o.k.

ear · Feb 16, 2005

I am in the same boat. Had my first exam last night, and had pretty much a good basic knowledge of the information. I did all the recommended "test questions" from the book, and websites for practice. I did pretty well on all of those. But this test really threw me. Hopefully I will get my grade back today to see how far into left field I really was.

I have heard form students ahead of me that they always feel like they failed, but they didnt. My perspective is this is the first type of test like this that I have encountered, and I learned a lot about how the tests go now. So, even if I didn't do so well, at least I know what I am up against in the future.

best of luck to you!!!

stressgal, RN · Feb 17, 2005

If it's any help, I received a D on my first ever nursing exam. 79%. Boy was that a blow. But I got used to the way questions are asked and what they were looking for and ended up with an A in that class. I'm now halfway through my third quarter. A book I found helpful was Nugent's Test Success. I also slowed down my test taking style. I will read the question, then ask myself "What are they asking?" Many times there are distractors inserted into the question. I cross out any excess info that is not important to what they are asking and underline key words like "first", and "priority". You can always tell a nursing student, they will read or repeat a question six times before answering it.

Hope that helps!

Good luck and hang in there. You can do it.

PatricksRNMommy · Feb 21, 2005

Thanks for all your advice and kind words :) I guess I was worried for nothing... I found out that I got a 90 on my test! Although I was aiming for an A, I will definitely take a B and be happy :) Now I just have to worry about my first care plan.....